Sheriff shake-up among many

Both elected and appointed officials made exits, some hasty, some planned.

By RYAN DAVIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 1, 2001

Elections, construction and the lure of spending time with the grandchildren took the old away.

They were replaced with a new sheriff, county commissioners and Wal-Marts.

Some, such as the new Wal-Marts, came with the clamor of bulldozers and cranes.

Others, such as county Commissioner David "Hap" Clark, left while making just as much noise.

In Pasco County, 2000 was a year of "out with the old and in with the new." Sometimes it was even a case of "out with the old, in with the new, then out with the new and in with another new."

Countywide

Perhaps no change in Pasco County made bigger news than Sheriff Lee Cannon's loss to Republican newcomer Bob White.

White, a sergeant with the state Division of Alcohol and Tobacco, emerged from an October primary runoff to defeat the two-term incumbent sheriff.

On the County Commission, two Democrats, 20-year veteran Sylvia Young, who wanted to spend more time with family, and eight-year veteran Clark both resigned.

To fill Young's seat, Republican Ted Schrader, a San Antonio, Fla., businessman, defeated Charlotte Kiefer.

Democrat Peter Altman, a certified public accountant and former New Port Richey mayor, defeated Jack Armstrong to take Clark's seat. The race was tight -- by pre-recount standards -- with Altman winning by less than 1 percentage point.

Clark had planned to run for re-election, but 30 minutes before the deadline to file, he decided to challenge former friend and fellow Democrat Mike Olson for tax collector.

Despite some wild allegations, including one claiming his opponent had sexually harassed employees (unsubstantiated), Clark failed to unseat the incumbent.

President in Pasco

Lawsuits helped determine the outcome of the presidential race this fall, and Pasco played its largest role ever in the outcome.

Republicans touted George W. Bush's October visit to Pasco-Hernando Community College's west campus as the first Pasco visit by a major party presidential candidate. Crowds arrived before the sun rose to see Bush play to a Republican crowd.

Then the county endured two recounts and a highly publicized lawsuit. The first recount on the day after the election garnered 14 additional votes for Gore and one for Bush, widening Gore's victory margin in Pasco.

Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning spoke often that day about an obscure ballot oddity: chad. Soon the little crumb-sized piece of ballot became an overused punch line for jokes nationwide.

Pasco was one of seven counties named in a Republican lawsuit asking that overseas military ballots be counted. It was dropped from the lawsuit after accepting the questioned ballots.

The Dec. 9 recount was abruptly halted by the U.S. Supreme Court after just 110 ballots were examined.

"Hanging chad has caused me a great deal of lost sleep, gray hair and anxiety," Browning said.

Others replaced

The carousel of change wasn't limited to elected officials.

It spun rapidly at the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce.

Marjorie Walsh resigned as executive director in January. She was replaced by Mary Beth Albright, who lasted only a few months before she was fired for not showing up for work.

Kathy Dunkley climbed from administrative assistant to acting director to executive director by the close of the year.

Albright's departure was just one of the exits made under fire.

Zephyrhills city officials sent Nancy Lester, the manager of the city's golf course since 1988, packing like a defeated Tiger Woods opponent. She failed to maintain the course, they said, so they sued her and eventually reassigned the course's lease to a new owner, who reopened it Nov. 1.

At the Pasco County Housing Authority, Jaya Radhakrishnan left in November while shedding tears.

The PCHA board of directors dismissed its executive director despite her tearful plea for a second chance. She had held the job for 11 years, but her performance had been lackluster, the non-profit's board of directors said.

Also, Richard Kyle resigned in October as director of the Pasco County Visitors and Convention Bureau, leaving little explanation for his departure. Kyle and the bureau were asked to account for $29,000 it overspent on its Wesley Chapel welcome center and were fighting two lawsuits.

Not just people

The "in with the new, out with the old" theme went beyond people.

While much development was just new, some was created to replace the old.

• The county cleared the way in February for a 207,000-square-foot Wal-Mart supercenter on the northwest corner of State Road 54 and Little Road in New Port Richey. It will apparently replace the smaller store at SR 54 and Rowan Road.
• It will join the Super Wal-Mart under construction at U.S. 19 and Ridge Road in Port Richey, former home to the city hall, as well as one planned for Zephyrhills.
• In Land O'Lakes, a Bealls Outlet discount store moved into Pasco Plaza, a troubled shopping strip at U.S. 41 and SR 54.
• The plaza was crippled by the loss of anchor tenant U-Save, Land O'Lakes' first supermarket, which closed in September.
• Bealls replaces an Eckerd drugstore that recently moved across SR 54.