Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender will be my guest on “Real News with Rick Outzen,” we will discuss who has qualified to run in the local races. The deadline for qualifying is noon on Friday, June 14.
According to escambiavotes.com, 24 candidates have qualified in local races so far:
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections – (Partisan)
- Robert Bender (REP)
Escambia County Tax Collector – (Partisan)
- Scott Lunsford (REP)
Escambia County Clerk of Court – (Partisan)
- Pam Childers (REP)
Escambia County Sheriff – (Partisan)
- Chip W. Simmons (REP)
Escambia County Commissioner – (Partisan)
- District 1 – Steven Stroberger (REP)
- District 1 – Jeff Bergosh (REP)
- District 4 – Ashlee Hofberger (REP)
- District 4 – Ron Helms (DEM)
- District 4 – Buck Mitchell (REP)
- District 5 – Steven Barry (REP)
Emerald Coast Utility Authority – (Partisan)
- District 1 – Vicki Campbell (REP)
- District 1 – Jim Faxlanger (REP)
- District 3 – Chase “Andy” Romagnano (DEM)
- District 3 – Larry Williams (DEM)
Escambia County School Board – (Nonpartisan)
- District 4 – Carissa Bergosh
- District 4 – Brian Ranelli
- District 5 – Thomas Harrell
- District 5 – Joshua Luther
- District 5 – Jim “Andy” Taylor
Pensacola City Council – (Nonpartisan)
- District 1 – Jennifer M. Brahier
- District 1 – Edward “Phil” Nickinson IV
- District 3 – Casey Jones
- District 7 – Delarian Wiggins
In the legislative races:
U.S. Congress
District 1
Aaron Dimmock Rep
Matt Gaetz Rep
Gay Valimont Dem
Florida Senate
District 1
Don Gaetz Rep
Lisa Newell Dem
Florida House
District 1
Michelle Salzman Rep
District 2
Alex Andrade Rep
Kim Kline NPA
Halet “Hale” Morrissette Dem
District 3
Joel Rudman Rep
State Attorney Ginger Madden Re-elected Unopposed
Public Defender Bruce Miller Re-elected Unopposed
Sorry Chase, don’t think that I ever took the LSAT. Is that your main qualification? A high pre-law standardized exam score, and a desire to make ECUA service free? How does that even work?
My response to Jack, first, my legal name is Chase Anderson Romagnano, my nickname Andy is derived from my legal middle name of Anderson, my great great great grandfather ZL Bettis was Probate Judge of Clarke County from 1856-1866, his daughter Tracie married Robert Jackson Anderson, whose son Shields Anderson was my mother’s grandfather, spent a better number of his years in York, Alabama.
My LSAT score was 161 in December 2008, what was yours? The other thing I would point out is I am an author of several books, one of which you can read online for free, Mobile: Future Dubai of the Gulf of Mexico
https://archive.org/details/mobile-dubai-of-the-gulf-of-mexico-92520-first-edition
It is a book basically about development, generally, I proposed basically designating much of 36609 zip code as a new high rise area, to basically buy out the property owners at 3 times the fair market value, most of the designated territory could have been bought for between $175 million-$200 million in 2020 dollars even at such an expanse, to re-designate as a high rise area because in Mobile, you cannot destroy any historic building, meaning there is nowhere to develop high rise and again, my great grandmother Connie Bea Hope was on Channel 5 for a quarter century and so those who remember the old days, remember who watched Dot Moore and then who watched Connie Bea and Estelle.
It takes $25 to qualify for ECUA but ultimately, its about putting it to the voters, I think you don’t know my story, the voters have a right to know, and at this time, Florida needs alternatives to requiring a JD to let persons practice law, I think my Bachelor’s education should be allowed, with what the major is, plus the body of my pro-se process, to be counted as a “Bachelor of Laws” equivalent by the Florida Bar Association and Florida Supreme Court to allow me to immediately begin studying for the Florida Bar Exam, this probably takes legislation but remember in 2022 when I did seek to run for Florida House of Representatives District 2 part of it was reforming our real estate licensure laws to bring us in line with forward thinking and progressive states like Mississippi, where someone can get a full real estate brokers license without any time as a sales person and if I had not suffered a number of crimes, to inhibit my getting it on normal schedule, I should have been a licensed broker for 3 years now, my position is, part of legal relief for my person in certain legal matters includes waiver of the 2 year as a salesperson requirement looking back to my intent circa 2019, and thus, I am allowed to take the broker’s test, there honestly should be diploma privilege for anyone with a SACS accredited college diploma of a 4 year program in a business major, who wants to take the broker’s test, as that allows you to sell from Perdido Key to Key West, no matter where your office might be, if you can find the clients.
I will go ahead and say I am pro-development, anyone who proposes the buyout of 8 square miles of a city in order for it to be replatted off street hierarchy and into grid pattern is clearly pro-development, I do think generally, it has to be neighborhood by neighborhood, maximum building heights should be relaxed in the city of Pensacola, because the reality is, at one time, a 30 story Island Business Center as an office tower was proposed for Orange Beach in the 2000s, never got off the ground, I think criticism of Mayor Russo, at least in development in terms of what projects were approved, you can look back 20 years, the modern Orange Beach was created under him, this is his legacy.
But this century, over 70% of new high rise development has been residential, especially in arts and entertainment districts, or to put it in Greater New Orleans terms, generally more people have day jobs in Metry than the CBD, but where people want to live in arts and entertainment districts, this is where densification demand rises.
Legally reside is any address that can go on a driver’s license, as mine is on mine, and on a voter registration, as it is on mine, I legally reside in District 3 but there is a question if I rightly sit on ECUA District 2, Benson’s P7 shows in 2022 that she paid the qualifying fee almost 2 months after, David Stafford said she had no late reports, Bender has told me that she had a check in dated June 6, 2022 and state law is, if that check was in, and not reported till August, campaign must pay fines on 2022 schedule, with it closed out that legal responsibility falls on the treasurer, after the third day, fines begin accruing at $500 a day with some limitations.
Generally, with my rightful District 2 seat, I don’t run in District 3, as I am owed back pay, and it is rather insulting to suggest a business graduate of Spring Hill College can’t do the work of an ECUA Board Member. The fact is the Salzman Bill is void law correctly applied, had it been passed and signed in 2021, it would be law with its text, in 2022 it had retroactive effect and what was retroactive text, there is no severability clause, it’s a dead letter, and it was never about term limits, it was about taking away appointment powers of board members and shifting personnel control more under Tallahassee.
Jack, I love what the American flag stands for, I love our freedom, thank God this is America, you think you can do a better job than me, go down and pay $25 and file your own qualifying papers, run for office yourself, I won 5,796 votes in 2022 even with media blackout towards my campaign when the main thing I sought to do was make ECUA service free without damaging the service quality of the agency. The people deserved to hear the argument that Connie Bea Hope’s great grandson wanted to put before them.
Good grief, Chase Romagnano qualified? I thought he was homeless. Don’t you need a legit home address?