A.G. Gancarski
The vast majority of Florida’s law enforcement leaders fell in behind Gov. Rick Scott‘s Senate bid, in an unsurprising phalanx of endorsements Monday that coincided with Scott rolling out his Florida Strong Coalition.
Per the media release from Scott’s campaign: “Sheriffs in attendance recognized Governor Scott’s leadership during times of crisis, his commitment to maintaining open communication with law enforcement leaders, and his work championing investments and legislation that have supported public safety by providing law enforcement organizations with the resources they need.”
“Throughout my time as governor, I have been honored to partner with Florida’s law enforcement leaders to champion important public safety investments and legislation to keep our families, visitors and communities safe,” Scott said.
Scott lauded the close cooperation between state and county law enforcement, pivoting in his media release quote to a criticism of federal efforts.
“Unfortunately,” Scott said, “we have not seen the same public safety leadership we have here in Florida at the federal level. We have seen the FBI fail time and time again to take action when they were warned about impending tragedy in Florida, with no accountability or transparency for the families whose lives were forever changed. It’s infuriating that the FBI has ignored our calls for answers, and that politicians in Congress have not done more to demand responsibility. Florida families deserve more.”
The Florida Democratic Party, in a statement, attributed the endorsements to “personal favors Rick Scott called in from Sheriffs.”
The following 55 Florida sheriffs have endorsed Scott’s Senate campaign:
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri
Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell
Baker County Sheriff Scotty Rhoden
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford
Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, Jr.
Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast
Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels
Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk
Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter
Desoto County Sheriff James Potter
Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly
Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith
Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz
Glades County Sheriff David Hardin
Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison
Hamilton County Sheriff Harrell Reid
Hardee County Sheriff Arnold Lanier
Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden
Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis
Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister
Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar
Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts
Jefferson County Sheriff Mac McNeil
Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott
Levy County Bobby McCallum
Liberty County Sheriff Eddie Joe White
Madison County Sheriff Ben Stewart
Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder
Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper
Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley
Okeechobee County Sheriff Noel Stephen
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd
Putnam County Sheriff Gator Deloach, III
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson
Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma
St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar
Sumter County Sheriff Bill Farmer
Suwannee County Sheriff Sam St. John
Taylor County Sheriff Wayne Padgett
Union County Sheriff Brad Whitehead
Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood
Wakulla County Sheriff Jared Miller
Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson
Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews
One comment
Jodi Hart
June 12, 2018 at 6:12 pm
Not surprising Rick Scott has 55 Sheriffs supporting him considering he has them all in his pocket to keep putting everyone behind bars even if they are innocent. It makes me sick the police get paid by him for every person they arrest. Just hard to get actual proof. Also the corruption that goes on in the correctional system is disgusting.
Comments are closed.