Category — Larry Scapecchi

Here’s a roundup of content concerning local candidates on YouTube:

Larry Scapecchi

The Democratic candidate for Escambia County Sheriff turns up the heat against opponent David Morgan:

Lumon May

A YouTube user has a clip of May at the recent Michelle Obama rally, as well as several clips of May and Republican opponent Clay Ford at a recent debate.

Jim Bryan

The Democratic candidate for candidate has a lengthy but informative interview with Santa Rosa Week, an online program from SantaRosaChronicle.com. The interview is split over three parts:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Jim Barnett

The Democratic candidate for County Commission, District 5 lays out his platform.

Defeated Democratic candidate for Sheriff Sam Lucas has thrown party unity to the wind and decided to endorse Republican candidate David Morgan.  I am a bit surprised by this, as Lucas and his primary opponent Larry Scapecchi attend the same church and even while running against one another seemed to remain friendly.

Lucas’ letter of endorsement:

Dear Escambia County Voters:

I want to personally thank each and everyone that helped me during my campaign; even though I did not get elected in the primary! I am honored and proud that I ran a good, solid, and honorable campaign, and stood up for the betterment of all the people in Escambia County, especially our youth. The leaders of this county need to listen to the people, and make the changes that will meet our citizen’s needs! Don’t count me out, for you have not seen and heard the last of me. I am still looking forward to working hard and serving our community and every citizen in Escambia County in hopes of making positive changes for the betterment of our community.

The main purpose of this letter is to affirm I am wholeheartedly endorsing and highly recommending David MORGAN for our next Escambia County Sheriff! After carefully considering all the facts and findings regarding both candidates, it leads me to only one qualified person that can, and will bring back courtesy, professionalism, and respect to the Escambia County Sheriff Department.  This person is David Morgan.  David has almost the same visions that I had on my website to be accomplished. David is not one of the good old boys, and is not indebted to anyone within the Sheriff’s Department, nor any citizen within our county. His background, education, integrity, honesty, his drive, his faith, and his belief that everyone should be treated equally, across the board, and held accountable for their actions, makes David Morgan your best choice on November 4, 2008 in the general election. David Morgan will make the necessary changes in the department for the betterment for all citizens in Escambia County! I will be highly gratified and thankful to gain David Morgan as our next Sheriff!
Once again I strongly encourage we all work together and give all our support and hopefully we can redirect the current direction or misdirection of our Sheriff’s Office by electing David Morgan.  I am asking all my supporters, family, and friends, and especially all registered voters to cast your support and your vote on November 4, 2008 for David Morgan!

Sincerely,
Samuel E. Lucas

The Northwest Florida Police Benevolent Association will endorse Democrat Larry Scapecchi as its choice for Sheriff of Escambia County at a rally tonight.

This week, Progressive Pensacola has been profiling the 2008 race for Escambia County Sheriff:

• Monday: Ron McNesby
• Tuesday: David Morgan
• Wednesday: Sam Lucas
• Thursday: Larry Scapecchi

The Office

The Sheriff of Escambia County is the chief executive of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) and the preeminent law enforcement official in Escambia County. He is responsible for all operations of the ECSO, including the operations of the Escambia County Jail. The Sheriff manages a budget that has risen to ~$86 million in FY2007-2008. While the ECSO is dependent on the Board of County Commissioners for budget appropriations, once the money is budgeted to the ECSO, the Clerk of Circuit Court has no power to audit the ECSO’s spending as it does with the Board of County Commissioners generally.

The race for Escambia County Sheriff has become by far the most expensive County-wide race, with the four candidates raising over $240,000 cumulatively, as of the first quarter. More than half of that figure comes from the incumbent, Mr. McNesby, alone.

The Sheriff’s annual salary is $138,636. Sheriffs are elected to serve a four-year term.

This year’s race features two Republicans: Ron McNesby (the incumbent) and David Morgan; and two Democrats: Sam Lucas and Larry Scapecchi. The Republican and Democratic primaries will be held on August 26. The winners of those contests will face each other in the general election on November 4.

Projections

Republican primary: It’s going to be close. McNesby has a huge money advantage, but the anti-incumbent and anti-McNesby sentiment in the air, combined with the support base that David Morgan has cultivated over the past few years, will make this a very competitive race, which I could see going either way. The bottom line is that McNesby will spend whatever amount of money and exert whatever influence he has to win reelection.

My gut tells me that McNesby will squeak by with a victory.

That said, I believe McNesby, rather than Morgan, is the easier candidate to beat in the general.

Democratic primary: This race won’t be as close. Both candidates are great guys and would make excellent sheriffs, in my view, but Scapecchi has an edge in money, political acumen, support network, etc. I think Scapecchi will score a decisive victory.

We’ll take another look at this race after the primary. The dynamics of the race will vary greatly depending on the matchup.

This article is part of a series on the candidates for Escambia County Sheriff.

