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Kathy Lewis

Political Agenda 10/07/2020

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Republican women’s group endorses Trump
The Florida Federation of Republican Women has announced its support for the reelection of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the 2020 Presidential Election. The women’s political group also endorsed that ticket during the 2016 presidential election, according to a news release from the organization.

Randy Maggard endorsements
Randy Maggard is running for reelection in District 38 of the Florida House of Representatives. His campaign has announced the following endorsements:

  • The West Central Florida Chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association
  • Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning
  • Richard Corcoran, former speaker of the Florida House and current state education commissioner

East Pasco Democrat Club
The East Pasco Democratic Club will meet remotely, via Zoom, at Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will feature supporting the Democratic candidates locally and nationally. All members and friends of the Democratic Party are invited to attend. Email , or call (813) 383-8315 for details. Socializing begins at 6 p.m., followed by the meeting.

Democrat Club meeting set
The Central Pasco Democratic Club will meet Oct. 21 at 6:45 p.m., remotely on Zoom. The meeting will feature supporting the Democratic candidates locally and nationally. All members and friends of the Democratic Party are invited to attend. Email , or call (813) 383-8315 for details. Socializing begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the meeting.

Kathy Lewis endorsements
Kathy Lewis is running for the District 20 seat in the State Senate. She has received these endorsements, according to her campaign:

  • Tracey Kagan, Democratic candidate for the Florida House
  • Florida State Sen. Victor “Vic” M. Torres, Jr.

Polling place changes in Pasco
Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley announced the following polling place changes for precincts 15 and 55, for the 2020 General Election.

New locations
• Precinct 15: Cornerstone Community Church, 5708 Trouble Creek Road, New Port Richey, 34652
• Precinct 55: Zephyr Shores Estates POA Clubhouse, 35143 State Road 54 W., Zephyrhills, Florida 33541

Former locations
• Precinct 15: Ashbury United Methodist Church, 4204 Thys Road, New Port Richey
• Precinct 55: Crystal Lakes Clubhouse, Zephyrhills, Florida 33541

Sample ballots
Pasco County will mail sample ballots to voters on Oct. 9. Voters who have requested vote-by-mail do not receive sample ballots.

Some vote-by-mail reminders
The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections’ Office provides these Vote By Mail reminders, on its website:

  • Don’t forget to sign your Vote By Mail envelope before returning it.
  • Make sure you have a current signature on file with your Supervisor of Elections Office. You can update your signature by completing a printed or online voter registration application. (An online application will add your most recent Florida Driver License or Florida State ID signature to your voter record.)
  • Be consistent when signing your mail ballot return envelope. Signatures are compared to those on file with the elections office.
  • You may mail your ballot back or drop it off at your local elections offices or Early Voting sites (during Early Voting).
  • Check with your local elections office for more information on drop-off locations.
  • If you mail the ballot back, make sure to allow plenty of time for it to be received. It’s a good idea that you allow at least a week for your mailed ballot to reach your elections office. If your ballot isn’t in your county’s elections office by 7 p.m., Election Day, it will not be counted.

Political Agenda 09/23/2020

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Candidate forums set for Pasco candidates
The Pasco County NAACP is hosting two Zoom candidate forums to help voters become more educated before the Nov. 3 general election.

The forums will be conducted via Zoom on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, and will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., each night. Registration is required.

The Sept. 29 forum will feature candidates for U.S. House District 12, Florida Senate District 20 and Florida House Districts 36, 37 and 38. The link to register is tinyurl.com/y6ro5xwa.

The Sept. 30 forum will feature candidates for Pasco County Superintendent of Schools and Pasco County Commission District 3 and District 5. The link to register is tinyurl.com/y5gc3xkg.

Candidates who have agreed to participate include: Kimberly Walker, U.S. House District 12; Kathy Lewis, Florida Senate District 20 Special Election; Dan Endonino, Florida House District 36; Tammy Garcia, Florida House District 37; Brian Staver, Florida House District 38; Kurt Browning and Cynthia Thompson, Superintendent of Schools; Jessica Stempien, County Commission District 3; Brandi Geoit, Jack Mariano and Victor Rodriguez, County Commission District 5.

