The Laker/Lutz News

Angelica Herrera

Black wins in landslide while DeWitt, Wilkeson ousted

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Being a woman in politics was not easy in East Pasco County Tuesday night.

It was man against woman in races in Dade City, St. Leo and Zephyrhills, and in each case, every woman — including two incumbents — lost.

Scott Black easily retained his city commission seat against challenger Angelica Herrera in Dade City, according to unofficial results from the Pasco County elections office. He won 570 votes — a little more than 80 percent — to make easy work of Herrera.

Black out-raised Herrera more than 3-to-1 leading up to Tuesday’s election, and was forced to defend his record on a variety of issues, including the expansion of a sewage treatment plant into a residential neighborhood.

The vote was much, much closer in St. Leo, where longtime commissioner Donna DeWitt lost her seat to Lake Jovita resident Raphael “Ray” Davis by just four votes — 59-55. However, Davis’ overall win was by 3.5 percent, as residents in part of Lake Jovita inside the town’s limits create more assurances they can separate from St. Leo if a bill in Tallahassee doesn’t go through.

DeWitt, who has served on the town commission since 1997, chose not to do any fundraising in her re-election bid.

In Zephyrhills, Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson lost her seat to former Zephyrhills High School principal Alan Knight. Although the fundraising between the two was neck-and-neck throughout the short race, Knight’s victory was not as close, winning 57 percent of the vote, or 481 ballots cast in his favor.

Election results won’t be finalized until Thursday, according to a spokeswoman with elections supervisor Brian Corley’s office.

Voters head to polls in Dade City, St. Leo, Zephyrhills

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After weeks of campaigning, and in most cases raising thousands of dollars, it’s time for voters in Dade City, St. Leo and Zephyrhills to head to the polls and make their choices in three hotly contested races.

Angelica Herrera is challenging longtime commissioner Scott Black in Dade City; it’s Raphael Davis vs. Commissioner Donna DeWitt in St. Leo, and Alan Knight is going to head-to-head with Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson.

Polls are open right now, and will remain open until 7 p.m.

Those heading to the polls need to make sure they bring two forms of identification — both signature and photo — according to Pasco County supervisor of elections Brian Corley. A driver’s license, for example, would consider to be both a photo and a signature identification, and a voter would not need to show anything more.

For those who don’t have proper identification, a provisional ballot may be required. This is a paper ballot issued at the polling place for those whose eligibility cannot be determined. A person casting a provisional ballot will have the right to present written evidence supporting his or her eligibility to vote to the elections office no later than 5 p.m. on the second day following the election.

In Dade City, the primary polling precinct is at First Baptist Church Dade City, 37511 Church Ave. Voters in St. Leo can go straight to the town hall, 34544 State Road 52, while Zephyrhills voters will head to Alice Hall Community Center, 38116 Fifth Ave.

Get some last-minute details of all the candidates through our “Experience vs. New Blood” coverage last week by clicking one of the links below:

• Herrera claims Black has ‘lost touch’ with Dade City
• St. Leo election is all about one thing: Lake Jovita
• Zephyrhills tests whether everybody knows your name

Commissioner Black in Dade City has raised the most money of any candidate, according to county election reports. His $9,875 is more than triple the $3,083 Herrera has raised through last week.

Knight and Wilkeson are neck-and-neck in fundraising in Zephyrhills, with Wilkeson raising $2,875, and Knight $2,600.

In St. Leo, DeWitt decided not to raise any money to defend her seat, compared to the $695 raised by Davis.

Some previous races were already decided. In St. Leo, James Hallett and Richard Christmas both earned their seats on the commission unopposed. Camille Hernandez won re-election in Dade City unopposed. And in Zephyrhills, Ken Burgess had no competition for his city council seat, while Gene Whitfield was elected the new mayor, all unopposed.

Visit LakerLutzNews.com tonight to get all the election results.

Mail-in votes racking up for municipal elections

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In less than 24 hours, polls will open in Dade City, St. Leo and Zephyrhills to decide three local government races. And it’s not clear if any last-minute campaigning by any of the candidates may matter.

Mail-in ballots already represent an average 7 percent turnout in all three municipalities. St. Leo is leading all the cities and towns in Pasco County with a 17 percent turnout by mail so far with 50 of a possible 286 votes already registered as of late Sunday, according to the Pasco County elections office.