Larry Scapecchi
Democrat
Qualified by petition
Campaign Finance Reports
Campaign Website

The Candidate

Scapecchi, 45, is a retired ECSO officer and is a new entrant to politics. Not satisfied to stay in retirement, Scapecchi jumped into the race with the following explanation:

“After 25 years of service on the streets, I am disappointed in the direction that Sheriff McNesby has taken the agency and I can no longer stay in retirement without standing up for what I believe is right.”

While I was initially skeptical of his ties to the current ECSO administration, numerous conversations have convinced me that he’s genuine, honest, and well-intentioned. Scapecchi has run an excellent campaign: he is a good and concise speaker; his campaign materials and website are attractive and concise; his fundraising is competitive and his ground game is solid.

Education and Experience: Scapecchi is a graduate of Escambia High School and Pensacola Junior College. At PJC he obtained his Criminal Justice Standards for both Corrections and Law Enforcement, both with Honors. Scapecchi worked for the ECSO for 25 years before retiring in 2007 as a Lieutenant. During his career, Scapecchi garnered experience working in a variety of departments, including narcotics, corrections, and investigations.

Personal: Scapecchi is active in the Myrtle Grove community, serving in the volunteer fire department and as President of the Myrtle Grove Youth Association Foundation. He, his wife Sarita, and their family attend Myrtle Grove Baptist Church.

Electoral History

None

The Bottom Line

One of the things I appreciate most about Scapecchi is that he is concise. This is a great attribute in running for public office. For example, his website lays out his priorities in one page, without the use of lengthy arguments, subpages, etc.

Like the other challengers to the incumbent, Ron McNesby, Scapecchi has made budget issues a focus of his campaign, citing the increase in the overall budget, and more specifically the dramatic (310%) increase in the administrative budget. Scapecchi is also pushing a strong commitment to integrity on all fronts, from the administration, including the Sheriff, down to deputies and corrections officers: “I believe that the Sheriff of Escambia County should be above reproach and should be responsible for the ethical behavior and attitude of his deputies. It is clear that attitude reflects leadership. The Sheriff MUST lead by example.”

Scapecchi has a lot of support. I run into a lot of people, both online and off, who are enthusiastic about him. He’s come out on top in a lot of informal polls I’ve seen, such as the one conducted by the Police Benevolent Association. They later declined to endorse him, saying that the 34% response rate by their members was too low. Either way, I think that’s telling.

For those of you who do not know, Ron McNesby decided last month to close the ECSO precincts in Warrington and Ensley – two areas where the crime certainly merits having precincts – to save $38,000. The depth of the corruption, mismanagement, and waste in the ECSO would make such a move laughable if it weren’t so grave and dangerous.

Larry Scapecchi, a veteran and recently retired veteran, is challenging Ron McNesby for Sheriff. Here is what he had to say about the precinct closures:

It is time for responsible leadership to be returned to the ECSO. We, the citizens of Escambia County, can no longer sit back and allow our elected officials to continue to mismanage our County Agencies and waste valuable tax dollars.

In response to Thyrie Bland’s article “Sheriff Closing 2 Precincts” April 9, 2008 where Sheriff McNesby stated he was closing Precinct 3 in Warrington to save $38,000 in rent, I would like to say that I feel it is a very poor decision on the part of Sheriff McNesby and his administration.

With economic hard times already upon us, the crime rate is surely to soar. The population of Escambia County is over 300,000 and approximately 237 officers are assigned to the ECSO Patrol Division. Of that number, approximately one third are supervisors. Law enforcement must be proactive when it comes to crime prevention. Closing these precincts and centralizing the deputies from the main office is a step backwards. The mere presence of the precincts is a deterrent to crime. If Sheriff McNesby did not believe this, he would not have opened the Brownsville precinct. The precincts come from the Community Policing philosophy which encourages the people of the communities and law enforcement to work together to solve problems instead of reacting to crimes after they have been committed.

How hard is it to do what is right for the community and the Sheriff’s Office as a whole. Sheriff McNesby campaigned in 2000 that the previous Sheriff’s administration cost of $1 million was too much and he (McNesby) could do it better. McNesby also campaigned he would bring responsible leadership to the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff McNesby’s administration cost has increased 310% to approximately $3.1 million. Sheriff McNesby’s leadership is anything but responsible.

Before we pull deputies out of our precincts, why not stream line the administration? An example would be to eliminate the position of Special Projects Manager. This position has a salary of $52,000. With additional payroll costs of approximately 35%, this number becomes $70,200.00. You now have saved your 2 precincts. Let’s look at consolidation of services such as Risk Management, Payroll, and Human Resources. These services are duplicated by the BOCC and other county agencies and should be consolidated county-wide. Let’s look at the cost of take home vehicles for administrative personnel, garage mechanics or other non essential personnel who only drive back and forth to work from their homes. Let’s look at the cost of the helicopters. Can you really justify three of them?

The answer is doing what is right for the citizens of Escambia County and not the few you are indebted to because of politics. It is not difficult at all.