The Laker/Lutz News

Donna DeWitt

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

St. Leo election is all about one thing: Lake Jovita

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A bill sits in a committee in Tallahassee that would remove part of the Lake Jovita community from St. Leo. Yet, that hasn’t stopped Raphael Davis from challenging longtime commissioner Donna DeWitt for her seat in the St. Leo government.

St. Leo is such a small town that a community that’s complained about taxes, nearby Saint Leo University and other issues, is literally right on the town hall’s doorstep. (Photo by Michael Hinman)
St. Leo is such a small town that a community that’s complained about taxes, nearby Saint Leo University and other issues, is literally right on the town hall’s doorstep. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

While Davis talks almost exclusively about the plight of Lake Jovita residents in the town, he has nothing to say about the de-annexation itself, saying he doesn’t “comment on pending legislation or speculation.”

“Since the beginning of the Lake Jovita community, a small portion has allegiance to the Town of St. Leo,” Davis said. “These Lake Jovita residents have, up to this point, quietly gone along about their lives and paid town taxes knowing they were receiving little or no services in return.”

Town taxes, Davis said, are out of line with what Pasco County charges to live in an unincorporated area, and have accumulated more than $1.2 million in cash and reserves because of it.

“I believe a more business-type approach would benefit all of the residents, reduce the current tax burden on all of our residents, and still maintain the town on a sound financial basis,” Davis said.

DeWitt, however, calls Davis’ candidacy just a continuation of the battle the town has had with some Lake Jovita residents since 2006. While she has heard complaints about taxes, she feels the bigger reasons have to do with Saint Leo University itself, a school that predates Lake Jovita by a century or so.

“When we make decisions, we try to be a voice for everybody in the town, not just for Lake Jovita,” said DeWitt, a nun with nearby Holy Name Monastery, who was first elected to the commission in 1997. “They get upset when the university puts up a tree or a light. They knew what was there when they built the community.”

Losing part of Lake Jovita won’t hurt St. Leo at all, DeWitt said, except create some changes on the commission itself when two members will be forced to resign.

“St. Leo will be fine,” she said. “We did it 100 years without them, we’ll continue to do it without them.”

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

Published April 2, 2014

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.