Zephyrhills, where Alan Knight is challenging Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson, nearly 540 votes have already been mailed in, more than half the total of ballots cast in the 2013 election, where Kenneth Compton and Lance Smith retained their seats.

Dade City has had 240 ballots cast leading up to the final days before the election between Scott Black and Angelica Herrera, a little less than half of the total turnout the last time Dade City had an election in 2012 when Jim Shive and Bill Dennis were victors.

St. Leo, however, still has a long way to go. Unlike Dade City and Zephyrhills, where turnout is well below 20 percent, the most recent elections in 2013 represented a 51 percent turnout, with 157 of a possible 305 ballots cast. Donna DeWitt, however, will need to hope most of those are cast for hers as she caught in a race with Lake Jovita-supporter Raphael Davis.

Black, by far, has raised more money than any other municipal candidate in the county, with just under $10,000 through April 3. He’s out-raised Herrera more than 3-to-1, but has only slightly outspent her. Between March 22 and April 3, Black has raised just over $2,000. However, half of that has come from state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and marks the only contributions for Black this reporting cycle that came from outside Dade City.

Herrera raised $462.50 during the same time period, bringing her entire campaign war chest to just under $3,100. Herrera provided $100 of that herself, with another $100 coming from Saint Leo University president Arthur Kirk.

Fundraising in Zephyrhills remains neck-and-neck, with Wilkeson holding a slight $275 edge over Knight. Wilkeson raised $325 in the most recent reporting cycle, while Knight finished with $500. However, $200 of Wilkeson’s total came not only outside Zephyrhills, but outside Florida, while Knight picked up $150 from the Ferman family, and a $250 check from a Tallahassee political action committee representing firefighters.

DeWitt has maintained her position that she won’t do any fundraising for her seat, and will use her history and name-power to battle the $695 raised by Davis. His most recent donation came from a $100 cash donation made by Bill Brown of Dade City.

Polls open Tuesday.

Experience vs. New Blood

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Three elections, six candidates, and three incumbents — all with more than a half-century of government experience.

Voters head to the polls April 8 in Dade City, St. Leo and Zephyrhills, where they will decide, among other things, whether they want to keep longevity in their city government, or find a fresh perspective.

Each of these municipalities faced controversy in recent months. Dade City abruptly turned one high-level government job into two, pushing out a longtime employee. St. Leo could see its government shaken up later this year if parts of Lake Jovita successfully de-annex itself, possibly eliminating two commission seats. And, Zephyrhills is facing a tough decision on what to do with its top executive, where one race could easily seal the fate of City Manager Jim Drumm.

Three communities have their future in the balance, and every single vote has the potential to be the ultimate decider.

Dade City: Scott Black vs. Angelica Herrera
St. Leo: Raphael Davis vs. Donna DeWitt
Zephyrhills: Alan Knight vs. Jodi Wilkeson

Herrera claims Black has ‘lost touch’ with Dade City

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When Scott Black first took his seat on the Dade City Commission, Iraq had not yet invaded Kuwait to ignite the first Gulf War, George Bush (the first one) was still president, and spending more than a dollar for a gallon of gas probably meant it was premium.

Signs supporting both Angelica Herrera and longtime commissioner Scott Black have populated yards and streets around Dade City ahead of next week’s election. (Photo by Michael Hinman)
Signs supporting both Angelica Herrera and longtime commissioner Scott Black have populated yards and streets around Dade City ahead of next week’s election. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

A lot has changed in 24 years, and Angelica Herrera feels Black has not kept up. And that’s why she’s facing off against him next week.

“Mr. Black has had his chance,” she said. “But after (more than) 20 years, he has lost touch with the voters.”

That was most evident, Herrera said, when Black approved physically expanding a sewage plant into a neighboring athletic field in the Mickens-Harper neighborhood.

“This was most insensitive and not necessary, since the city had other options,” she said.

However, if Herrera wants any chance to beat Black, she not only faces a commissioner that has strong name recognition in Dade City, but she may need to overcome some of her eyebrow-raising actions, including walking out of a candidate debate last week.

This, Black said, has hurt Herrera’s position, because she has not “presented anything of consideration relating to either experience or fresh perspective.”

