One Down, One To Go

Posted Aug 26, 2008 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Aug 26, 2008 at 10:19 PM

Voters elected Hillsborough School Board member Susan Valdes to a second term on Tuesday, but the board’s longest-serving member will have to wait a little longer to see if she gets re-elected.

Valdes won the District 1 school board seat over David Schmidt, a 10-year district employee. District 1 represents parts of northwestern Hillsborough County.

“I feel very humbled by the support of the community,” Valdes said.

The at-large board seat, District 7, remained undecided with none of the three candidates receiving more than 50 percent of the votes on Tuesday. That means the top two vote-getters, incumbent Carol Kurdell and Hillsborough Community College employee Stephen Gorham, will move on to a runoff in November.

The two had run against Jason Mims, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel.

Kurdell said she had hoped to win outright on Tuesday but thought low turnout and a three-way race affected her ability to get enough votes.

“Three people in the race – it splits the vote. You just never know,” said Kurdell, who was first elected in 1992 and has twice been the chairwoman. “You always give it everything you have.”

Gorham saw the results as a message for change on the school board.

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Catlin, Cary Judge Race Down To Wire

Posted Aug 26, 2008 by Thomas W. Krause

Updated Aug 26, 2008 at 10:00 PM

10:55 p.m.: In an exceptionally close race, family law attorney Catherine M. Catlin was narrowly defeating sitting Circuit Judge Kevin Carey late tonight.

Catlin was ahead by less than one percentage point. If a candidate wins by less than 1/2 of a percent, state law mandates a machine recount, said Jennifer Davis, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State.

If the difference is less than 1/4 percent, any ballots identified by the machines as incorrectly marked will be inspected by hand, Davis said.

Carey has sat as a judge since 2002. Catlin, during her campaign, said she has practiced in front of Carey for four years and has superior skills in time management and decisiveness.

It is rare for a sitting judge to lose.

In 1994, Hillsborough County Judge Charlene Honeywell lost an election. She has since become a circuit judge.

Circuit Judge Martha Cook, the only other sitting judge to face opposition in this year’s election, defeated Constance Daniels. Cook has been a judge since 2003.

Voters picked new judges in three other races to replace retiring circuit judges Frank Gomez, J. Rogers Padgett and Barbara Fleischer.

Long-time assistant public defender Samantha Ward defeated Miriam Velez.Caroline Tesche, a private attorney and former prosecutor, defeated Jason Montes.

Lisa Campbell, a veteran assistant public defender who now works as a partner with Stewart & Campbell, defeated Linda Courtney Clark.

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Valdes Retains School Board Seat

Posted Aug 26, 2008 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Aug 26, 2008 at 09:48 PM

10:45 p.m.: Accusations she overspent on travel didn’t stop voters from electing school board member Susan Valdes to a second term.

Valdes, 43, had drawn criticism for racking up a $50,000 travel bill during her first four years, the highest amount on the Hillsborough County School Board. She defended herself, saying she took on too many trips in her eagerness to do a good job.

Her constituents in District 1 – which includes Town ’N Country, Westchase and other northwestern Hillsborough communities – awarded her another four years. The first time she ran, she defeated educator Janice Torgersen. This time, she beat Torgersen’s husband, David Schmidt.

Schmidt, 59, has worked for the district for about a decade, running a program for immigrants. During the campaign, he emphasized his ability to work with district employees and criticized Valdes for ethical oversights and overstepping her bounds as a board member.

The other school board seat open remained undetermined tonight. School board races are nonpartisan.

None of the three candidates for District 7 received 50 percent of the vote in the primary, so the top two candidates will move to the general election in November. Carol Kurdell and Stephen Gorham will compete against each other to represent the countywide seat.

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Legislative Winners: Reed, Taylor, Rouson, Reagan

Posted Aug 26, 2008 by Kathy Steele

Updated Aug 26, 2008 at 09:38 PM

10:40 p.m.: Three Incumbents and one novice scored victories Tuesday in primary races for state House and Senate.

In a campaign that at times got personal, state Democratic Rep. Betty Reed defeated civil rights lawyer Warren Hope Dawson by a wide margin in the state House District 59 race.

Reed is a retired educator with a long history of community activism; Dawson is a lawyer with a distinguished civil rights record.

Two years ago Reed bested Dawson by a slim 307 votes in the Democratic primary and went on to defeat Republican Willis “KC” Bowick in the general election.

In state Senate District 11, Democratic newcomer Fred Taylor, 60, knocked off first-time candidate Richard Skandera.

Taylor, 60, entered the primary with the backing of the state Democratic Party, which sees him as someone who can knock incumbent Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, out office.

In the state House District 55 race, incumbent Democrat Darryl Rouson defeated Charles S. McKenzie Jr. for the second time in six months.

The two faced each other in a three-way race in March during a special election to replace Frank Peterman, who was appointed secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Rouson, 53, a private practice attorney and a former Pinellas County prosecutor, next faces write-in candidate Calvester Benjamin-Anderson to represent a district that stretches from south St. Petersburg into parts of Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

In the state House District 67 primary, Rep. Ron Reagan, a three-term Republican from Bradenton, defeated newcomer Kirk Faryniasz.

Reagan, who is in the insurance business, will face Democrat Richard Jackson and write-in candidate Ronald Rathburn in November.

District 67 includes Apollo Beach, Ruskin and part of Sun City Center in south Hillsborough County.

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Beckner to face Blair; Hagan also wins

Posted Aug 26, 2008 by Mike Salinero

Updated Aug 26, 2008 at 09:25 PM

Republican incumbent County Commissioners Ken Hagan and Brian Blair ran away with their Hillsborough primary races and newcomer Kevin Beckner prevailed over two other Democrats to face off against Blair in November.

Incumbent Property Appraiser Rob Turner also won, easily beating James Robert “Rob” Townsend in the Republican primary. Turner will face Democrat Ken Ayers in the November general election.

Blair, a first-term commissioner and former pro wrestler, carried about 70 percent of the vote in beating auto sales manager Don Kruse.

“I think the voters are educated and they know who will serve them best,” Blair said. “I hope they continue to place their trust in me because heart is with them.”

Hagan, the commission chairman, also trounced Keystone-Odessa civic activist Tom Aderhold in the Republican primary. The victory ensures Hagan the seat because no Democrats qualified.

The Democratic race for Blair’s countywide seat was closer. Beckner, a 37-year-old financial planner, beat second place finisher Denise Layne, a Lutz environmental activists. Tampa businessman and strip club owner Joe Redner, finished third.

Beckner said he will reach out across party lines to defeat Blair, who angered environmental groups last year by trying to dismantle the county’s environmental protection agency. Beckner said he hopes to get Layne and Redner’s endorsement for the general election.

“Again we’re reaching out to everybody,” Beckner said.

“This isn’t about any certain individual. This is about reconnecting the County Commission with the people of Hillsborough County. I think Joe and Denise, that’s what they’re about: They are about the people.”

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