The Pasco County NAACP and the Pasco Unit of the League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County worked together to send invitations to all candidates in the Pasco County General Elections.

The Pasco NAACP is taking the candidate forums forward. The Pasco Unit of the League of Women Voters is unable to co-host because of a national league policy that requires at least two candidates in each election race participate in the forums.

For more information, email Clyde Carter, president of the Pasco NAACP, at .

Sheriffs endorse Danny Burgess
Danny Burgess, a candidate for Florida Senate District 20, has been endorsed by Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, according to a release from Burgess’ campaign.

Simpson endorses Maggard
Wilton Simpson, who is set to become president of the Florida Senate, has endorsed Randy Maggard in the race for State House District 38, according to a release from Maggard’s campaign.

Torres endorses Kathy Lewis
Florida State Sen. Victor “Vic” M. Torres Jr., has endorsed Kathy Lewis in the Florida State Senate District 20 race, according to a release from the Lewis campaign.

Political Agenda 06/24/2020

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Pasco voters won’t have to pay for postage
Supervisor of Elections Brian E. Corley has announced that voters who wish to vote-by-mail in the primary and general election will not have to pay postage to send in their ballot.

In a news release, Corley said that the step is being taken due to the unprecedented nature of the 2020 election cycle.

“Although the impact of COVID-19 on the election cycle is largely unknown, at a minimum, I believe that social distancing guidelines may inevitably create long lines and wait times at Early Voting Sites and Election Day polling places,” Corley said, in the release. “We are promoting vote-by-mail as a third option for casting a ballot in hopes of mitigating any inconvenience to voters at the polls. In these unprecedented times we are also taking the extra step of paying return postage for vote-by-mail ballots as a way of assisting voters to safely cast their ballot.”
Florida has had no-excuse absentee voting since 2002, and in 2016 the term absentee was officially changed to vote-by-mail by unanimous vote of the Florida Legislature. Requesting a vote-by-mail ballot can be done online at PascoVotes.gov, by phone at (800) 851-8754, or by signed written request (include your date of birth) mailed to P.O. Box 300, Dade City, FL 33526.

Vote-by-mail ballots are mailed approximately 40 days prior to each election when a request is on file, but voters can continue to request ballots up to 10 days before an election with requests being processed within 24 hours.

For more information on voting by mail, see our FAQ at PascoVotes.gov.

Burgess receives endorsements
Danny Burgess, who is running to fill the vacancy left by Sen. Tom Lee, in Florida Senate District 20, has received the endorsement of Lee and Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to Burgess’ campaign. Burgess, a Republican, is facing Democrat Kathy Lewis.

Published June 24, 2020

Some 2020 races decided; others up for grabs

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Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles and Sheriff Chris Nocco each will serve another four years — since no opponents came forward to challenge them by the qualifying deadline in the 2020 election.

Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley also will serve another four years, as his opponent withdrew. And, Mike Wells has been elected to Pasco County Property Appraiser, since his opponent Gary Joiner did not qualify.

Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley will serve another term in District 1, because opponent Christopher King withdrew. And, Pasco School Board District 2 incumbent Colleen Beaudoin has won another term because her opponent Adrienne G. Wilson withdrew.

Seats in other political races remain up for grabs.

Pasco School Board District 4 incumbent Alison Crumbley faces Joshua M. Stringfellow.

Pasco Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning is being challenged by David P. LaRoche and Cynthia Thompson.

Republican Kathryn Starkey incumbent in the race for Pasco County Commission District 3 faces Democrat challenger Jessica McCoy Stempien.

In District 4, an election is being held to fill the seat that’s being vacated two years early by Wells, who decided to run for county appraiser. Four Republican candidates are vying for the seat: Gary Bradford, Christina M. Fitzpatrick, Russell “Jeff’ Miller and Gabriel (Gabe) Papadopoulus.

Pasco County Commission District 5 incumbent Republican Jack Mariano faces challengers Brandi Geoit, a Democrat, and Victor Rodriguez, with no party affiliation.

Meanwhile, at the state level, another familiar face has stepped forward.

Republican Danny Burgess, of Zephyrhills, is competing with Democrat Kathy Lewis in a special election in Senate District 20. They are vying to fill the seat of Tom Lee, who stepped away from the seat early.