“She has not attended any city commission meetings or public events to make any effort to educate herself on the current issues,” Black said of Herrera. Quoting the late Gov. Lawton Chiles, Black said elected officials can either “grow” or “swell” in their positions, and he chooses to grow.

“It is very important to me that I enjoy and embrace the many challenges that come with the position, and continue to grow with it,” Black said. “As well, someone purporting to be only a fresh infusion of energy is usually not the best option, while a knowledgeable proven force is always better, and should be preferred.”

Dade City’s commission earned some unwanted publicity late last year when Commissioner Jim Shive surprised his colleagues in the middle of a workshop last October, pushing to separate the position of city clerk and city finance — which was then held by longtime city employee Jim Class.

Black spoke out against the move, saying a workshop was not the right forum to bring up such an issue unannounced. But his protests fell on deaf ears, and the move later prompted Class to resign.

“The process of dividing the position of city clerk and finance director was flawed and misguided from the start,” Black said. “It was deceptively billed as ‘progress’ when there was no present need to make the personnel change in a smoothly running department — especially in the first month of the new tightly constrained budget year.”

Herrera, however, remembers all of it differently, and says Black has misrepresented what happened.

“The fact is that numerous city commission meetings document that this matter was discussed publicly,” she said. “It did not just come up at the workshop for the first time as my opponent would like us to believe. It (really) has been overblown.”

Black said his primary regret was not speaking out more loudly, and drawing residents into the conversation.

“I wish that the community could have been more aware and alarmed, and willing to stand up and question this continued gradual abuse of power, and demand better of us,” Black said.

Both Herrera and Black have combined to raise $6,500 in this race, more than any other municipal election in Pasco County this cycle. And it seems both may need every penny.

For other parts in our Experience vs. New Blood story package, click here. 

Published April 2, 2014

Black takes commanding fundraising lead in Dade City race

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It’s just one week before voters decide whether to give Scott Black yet another term on the Dade City Commission, or turn his seat over to newcomer Angelica Herrera.

But if dollars were votes, Black may have this one in the bag.

Scott Black
Scott Black

In what was a very busy fundraising week for both candidates, Black out-raised Herrera $3,900 to $2,300. That now gives Black $7,825 through March 21, with Herrera amassing just a little over $2,600. And Herrera has needed nearly every penny so far, with just $28.40 left over in the bank up to the latest report, while Black still has $5,900 to spare.

The two have combined to raise more than $10,000, closing in on the $12,000 total raised in the 2012 municipal elections which featured two races.

As of 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, nearly 1,400 early votes had been cast in municipal elections across the county, according to the Pasco County supervisor of elections office, and more than 200 in this race alone.

Each vote will be quite costly for the candidates, however. In 2012, just 559 voters turned out for the municipal elections that saw victories for William Dennis and Jim Shive, each with a little more than 300 votes. A similar win for either of the current candidates would mean at this point Black has spent $6.24 per vote, and Herrera $8.64.

Over the last two weeks, Black has kept his contributions from Dade City residents with the exception of a $250 in-kind donation from Imagine Solutions Group of San Antonio, who did work on the commissioner’s website. His donors included former city clerk and finance officer Jim Class, who gave $200. Class resigned late last year after the commission decided to suddenly split his position during a workshop meeting.

JDR Properties of Pasco provided the biggest contribution in the period with $1,000, while Hampton Inn Dade City owner Small Street Hotels DC and attorney A.P. Gibbs chipped in $500 each.

Herrera’s contributions have all come from Dade City over the last two weeks, including a $1,000 check from physician David Hernandez and $600 from Peter Hernandez, who described himself in campaign documents as a student and part-time worker. Both David and Peter Hernandez share the same address.

Herrera also received $500 from Frias Family Enterprises Inc., which owns a store on Seventh Street.

The election for Dade City Commission is April 8.

Vote by mail deadline is April 2

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Any voter wishing to avoid having to head to a precinct on election day April 8 has until April 2 to request a vote-by-mail ballot.

After that, beginning on April 3, voters who wish to vote a paper ballot prior to election day can pick up their ballot at any of the three supervisor of elections offices in the county, or at their respective city halls.

Elections locally are taking place in three municipalities: Dade City, St. Leo and Zephyrhills. Longtime commissioner Scott Black is being challenged by Angelica Herrera in Dade City; longtime commissioner Donna DeWitt has competition from Raphael Davis in St. Leo, and the Zephyrhills race is between Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson and challenger Alan Knight.

