Republicans see the altered County Commission landscape as an opportunity. Multiple GOP candidates are jockeying to stand out as they vie for a seat.
By WILL VAN SANT
Published May 23, 2004
BROOKSVILLE - With three Democratic incumbents on the County Commission hungry for four more years, the possibility existed until recently that the 2004 election would bring no new faces to the board.
With the death of District 5 Commissioner Betty Whitehouse in March and the decision Tuesday by District 1 Commissioner Mary Aiken to pull out of her race, big changes to the makeup of the commission are now guaranteed.
The altered landscape is a boon to Republicans, who no longer have to contend with two entrenched Democratic opponents. And with Republican Commissioner Robert Schenck not facing re-election until 2006, GOP victories in two of the three districts at stake would give the party majority control.
Some Republican leaders, however, have their eyes on a sweep.
"I really think we are going to have three new Republicans on that board," said county Republican Executive Committee chairwoman Ana Trinque.
Only in the District 3 race do Democrats have an incumbent candidate - Commissioner Diane Rowden. She faces a primary challenge from Phillip Johnson and a field of four relatively unknown Republican candidates: Mark Cattell, Frederick Falco, Art Dillman and Charles Gaskin.
Rowden is a polarizing figure; either you love her, or you hate her, Cattell said, echoing a popular view.
A 31-year-old attorney, Cattell has lost 15 pounds and gotten a fine tan during afternoon campaign swings through District 3. Some folks have slammed doors in his face when told he was out to unseat Rowden, Cattell said, while others said they didn't care who was elected, as long as it was not the incumbent.
Like many of the political newcomers who have filed to run for County Commission in 2004, Cattell has little money behind him, so he is going after votes the old-fashioned way.
"I'm just trying to get out and meet as many voters as possible," he said.
With Aiken dropping out, District 1 has opened up. Democrats Joe Lemieux and D.W. "Bill" Fagan face a primary. Five Republicans - Rose Rocco, Anthony Palmieri, Luke Frazier, Richard McDermott and Jeff Stabins - have filed to run, meaning the GOP primary could be won with just over 20 percent of the vote.
And more politicians could still enter the mix, meaning an even smaller margin of victory is possible. Potential candidates have until Aug. 2 to file. The primaries will be Aug. 31; the general election is Nov. 2.
Palmieri, 75, who now sits on the county Planning and Zoning Commission, pointed out that many in the District 1 race are not familiar names. Save for Rocco, who lost to Commissioner Nancy Robinson in a 2002 bid for office, and Stabins, a former state representative, few have high profiles.
As a result, Palmieri said he believes two or three of the lesser-known Republican candidates now in the race will grab about 30 percent of the votes, leaving two top contenders to fight for the remaining 70 percent.
The 63-year-old Rocco, who took 48 percent of the vote in her general election loss to Robinson, said the high number of candidates means votes in District 1 among Republicans will be an even more precious commodity than they normally are.
"Your campaigning has to be hard," Rocco said. "It's a matter of getting out there and meeting as many people as you can . . . so people can connect a name with a face."
If that's true for Republicans in District 1, it's an even greater certainty for those in District 5.
Save for a lone Democrat, former Commissioner Chris Kingsley, and a candidate with no party affiliation, Richard Power, the remaining contenders are all Republicans. The eight GOP candidates are: James E. Adkins, Anna Liisa Covell, Bobbi Mills, Janey Baldwin, Lara Bradburn, Jimmy Batten, Steven Scheibler and Richard Avirett.
Assuming no Republican drops out and no new ones file to run, the GOP primary in District 5 could be won by the candidate who wins just over 12.5 percent of the vote.
"Literally every vote is going to count for these guys," REC chairwoman Trinque said.
According to Trinque, the REC has no plans to endorse any Republican candidates before the primaries. Interviews have been held with most of them, she said, that stress the importance of good sportsmanship. All, she said, have promised to unite behind the winner after the primaries.
Like District 1, District 5's Republican field is made up of familiar names and political novices. It is possible the campaign could be decided among three or four top candidates, among them Janey Baldwin. Long a voice in local political circles, Baldwin, 74, lost to Whitehouse in the 2000 commission races. She took 46 percent of the vote.
Baldwin likened the District 5 Republican field to a bunch of noisy guppies in a fishbowl, all trying to push one another aside and gobble up the most support. With so many candidates, being heard is difficult, Baldwin said.
"They are all saying things," she said. "So I wonder, is my message getting out?"
While individual candidates may have a difficult time in the crowded pool of challengers, Baldwin acknowledged that with Whitehouse and Aiken gone, the Republican Party has good prospects.
"When you don't have an incumbent," she said, "it is easier to run and be successful. It's just easier."
So what might Democrats have going for them?
According to Rowden, 54, the mood among Democrats after the 2000 election mess in Florida is strident. They want President George W. Bush gone, she said, and will turn out to the polls in droves to defeat him, giving a boost to local Democratic candidates.
Kingsley, the 52-year-old Democratic candidate in District 5, who took 47 percent of the vote in his 2002 loss to Robert Schenck, said that in the absence of a Democratic incumbent to focus on, Republicans will find it difficult to define themselves for voters.
"People who are usually attack-oriented will have to stand on their own and say something of content," Kingsley said.
- Will Van Sant can be reached at 352 754-6127. Send e-mail to vansant@sptimes.com
CANDIDATES
Here are the candidates who have, to date, filed to run for the County Commission in 2004. The deadline for candidates to file is Aug. 2. Primary elections will be Aug. 31; the general election Nov. 2.
DISTRICT 1
DEMOCRATS: D.W. "Bill" Fagan, Joe Lemieux
REPUBLICANS: Luke Frazier, Richard McDermott, Anthony Palmieri, Rose Rocco, Jeff Stabins
DISTRICT 3
DEMOCRATS: Phillip Johnson, Diane Rowden*
REPUBLICANS: Mark Cattell, Art Dillman, Frederick Falco and Charles Gaskin
DISTRICT 5
DEMOCRATS: Christopher Kingsley
REPUBLICANS: James E. Adkins, Richard Avirett, Janey Baldwin, Jimmy Batten, Lara Bradburn, Anna Liisa Covell, Bobbi Mills, Steven Scheibler
