Thank you Beulah!

With the release today of precinct by precinct data by the SOE's site--it is now official--Bergosh won Beulah.  Both of Beulah's precincts!

There were lots of conversations, there was lots of speculation.

Some online haters on online chat sites that are actually simply echo chambers of hate were CONVINCED that my victory was somehow illegitimate.  

Many of these folks were just sure that Beulah--the community where I have lived for the last 16 years, the community where I raised my family and sent all my kids to Beulah Elementary School, the community where I have lots of friends,  the community my opponents PLASTERED with signs----was going to vote me out.  This will sure rattle their collective cages and give them fits, what I'm about to point out to these haters that were convinced I couldn't carry my own back yard.  They were just sure of it as they talked online.  Sure of it!!!!

And then along comes the primary breakdown and lo and behold--what do you know.

I carried Beulah's precincts, both of them (43 and 114)

Thank you Beulah!

Not only that, but I carried every precinct in District 1 with only two exceptions (26 and 86)--Bellview area.

So yes it may be true that more than 2/3 of registered voters did not vote in this election.

Yes it is true that I did not get 50% of the votes from the less than 1/3 of District 1 voters that participated.

But here is a newsflash for all haters:  I won.  Hands down.

Just look at the precinct by precinct numbers.  There was an election.  There were four competitors.  I received the most votes.  I won by nearly an 1100 vote margin.  

Attention all haters that hate me and consistently underestimate me:  I'll be here for the next 50 months!  and in 4 years and 2 months (50 months) we can run it again if you want!

Until then, I'll keep working--you keep hating!

Thoughts on the Primary Part IV: Was I Overly Magnanimous When I Said My Opponents Didn't Go Negative?

 

A picture of an Andy Marlette cartoon similar to this one (above) hangs currently outside the office of the District 2 Escambia County Commissioner.  This one, above, is a much better version of it though!

After it became apparent I won the election on August 18th, I was called first by Jonathan Owens who congratulated me on the victory and conceded the election.  A short time later, I received a similar call from Jesse Casey.  He and I had a great conversation and we discussed the potential of collaborating on a number of issues going forward for the betterment of the district and the county.

So naturally, when called by the media that same night, I was in high spirits and a great mood, and I was gracious and magnanimous when quick to point out my perception that the race was by and large a "clean, issues-focused contest."  This was my perception based upon the fact that I had blinders on and I DID NOT look at social chat sites in this election for the most part--- and instead I remained focused on my race and the finish line and the checkered flag on August 18th. 

So was I overly magnanimous when I said my opponents didn't go negative?

Since the election, I have now had the opportunity to peruse several web sites, Facebook sites, etc.  I also watched a "Blab" TV special one of my opponents was apparently running during the election. Sadly--the local realtor who was the "host" of this "program" made some statements about me and my family that were straight up lies.  Outright, bald-faced lies.  And this particular opponent DID NOT correct his host as he should have done.  This is disappointing.  This was a negative attack by proxy based upon false information--a set-up job.  This opponent ultimately came in third place, being beaten badly by both myself (by 17 points) and by Jesse Casey (by 8 points).  This same individual posted pictures and videos with characters wearing ridiculous monster costumes and #hashtag signs talking about what he deserved.....blah, blah, blah.  

 

Dancing in monster-costumes with ridiculous hashtag signs in the streets

didn't help this year's 3rd place finisher.  He still lost, and he lost badly...

It meant nothing and worked for him about as well as a belly-flop from the high dive in a pool drained of water. Newsflash:  In local contests folks do not like negative ads and they do not work!  And by the way, as Clint Eastwood famously quipped in one of his movies---"deserve's got nothing to do with it!"  and this opponent in this election was dispatched, handily, along with the costumed creatures and ridiculous hashtags..

I've also come into possession of some campaign literature from my opponents that I did not know existed on election night.  I was not aware until after the campaign that the second place finisher in the election put my picture on one of his mailers exclaiming that I "bicker" instead of work.  Sorry to see this---because listen--if you have to resort to putting an image or likeness of your opponent on your mail-piece--that is going negative.  Believe me, I wouldn't do it ever because it is an attack--even by the picture that is used it can be construed as an attack.  And it should not be done--people don't like this.  This particular opponent came in 2nd place.  For the third straight election.....

An example of a negative attack on opponents contained in one of the mailers from 2016 3rd place finisher (of 3 candidates in that race) in the D1 Commission primary Karen Sindel--where she attempted a silly "report-card" style shtick utilizing the worst pictures available of her opponents combined with ridiculous claims

So let's talk about a positive campaign versus a negative campaign, and what a negative attack campaign is.......

A positive campaign never mentions one's opponent and does not bash him/her.  A positive campaign describes the attributes the candidate will bring to the position, his/her experience, his/her vision, his/her strategy, his/her endorsements, his/her education and achievements, etc. etc.  These are the types of campaigns I have consistently run in every campaign in which I have participated.  I have NEVER ONCE printed an image of an opponent on any mail piece or on my website.  Because to do so is negative.

Negative campaigns come from candidates that are desperate and lacking vision and/or resources and/or a message that resonates with voters.  Some common themes of negative campaigns are:

--Lying about an opponent's record.