Those picking up ballots on behalf of someone else will need a written request from the voter, designating them as the person authorized to carry out that ballot, the Pasco County elections office said in a release. The designee will be asked to provide a photo ID, and to complete an affidavit before the ballot can be released.

Designees are limited to picking up two ballots in addition to their own, unless the additional ballots are for immediate family members.

Elections office locations locally are at 14236 Sixth St., Suite 200 in Dade City, as well as 4111 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Room 105, in Land O’ Lakes.

For information, visit PascoVotes.com.

Two cities, town heading to the polls April 8

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Mid-term elections are still months away, but cities and towns in Pasco County will have a chance to choose local leaders in municipal elections in Dade City, St. Leo and Zephyrhills.

Qualifying ended Feb. 18 for municipal elections, and incumbents in those cities and town will face challengers. Winners will be decided April 8.

Residents living in those cities who want to vote must be registered no later than March 10, according to Pasco County elections supervisor Brian Corley. At the polls, voters should bring photo and signature identification, or they will be required to vote a provisional ballot.

Zephyrhills
Zephyrhills is getting a new mayor, and he didn’t even have to campaign.

Gene Whitfield, owner of Whitfield Funeral Home and Cremation Services on Gall Boulevard, will succeed Danny Burgess as mayor of Zephyrhills.

He will become the 20th mayor of Zephyrhills, and the fourth one in the last two years, following the retirement of Cliff McDuffie in 2012 and the resignation later that year of new mayor Steve Van Gorden.

The mayor position is largely ceremonial, with no voting power. The city council chooses a board president to run meetings.

Burgess chose not to run again so that he could seek a state House seat being vacated by Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

Also taking office unopposed in Zephyrhills is Ken Burgess, who was first elected in 2011 to replace Tim Urban, and didn’t draw an opponent in his first regular race in 2012.

The trip back to the city council dais won’t be so easy for Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson, as she’ll face off against community activist and retired educator Alan Knight on April 8. Wilkeson, the president and founder of WDA Design Group, was first elected in 2008.

Knight currently is the chair of the city’s parks and recreation board, and has been involved in the city’s interest in purchasing the abandoned Hercules Park on County Road 54 in recent months.

Dade City
Mayor Camille Hernandez is returning for another term on the Dade City Commission after failing to attract a challenger, but her colleague Scott Black will have to convince voters to keep him in a job he’s had since 1990.

Angelica Herrera filed and qualified just before the deadline to challenge Black. She has been civically active over the years, including work in the Tommytown revitalization efforts as well as the United Latino Council. Now she’s a center manager for Catholic Charities on Meridian Avenue in Dade City, according to her election paperwork.

Hernandez was first elected to the commission in 2006, winning re-election unopposed in 2010. She became mayor in 2012, a position that is similar to a board president that is selected by the other commissioners, and where she still gets a vote.

St. Leo
Raphael Davis and Donna DeWitt will face off for a seat on the St. Leo town commission. DeWitt is the current incumbent in Seat 1, and has served on the St. Leo board since 1997.

Davis, who did not list an occupation in his candidate filing, lives in Lake Jovita, a prominent community in St. Leo that has pushed for de-annexation from the town in recent years.

DeWitt is a nun at Holy Name Monastery. She ran unopposed in 2012 and 2010.

James Hallett, a monk at Saint Leo Abbey, won a new term on the board unopposed, while Richard Christmas — who resigned from the commission in 2012 — will take over the commission seat currently held by Mayor John Gardner. The mayor, who will now be replaced by a commission vote at its next organizational meeting, did not seek re-election.

San Antonio
There won’t be any need to open the precinct in San Antonio, yet the city will have two new faces on its commission. Dennis Berberich and Anne Marie Kibbe won seats after both failed to draw challengers in their at-large election.

Returning for another term is Elayne Bassinger, after Thomas Knight filed but failed to qualify for the election.

Berberich and Kibbe will replace Roy Pierce and Richard Gates, both who chose not to run again. Pierce doubled as the city’s building and zoning commissioner, while Gates also was the waterworks commissioner. Bassinger was the commissioner over parks.

Published Feb. 26, 2014.