Gloves come off in D2 debate

By Duwayne Escobedo….

The District 2 Escambia County Commissioner “Meet the Candidates” forum gave off a warm and fuzzy feeling until the closing statements.

That’s when challenger Alan McMillan scolded one-term incumbent Doug Underhill over his controversial Facebook posts and lack of leadership.

“He does not accept people with different ideas than his own,” McMillan told the crowd of more than 100 people at Jim Bailey Middle School Wednesday night in reference to Underhill’s controversial Facebook outbursts.

McMillan added: “He’s on the side of way too many 4-1 votes. He thinks of it as a badge of honor. What he should be doing is leading 5-0 votes.”

Underhill created a firestorm asking a critic if she was “one of those people walking around wearing a vagina hat and screaming in the streets.” At the end of March, he insulted “March for Our Lives” protestors sparked by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., when he called them “little monsters” and “miscreants.”

The League of Women Voters and Perdido Key Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored the Q&A session that included the two Republican candidates and Democrat Scott Trotter. Each candidate had 45 seconds to answer 15 questions centered on Perdido Key issues and 45 seconds for rebuttals, if they wanted. The LWV allowed the candidates two minute opening and closing statements, as well.

Underhill’s supporters, such as Tim Pyle, defended the District 2 commissioner.

“A lot of people do get offended but those are the facts,” said Pyle, who Underhill appointed to the Planning Review Board.

Trotter, a late comer to the District 2 race filing in mid-March, also took a shot at Underhill, saying, “I will not insult you if you say something I disagree with or think is wrong.”

For his part, Underhill boasted about his achievements, such as pushing through the Perdido Key Master Plan. In his second term, he plans to have the Florida Department of Transportation transfer control to Escambia County over Perdido Key Drive along the barrier island and Beulah Road in the northwest part of the county.

He said decisions now come during the commissioners’ meetings instead of being dictated by county staff members.

“You can’t affect change without courage and tenacity,” Underhill said. “I have gotten things done in Escambia County.”

by Duwayne Escobedo