The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Richard Corcoran

Mulieri endorses candidate to replace her

By

After 20 years, Pasco County commissioner Pat Mulieri is retiring from elected office, a decision that has pulled four candidates — including three Republicans — into the race.

Mulieri, a Republican herself, knows there’s a primary coming up in August that will allow voters to choose from former state Rep. Ken Littlefield, Wesley Chapel entrepreneur Mike Moore and Zephyrhills financial analyst Bob Robertson.

And her choice? Bob Robertson.

Mulieri told The Laker/Lutz News that she first met Robertson through his work with the homeless, and later learned his wife was an outreach coordinator at a church in Zephyrhills.

“He believes, like me, in giving a hand up to those in need,” Mulieri said.

The commissioner said she was impressed with the fact that he walked the precincts collecting signatures to get on the ballot, talking to people and knocking on doors. And he’s done what he could in county government, spending time with the library board and even attending Pasco’s first Citizens Academy.

“Being a commissioner is a steep learning curve,” Mulieri said. “Bob has done his best to prepare himself for the job. I believe he will listen to citizens, study the issues and work to bring opportunities home to Pasco.”

Mulieri went public with her support on Sunday when she wished Robertson a happy birthday on Facebook, adding that “I support you 100 percent. You will be a great commissioner.”

Moore, who has by far raised more money in his campaign than Robertson and Littlefield combined, picked up an endorsement of his own this past week from state Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes.

“Mike Moore has spent his career building businesses and creating jobs,” Corcoran said, in a release. “He knows what it takes to operate a business and make payroll. It’s vital to have more leaders who can help make government more accountable and more efficient.”

Republican voters will decide their nominee in August, the winner facing Land O’ Lakes Democrat Erika Remsberg in the November election.

 

Weatherford honored by statewide chamber of commerce

By

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has named outgoing state Rep. Will Weatherford its 2014 Most Valuable Legislator.

Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, was honored along with 40 members of the state Legislature during a recent meeting in Miami.

The Florida Chamber presents the awards to lawmakers it says fought for pro-jobs initiatives to help make the state’s businesses more competitive while creating more economic opportunities for Florida’s families.

The Most Valuable Legislator award honors a single lawmaker for his or her outstanding legislative leadership and willingness to take a stand for free enterprise. The Distinguished Advocate award recognizes lawmakers who championed key business agenda legislation as determined by the Florida chamber.

“Early during the 2014 legislative process, the Florida chamber encouraged lawmakers to build on efforts to transition Florida to an innovation-based economy by putting the long-term health of Florida ahead of short-term politics,” said Mark Wilson, president and chief executive of the statewide organization, in a release.

During that session, lawmakers passed 17 Florida chamber-backed pro-business, pro-jobs bills, and defeated dozens of what the chamber said were anti-business bills.

Weatherford championed difficult, but necessary, issues like lawsuit abuse reform, pension reform and educational opportunities for students, the chamber said.

Local Distinguished Advocate award recipients included:

• Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, for championing digital learning, career and professional education academies, and school choice legislation as a means to improve the state’s school system.

• Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, for his work on state pension reform efforts, water policy initiatives and wage protection legislation.

• Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, for advocating Florida chamber healthcare priorities, including telemedicine and scope of practice reforms.

Commission race an open primary, other candidates qualify

By

A last-minute write-in candidate almost made the race for the Pasco County Commission District 4 race even more interesting than it already is. However, Grady Peeler Jr., pulled out of the race just as quickly as he entered last week.

Volunteers for Pasco County Commission candidate Bob Robertson gather in pray to lead off a sign-waving event last week near the intersection of State Road 54 and Eiland Boulevard, west of Zephyrhills. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Volunteers for Pasco County Commission candidate Bob Robertson gather in pray to lead off a sign-waving event last week near the intersection of State Road 54 and Eiland Boulevard, west of Zephyrhills.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

That leaves just Commissioner Henry Wilson Jr., to defend his seat against Mike Wells Jr., during an open primary in August that will allow all voters — no matter what their party affiliation is — to decide between the two Republicans.

