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The Heart Beat

She's his No. 1 running mate

For the second time, Sam Nagel is helping Scott Farrell with a political race. In the middle of that first campaign, he proposed.

By AMY SCHERZER
Published July 29, 2005

HARBOUR ISLAND - Scott Farrell got his first vote the night he shared his political aspirations with Sam Nagel at a SoHo restaurant.

"He told me he wanted to run for office on our first date," said Nagel, born Stephanie Ann Mills and called by her initials since she was a child. She became SAM! in college when a sorority sister capitalized her name and added an exclamation point.

Nagel quickly became Farrell's most enthusiastic supporter.

They have the same views on health care, education and economic issues, said Farrell, 38, a lawyer with the firm Trenam Kemker representing small-business owners. Nagel, 34, is vice president of Health Information Management for Kforce Inc., a professional staffing firm.

They live in a condominium at the GrandView on Harbour Island.

In 2002, they launched Farrell's first bid for office, as the Democratic nominee for state House District 57.

He lost the election but gained a fiancee.

"He proposed in the middle of the campaign," she said. "We were getting ready to go to three events one night, and in true Scott fashion, he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him."

Farrell slipped the ring on her finger and they rushed out the door to start his evening social rounds.

"I told him he just wanted me to do more campaigning," teased Nagel, who is legally changing her name to SAM! Farrell.

This year, the ambitious couple planned a wedding and the next campaign. In March, Farrell announced his candidacy for the 11th District U.S. congressional seat being vacated by Jim Davis. On May 7, they exchanged vows on Lido Beach. Dinner followed at the Ritz Carlton Beach Club in Sarasota.

Guests arrived dressed for the sun and sand, checking their shoes at the boardwalk before finding their seats. Even the bride and groom went barefoot.

Each seat held a blessing stone, a black rock engraved with words such as love, hope, family and friends.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds led guests to the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. On the count of three, everyone tossed his or her stone into the water. The ripples are said to spread good luck and happiness.

One wonders, did any of the rocks say Farrell for Congress 2006?

After Farrell and Nagel began dating in 2000, Farrell's law firm at the time, Foley Lardner, lent him to its Washington, D.C., office.

She visited whenever she could.

"Washington's where it all blossomed," she said, recalling jogging together on the National Mall and shopping in Georgetown.

"I was born in Washington and hope to make it my next home," added Farrell, who grew up in Connecticut and Binghamton, N.Y. He graduated from the State University of New York at Brockport in 1989, a political science and military history major.

Farrell spent five years at the University of Florida, earning a master's degree in communications and a law degree, before moving to Tampa in 1997.

Nagel's family moved every three years for her father's jobs as a pollution control engineer. Born in Laramie, Wyo., she has lived in Knoxville, Tenn.; Evansville, Ind.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Tulsa, Okla.

Nagel graduated from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta with a degree in education in 1993. She married and taught for a year in Charlotte, N.C., but soon realized neither was right for her. College friends encouraged her to move to Tampa in 1996. Kforce Inc. hired her as a health care recruiter in 1999.

Nagel helped rally supporters for Farrell, much like she rallies her Kforce staff of 60. She's been known to grab a bullhorn to motivate, stimulate and congratulate. Last year, the Tampa Bay Business Journal named her a finalist for Business Woman of the Year.

Helping children and families in crisis is important to both of them. Three years ago, Farrell was named president of Voices for Children, formerly the Guardian Ad Litem Guild, which recruits volunteers and raises funds to represent abused children in the county court system.

Nagel sits on the trustee board of the Spring of Tampa Bay, a domestic violence shelter. She becomes president next July. "We can't talk too much about our nonprofits or we might poach contributors or board members," Farrell said, only half-joking.

Farrell calls his first campaign, against Republican Faye Culp, a learning experience.

"We walked the neighborhoods every weekend," Farrell said. District 57 covers South Tampa, Town 'N Country and Westchase. He was excited to see his volunteer base swell and to receive the endorsement of two daily newspapers.

Ten days before the election, the opposition came out with ads portraying Farrell as a rich trial attorney.

He lost by about 4,000 votes.

"It was brutal," he said.

But he learned his lesson.

"You have to respond," he said. "You have to follow your gut instinct."

Mr. and Mrs. Farrell hope those instincts take them all the way to Washington.

To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com

SATURDAY: 8th Annual Celebrate Sinatra; 9 p.m.; Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club; $50 prepaid at www.celebratesinatra.com Q

SATURDAY: Hamptons Chic benefits YMCA's Eighteen 89; 7-11 p.m.; Wyndham Harbour Island Hotel pool; $50 men, $35 women; events@studio419.com or 727 488-0419.

AUG. 11: Sushi Showdown benefits the Florida Aquarium; 6:30-9 p.m.; 701 Channelside Drive; ages 21 and up; $50 members, $55 nonmembers; 273-4568.

AUG. 19: Heartbeat Oriental Express cocktails and auction benefits Heartbeat International; 7 p.m.; Higgins Hall; $75 in advance, $100 at the door; 243-8769.

AUG. 21: Dine with the Devil Rays dinner auction benefits ALS Association of Florida and the Rays of Hope Foundation; 6:30 p.m.; St. Petersburg Yacht Club, 11 Central Ave.; $125; 888-6900, ext. 24.

AUG. 28: Brides Around the World benefits St. Joseph's Women's Hospital; high tea and bridal fashion show; 2-5 p.m.; Hyatt Regency Tampa; $35; 872-0979.

[Last modified July 28, 2005, 08:33:25]