Harrison, Nugent Face Off at Debate Candidates for State Attorney, U.S. Congressional District 2 Attend Political Forum

Candidates vying for Gulf County Sheriff, State Attorney 14th Judicial Circuit and U. S. Congressional District 2 debated issues of community concern at the Oct. 13 candidates forum at Capital City Bank.

The forum was the third in a series sponsored by the county's Republican and Democratic parties, Gulf County Chamber of Commerce and The Star.

Candidates answered questions submitted to event organizers before and during the debate, and were allowed opening and closing statements.

Sheriff's Race

In the Sheriff's race, incumbent Joe Nugent (Dem.) shared the stage with challenger Mike Harrison (Rep.), who resigned from the sheriff's office this June in order to run.

In his opening remarks, Nugent highlighted his 21 years in law enforcement.

In 2007, Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Nugent to complete the term of former Sheriff Dalton Upchurch, who resigned last year.

He has a total of 16 years with the sheriff's office and five years with the Port St. Joe police department.

Opening with a good news/bad news scenario, Nugent said he'd procured a 4 percent raise for Sheriff's Office employees in 2008-09 despite budget cuts and five lay-offs, which he said would leave the Sheriff's Office "shorthanded for the next couple years."

Citing the myriad functions of the Sheriff's office - responding to emergency management and fire calls, serving civil papers, transporting convicts, registering sex offenders - Nugent confided, "It's extremely difficult to keep the work up that we do."

Nugent said the next sheriff will face a rise in crime caused by the economic downturn and the continued abuse of prescription medication.

He stressed the need for employee retention, with the sheriff's office offering more competitive salaries and benefits, and greater recreational opportunities for the county's youth.

Harrison began his remarks by addressing the obvious.  His recent battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma left him with new hair growth considerably lighter than before his treatments.

"I don't look exactly like I did a few months ago," said Harrison, adding that he is now cancer-free and appreciative of the community's support during a difficult time.

Harrison shared his law enforcement resume. He joined the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 1991, spent nine-and-a-half years as a deputy and investigator in Gadsden County and joined the Gulf County Sheriff's Office in 2005.

In Gulf County, Harrison served as major and chief investigator.

Saying that a sheriff needs to be involved in the community, Harrison noted his years a Dixie Youth baseball coach and support for a Police Athletic League.

The League, said Harrison, would allow deputies to coach youth, "forging partnerships with the community and establishing relationships with children."

Q&A

Addressing the question, "What improvements or changes will you make in four years to make the department better?," Nugent stressed the need for enhanced security and increased community participation.

Advocating additional neighborhood watch groups, Nugent said, "It's very important for you to be part of what's going on."

He also noted his involvement in the Gulf County Prevention Coalition, formed to reduce teen alcohol abuse in the county.

Harrison advocated better training for sheriff's office staff and outlined three programs that he would implement to make the community safer: Operation Safe House, Operation Site Watch and Operation Safe Business.

In such programs, residents and business owners alert the Sheriff's office of a need for additional safety checks to their homes, businesses and construction sites.

The office responds by printing daily "hot sheets" of sites needing monitoring, and residents and business owners receive detailed print-outs listing the dates and times of each safety check.

Harrison also advocated placing signs on businesses listing emergency contact information in the event of a natural disaster.

All programs, said Harrison, could be implemented at "minimal cost."

Responding to a question on how the department could more efficiently use its manpower, Nugent said four officers are on the road at any given time - two in the north end of the county and two in the south.

"It's a long way from one end of the county to respond. I don't think we have enough," he said, adding, "We're about as short as we can cut."

Harrison took issue with the number of officers placed on traffic control on area highways.

"That's the highway patrol's job. We need to be in the community and able to respond," he said.

A final question asked Nugent if there was truth to the claim that his chief deputy asked sheriff's office employees to sign a petition supporting his candidacy.

If so, the question continued, do the employees who did not sign fear retaliation?

Nugent responded by saying that he never directed his staff to circulate a petition.

"I have not taken any retaliation. I haven't fired anybody, reprimanded anybody, cut any paycheck," he continued.

"This is a battle between me and Mike and not the employees of the Sheriff's Department."

State Attorney Race

Republican incumbent Steve Meadows debated Democratic opponent Glenn Hess in the State Attorney 14^th Judicial Circuit race.

Meadows cited what he described as a "record of success" as State Attorney, noting his efforts to reduce alcohol related traffic fatalities and identity theft of senior citizens.

Saying that his office has prosecuted "more trials in the history of the circuit," Meadows boasted that the 14^th Judicial Circuit leads the state in the number of felony offenders sentenced to prison.

Hess offered a competing version of Meadows' record, saying the circuit had the "fourth worst conviction rate in the state" in 2007, and the worst among small counties.

Answering a question about the changes he would make in office, Hess advocated weekly training programs to better prepare lawyers for trial and increase conviction rates.

In his 14-year career as a circuit judge, Hess said he discovered that "attorneys didn't know things that an intern should know."

Hess also said he would pair down the budget and "bring the technology of the 21^st century into the courtroom."

Meadows took issue with Hess' conviction rate statistics, saying the Florida Department of Corrections' website supports his assertions.

Disputing Hess' notion that attorneys are not adequately trained, Meadows sited in-house training by the National College of District Attorneys.

Meadows said he would "not apologize for going to Tallahassee and bringing jobs back to the Panhandle."

In justifying his budget increases, Meadows cited Gulf County's first victim's advocate and two full-time prosecutors.

"Expansions of services come at a cost," he said.

 Responding to the question, "Do you believe the Martin Lee Anderson case was handled correctly," neither Meadows nor Hess commented directly on the verdict.

Meadows said he thought "good people's reputations were sullied at the expense of political expediency," and noted that competing agendas "brought pressure to bear on the judicial process in a way that was shameful."

Recalling a meeting of circuit judges convened prior to the case, Hess said he vowed not to comment on the trial as it happened.

Noting that all rule of procedure were followed in the case, Hess added, "We do have a decision in the Martin Lee Anderson case and we're bound to honor and respect it."

U.S. Congressional District 2

With Democratic incumbent Allen Boyd a no-show, Republican Mark Mulligan took the stage alone to discuss his bid for U.S. Congressional District 2 of Florida.

Mulligan described an unconventional path to politics, recounting his years as a real estate and development business owner and earning a PhD in mass communication from Florida State University.

Identifying himself as a "scholar," not a politician, Mulligan said he could "no longer stand on the sidelines and watch our country face so many challenges," energy independence chief among them.

Mulligan expressed disappointment with the bailout bill and Congress' stands on immigration and national security.

"The most dangerous words in the English language are, ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help,'" he quipped.

While noting that Boyd had been successful at "placing money strategically across the counties," Mulligan said he was "more eager to work on national issues and legislation than working in the district."

Next week: Gulf County Commission District 1 candidates debate in Wewahitchka.

To read more about candidates for Gulf County Commission Districts 3 and 5, see last week's Star.