Wilson is working hard to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself. He was first elected to the commission in 2010 after a major upset of incumbent Michael Cox, and is trying to stop being on the wrong end of another incumbent defeat, this time at the hands of Wells, the son of county property appraiser and former county commissioner Mike Wells Sr.

Wells entered the race with a boom, showing he has the ability to raise a lot of money fast. In just two months of campaigning, Wells has raised $45,600 compared to the just under $24,000 from Wilson.

But money never worried Wilson too much. In his first race, Wilson raised just $8,700 — pennies compared to the massive $163,000 campaign war chest collected by Cox, who at the time was the one Democrat on the commission.

If Peeler had qualified for the race, Wilson and Wells would’ve still met Aug. 26, but only Republicans would’ve been able to vote. Instead, all voters will have a chance to decide between Wilson and Wells, the winner claiming the District 4 seat.

In the other county commission race for the District 2 seat currently held by Pat Mulieri, all three Republican candidates — Ken Littlefield, Mike Moore and Bob Robertson — have qualified. They will battle it out in the August primary among Republican voters, the winner facing Land O’ Lakes resident Erika Remsberg, the only Democrat to file.

If Remsberg were to win, she would be the first Democrat on the commission since Cox departed in 2010.

Mike Fasano got a big vote of confidence from county residents as no one challenged him for his seat as the county tax collector. He will serve a two-year term, facing election again in 2016.

Also returning to their jobs without opposition are two school board members, Allen Altman and Cynthia Armstrong. The District 5 seat will see incumbent Steve Luikart face challenger Marc Yacht.

At the state level, however, Minnie Diaz said she got a lesson in how not to run a campaign. The Pasco-Hernando State College adjunct professor failed to qualify in her race to succeed state Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, after misunderstanding when she was supposed to file her financial disclosure form.

“I assume full responsibility,” Diaz said. “I did not fully grasp the process of qualifying week, and I did not understand what it truly meant. There was a certain amount of confusion on my part.”

Diaz had filed most of her paperwork a year ago, and even collected the necessary 986 signatures before Christmas. However, she said she believed she had until July 1 to file her financial disclosure form, but later learned that was only for incumbents.

Diaz filed that form, but more than two hours too late.

Because of that, former Zephyrhills mayor Danny Burgess wins the Republican nomination, and won’t have to go through a primary battle with Diaz. Instead, he can focus on his race in November against Democrat Beverly Ledbetter, who also qualified last Friday.

Returning to Tallahassee unopposed are Trilby Republican Wilton Simpson in the Senate, and both Land O’ Lakes Republican Richard Corcoran and Tampa Democrat Janet Cruz in the House.

Rep. James Grant, R-Tampa, earned a primary challenger on the final day of qualifying from Miriam Steinberg, a quality engineer for Honeywell Aerospace. They both will fight in a closed primary because Daniel John Matthews of Tampa, who says he works for a company called Cats on Deck, earned a spot as a write-in candidate. That means only Republicans will likely choose who represents House District 64.

Dan Raulerson, R-Plant City, won’t need a primary, but he will have to appear on the ballot after he received a write-in challenge from Jose Vazquez Figueroa, a self-employed Tampa resident.

Also getting a write-in challenge is Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, who attracted two opponents, Brandon Thebeau and Steven Warren, although neither will be listed on the ballot.

Rep. Mark Danish, D-Tampa, qualified for his race against Republican challenger Shawn Harrison. Voters in House District 63 will choose between them in November.

Published June 25, 2014

See this story in print: Click Here

Pressure grows on Scott to veto speed limit bill

By

AAA is not a big fan of raising the speed limit on Florida highways, and is asking Gov. Rick Scott to veto a bill that would do just that.

S.B. 392, which was introduced by state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, would allow Florida to join Maine as the only states east of the Mississippi River that would allow speeds above 70 mph. The bill would allow the Florida Department of Transportation to consider increasing speed limits by 5 mph on certain roads, meaning limited access highways could increase to 85 mph, highways outside urban areas 70 mph, and 65 mph on other roadways under FDOT’s jurisdiction.

