By Matt Wiley
Although there weren’t too many of them, the votes are in for the 2014 Primary Election (held on Aug. 26), which has determined which names officially will appear on the General Election ballot in Wesley Chapel on Tuesday, November 4. In addition, five new judges were elected on Primary Day.
Even though Florida is electing a governor again this year, 2014 is not a Presidential Election year, and the turnout at the polls for the recent Primary Election sadly reflects just that. Of the more than 36,000 registered voters in the 12 voting precincts in Wesley Chapel’s 33543, 33544 and 33545 zip codes, only 4,096 ballots were cast — for a voter turnout of only 11.3 percent.
In Pasco County, there are more than 301,000 registered voters, but only 44,913 ballots were cast — a 14.92-percent voter turnout. Not only was Wesley Chapel’s turnout a dismal three points lower than the county’s turnout in the Primary, our precincts comprised only 9 percent of the county’s votes, even though our area makes up more than 12 percent of the county’s registered voters.
Compare those disheartening numbers with the 2012 Presidential Election, when Wesley Chapel had a 72.7-percent voter turnout, with nearly 30,000 ballots cast. Voters in our precincts made up about 13 percent of Pasco County’s total 310,322 registered voters and, with just more than 215,577 ballots cast countywide, our precincts totalled more than 14 percent of the ballots cast in 2012.
While the Aug. 26 election was “just” a primary and voters had to be registered with the party for which the primary was being held (in most races), local elections are where voters’ voices actually can be heard most. The five judges elected in August and the winners of the November General Election will be making the decisions that could directly affect your community. So, please get out there and vote!
By the way, the deadline to register with the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections office (in order to vote on Nov. 4)is Monday, October 6, with early voting beginning Saturday, October 25, and running through Saturday, November 1.
Primary Results
As everyone knows from the neverending opponent-bashing commercials on both sides, former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) will go head-to-head against current Gov. Rick Scott (R-Tallahassee), who is hoping to keep the state’s top elected office for another four years. Crist won 74.37 percent of the statewide vote against Nan Rich (D-Weston), with 1,249 of those votes cast in Wesley Chapel, or about 80 percent of the total ballots cast in our twelve precincts.
Meanwhile, Gov. Scott also steamrolled past opponents Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder (R-Sarasota), who earned just more than 10 percent of the vote, and Yinka Abosede Adeshina (R-Tallahassee), who earned just more than one percent of the state’s ballots. Wesley Chapel cast 1,839 votes for Gov. Scott, who won about 88 percent of the vote in our precincts.
Florida voters also had to choose who would appear on the ballot against incumbent Attorney General Pam Bondi (R-Tampa). George Sheldon (D-Tallahassee) defeated Perry E. Thurston (D-Ft. Lauderdale) with 60.66-percent of the vote, with 988 of those ballots cast in Wesley Chapel, which represented about 67 percent of our vote.
Locally, Wesley Chapel Republicans also helped decide whose name would make it onto the ballot against Erika J. Remsberg (D-Land O’Lakes) to replace outgoing Dist. 2 County Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who is retiring after her current term, which will mark 20 years representing our area. In the running were former State Rep. Ken Littlefield, current Wesley Chapel Republican Club president Mike Moore and Zephyrhills resident Bob Robertson.
The Pasco County Supervisor of Elections office reports that Moore cruised past both of his opponents with 55.36 percent of the county’s vote, with 1,137 of those ballots cast in Wesley Chapel precincts. Littlefield received 27.58 percent of the county’s vote, while Robertson finished with just 17.06 percent countywide.
“I’m humbled by the support our campaign has received from so many people from across Pasco County,” Moore said, following the announcement of the Primary Election results on August 26. “I also deeply appreciate all of the volunteers who have worked very hard toward our victory. Now, we look forward to the General Election in November. I’m excited about the opportunity to share our campaign message with even more voters in the coming weeks. We are focused on creating jobs and building a better future here in Pasco County “
A number of 6th Circuit Court (which serves citizens of both Pasco and Pinellas counties) judges also were elected, including Susan St. John, who beat out Laura Snell in Group 1; Alicia Polk defeated Ken Lark and Alan Scott Rosenthal in Group 2; Kim Sharpe narrowly defeated Brian Battaglia in Group 16; Phil Matthey beat Amanda Colon in Group 21; and Bruce Boyer defeated Jon Newlon in Group 35.
In the Pasco County School Board race, although Wesley Chapel schools are split between the District 1 and 2 seats that currently are held by Allen Altman and Cynthia Armstrong, respectively, both ran unopposed and automatically earned their seats for another four-year term. But, the entire county voted for the District 5 seat and incumbent Steve Luikhart was able to hold on against opponent Mark Yacht with more than 72 percent of the county’s vote.
In our next issue and at WCNeighborhoodNews.com, we’ll give you more info about the candidates Wesley Chapel will be voting for on November 4.
No comment yet, add your voice below!