Published June 24, 2020

Results are in for Florida’s primary

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Florida’s voters went to the polls last week in a primary that captured national attention when Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum stunned political prognosticators by defeating the predicted winner Gwen Graham.

If he wins in November, Gillum would become Florida’s first black governor.

On the Republican side of the ledger, Congressman Ron DeSantis — endorsed by President Donald J. Trump — carried the day, defeating Adam Putnam, a longtime Florida politician, who had served as Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and five terms in Congress, representing Central Florida.

Locally, 85,907 voters cast their ballots in Pasco County, representing a 24.84 percent turnout of the county’s 345,879 registered voters.

“The turnout was considerably higher than I expected and, in this case, I’m never more happy to be wrong,” Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said, via email.

The 2018 Primary turnout represented a 66 percent increase from the last midterm primary in 2014, Corley said.

“It’s apparent the voters are more engaged than in previous cycles,” the supervisor of elections added.

Hillsborough County experienced a slightly higher turnout, with 219,118 ballots cast, representing a 26.16 percent turnout of the county’s 837,681 registered voters.

DeSantis and Graham garnered the most votes in the governor’s race among Pasco voters, while DeSantis and Gillum were the top vote-getters in that race in Hillsborough County.

While many races on the ballot were true primary choices, with voters deciding which candidate should represent the Democrats and Republicans in the general elections, the races for judges and school board members were nonpartisan, meaning winners could be named if a candidate secured more than 50 percent of the vote.

That happened in two of the three Pasco County School Board races on the ballot.

Allen Altman and Cynthia Armstrong were both re-elected to another term, which the winner of the seat vacated by retiring Steve Luikart will be decided in the general election, with a run-off between Megan Harding and Tara M. O’ Connor.

The Pasco race for the Circuit Judge 6th Judicial Circuit, Group 4, also will require a run-off in November between Davis Ellis and Roxanne Fixsen. In that race, none of the three candidates secured more than 50 percent of the vote.

TOP VOTE-GETTERS IN KEY RACES

Pasco County Republicans
Federal
U.S. Senate: Rick Scott

State
Governor: Ron DeSantis
Attorney General: Ashley Moody
Commissioner of Agriculture: Baxter Troutman
State Representative District 37: Ardian Zika

Pasco County Democrats
Federal
U.S. Rep. District 12: Chris Hunter

State
Governor: Gwen Graham
Attorney General: Sean Shaw
Commissioner of Agriculture: Nicole ‘Nikki’ Fried
State Senator District 20: Kathy Lewis

Local races, No Party Affiliation
Pasco County
Circuit Judge 6th Judicial Circuit
Group 9: Christine Helinger
Group 36: Doneene D. Loar
Group 40: Thomas H. “Tommy” Minkoff
Group 45: Rebecca Hamilton

County Judge
Group 7: Kent Compton

Pasco School Board
District 1: Allen Altman
District 3: Cynthia Armstrong
District 5:  A run-off will be held between Megan Harding and Tara M. O’Connor in the November general election.

Hillsborough County Republicans
State races
Governor: Rick DeSantis
Attorney General: Ashley Moody
Commissioner of Agriculture: Baxter Troutman
State Representative, District 64: James Grant

Local races, Republican
Hillsborough County Commission, District 2: Ken Hagan
Hillsborough County Commission, District 5: Victor Crist
Hillsborough County Commission, District 7: Todd Marks

Hillsborough County Democrats
Federal
U.S. Congress, District 12: Chris Hunter

State races
Governor: Andrew Gillum
Attorney General: Sean Shaw
Commissioner of Agriculture: Nicole ‘Nikki’ Fried
State Senator, District 20: Kathy Lewis

Local races, Democratic
Hillsborough County Commission, District 5: Mariella Smith
Hillsborough County Commission, District 7: Kimberly Overman

Hillsborough County School Board (No political affiliation)
District 1: William Henry Person and Steve Cona will have a run-off in the November general election
District 2: Stacy Hahn
District 4: Melissa Snively
District 6: Karen Perez and Henry “Shake” Washington will have a runoff in the November general election.

Complete results can be found at PascoVotes.com and VoteHillsborough.org.

Published September 5, 2018