But driving faster means more speed-related traffic deaths, AAA said. There are 16 states that allow speeds greater than 70 mph, and most are now well above the national average of 30 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“We’re deeply concerned for the safety of Florida’s roadway users with cars traveling at increasingly higher speeds on our interstates and other highways,” said Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president and chief public affairs officer for AAA, in a release. “Based upon similar action in other states, this change in state law will likely result in more crashes, injuries and deaths on our highways.”

NHTSA reported more than 10,200 deaths, or nearly a third of all motor vehicle fatalities, occurred in speed-related crashed in 2012, AAA said. The economic cost of speed-related crashes is more than $40 billion annually.

In the Florida Senate’s own analysis of the bill’s impact, a report from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program showed crash and fatality rates increased more when speed limits were increased from 55 to 65 mph, compared to a 65 to 75 mph increase. Yet, the Federal Highway Administration still points out that “there is clear and convincing evidence that crash severity increases with individual vehicle speed.”

The Senate’s analysis also pointed out that fuel efficiency drops the faster a vehicle goes, possibly more than a mile per gallon for each mile per hour a car increases speed.

The bill passed the Senate 27-11 on April 24, and the State House 58-56 on Wednesday. Locally on the Senate side, Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and Tom Lee, R-Brandon, both voted for the bill, while John Legg, R-Lutz, voted against.

In the House, only Reps. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes; Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel; and James Grant, R-Tampa, voted for it.

 

In Print: Spending $119,000 on a campaign with no opponent

By

State Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, may find his return to Tallahassee an easy one in the November election, especially if he doesn’t draw an opponent.

But the man in-line to become the House Speaker in late 2015 has spent more than $9,000 a month on his re-election campaign, and far more than any other House candidate, whether they have an opponent or not.

Corcoran knows he’s spending a lot, but he’s using the election as a way to connect with constituents, a lot of the nearly $119,000 already spent on events like tele-town halls that draw thousands of people.

“If there’s any chance you get where you can communicate with the voters and get their input, we do it,” Corcoran told reporter Michael Hinman. “Anytime you get input from the voters, that just makes you much more effective.”

But what are election observers saying about the spending spree? You’ll have to find the print edition of The Laker/Lutz News this week to learn more.

Amy Deeb also wants to make some people connections, but in a completely different way.

The 16-year-old Sunlake High School student will spend her summer in India as part of a U.S. Department of State program that encourages young people to learn different languages. Deeb will immerse herself in Hindi.

“I figured if I’m going to go for it, I may as well pick something that’s so, in my mind, different from what I could ever experience in America,” Deeb told reporter B.C. Manion.

And it will be the first language outside of English Deeb has learned since she picked up American Sign Language.

While Deeb is preparing for her trip to a new continent, B.C. as her own trip idea a little closer to home. As part of her “Worth the Trip” series, B.C. introduces us to Gamble Mansion near Ellenton.

Gamble Mansion in Ellenton is the only remaining antebellum plantation house in South Florida. The park is open to visitors every day. The mansion is open to visitors, by guided tours only, Thursdays through Mondays. (Photo by B.C. Manion)
Gamble Mansion in Ellenton is the only remaining antebellum plantation house in South Florida. The park is open to visitors every day. The mansion is open to visitors, by guided tours only, Thursdays through Mondays. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

The house and surrounding park is open to the public, and carries with it a significant amount of history, especially around the Civil War era. Among other things, it is said to be a place where some of the leaders of the Confederacy hid out in the aftermath of that conflict.

All of these stories and more are in this week’s The Laker/Lutz News, available in newsstands throughout east and central Pasco County as well as northern Hillsborough County. Find out what has your community talking this week by getting your local news straight from the only source you need.

If The Laker/Lutz News is not coming to your door, call us to see where you can get your copy at (813) 909-2800.