--Using surrogates to attack an opponent to keep hands clean.

--Putting an opponent's likeness on campaign literature

--Naming (by title or name)an opponent in a negative light--disparaging him/her.

Unfortunately--as I now take the time necessary to look at the multiple websites and literature of all my opponents in this race--it appears that I was overly magnanimous in my assessment of the election.  I was simply unaware of the savage attacks online and on mail pieces that were happening during the campaign.

Nope, this was a dirty, ugly campaign after all--that did not have to be.  Truly disappointing.

But hey, in 4 years and 2 months we can do it all over again if folks want to.  In 50 months--we can go again!  (wow that is a LONG time--reminds me of Leslie Nielsen's scene in Creepshow--"I can hold my breath for a long time!....")    

I'll be ready, I'll be waiting, I'll be POSITIVE, and most importantly---I'll once again be victorious should I choose to run again for this office.

50 Months... Jeez, that's a long, long time from now......

Thoughts on the Primary Part III: How Did the Polling Play Out; How Did it Compare to Election Day Vote?

A picture of an Andy Marlette cartoon similar to this one (above) hangs currently outside the office of the District 2 Escambia County Commissioner.  This one, above, is a much better version of it though!

Winning an election is something that requires diligent effort, family and friends' support, intelligence, the right candidate, the right message, intuition, deft marketing, good campaign literature/materials, a strong campaign  "team,"-- and money.

As I proceeded with my campaign this go round in 2020--I knew it would be a tough election for me.  And this was even before COVID-19 and the difficulties this pandemic has caused all candidates in all races.  

We have a major FDOT (state) road project that is running 18 months behind schedule and causing MAJOR traffic issues to the largest area of my district, I have multiple neighborhoods with major drainage issues for which they blame me, and there are hundreds of citizens that are mad about runaway growth out in NW District 1----and blame me for all of it even though much of it was approved prior to my assumption of this office in late 2016. Add to this the OLF 8 development that has angered many  AND--there were/are active multiple facebook chat sites that have a couple of dozen members each  that disparage me continuously on a regular basis---- fomenting anger and hostility towards me constantly---attempting to remove me at election time.  This combined with what would prove to be a dismally small percentage of voters actually participating in this off-cycle primary election (more than 2/3 of the voters did not vote in the August 18th Primary Election)--and conditions were ripe for my potential ouster from this office; the conditions were perfect for a challenger to be successful against me in this election.  And I knew it.

So having the right message, the right strategy, and the right data, was critical for me to win re-election.

When I successfully ran for this office first in 2015-2016----I was fortunate in that I was able to go to 8,637 District 1 houses personally, door to door.  I learned a lot about what was/is important to citizens then, which allowed me the knowledge to put together a first hundred day plan for that election.

I utilized that information, plus input from citizens garnered this time from four years on the job talking to constituents in town halls, at coffee meetings, and at advisory committee meetings in order to formulate a guidance document, a strategic plan, that would be the centerpiece of my election.  I called that plan NEXT4Escambia--and it was very well received by citizens and I will be putting the ideas from that plan forward over the next four years now that I have won this election. 

POLLING DATA WAS THE KEY TO THIS ELECTION FOR ME

Nothing was more important and key to my victory than the data I gleaned from my multiple polling done with Gravis Marketing, though.  Nothing else even came close....

There were, to my knowledge, 7 polls run in my race for re-election as the D1 County Commissioner.  Of these 7--I have the results of 6 of them as 2 were run and published by INWeekly-and I personally ran 4 polls myself with Gravis Marketing: On February 1st, May 25th, June 26th, and July 22nd--I ran polls with similar questions in order to triangulate my position in the race in real time in the lead up to election day.  The 7th poll run was (I believe) put out in early July and it was a three-question survey that asked about the Presidential contest, my D1 race, and then one other question.  I believe Jesse's team ran that one and I never saw the results.  My guess is that I probably had a 10-point lead over Jesse at that point, and a 20 point lead over Jonathan.  Jimmie Trotter was never a factor in the race according to my polling.

I was never behind in any poll of which I was aware--even though some mixed signals were intentionally sent from "Rick's Blog" the day before the election--falsely intimating I was not leading every poll and not the front-runner but rather "in the running"--whatever that was supposed to mean.  It was bad information, fake news.  I led EVERY poll and was always the front-runner in this campaign and I challenge Rick Outzen or anyone else for that matter to show me data pointing to anything but this. (And the fact that Rick Outzen put out messaging signalling I was not leading in all polls is not surprising;  the fact he never disclosed that his pollster is/was Jesse Casey's Campaign Manager also--well that was a complete lapse in journalistic integrity.  Complete.  But not surprising.)

So from all of this polling data, I quickly ascertained that my only real competition in the race was Jesse Casey.  I held a large lead over him and the rest of the field in the early polling, but he steadily eroded this lead in each successive poll, and he had momentum going into election day.  Here is the way the polling looked, among Decided D1 voters of all parties through the first part of this year leading up to the election in my polling:

                     Feb 1st                May 11th                June 25th                July 19th               Primary (8-18)                        

Bergosh         52%                     46%                       45%                           42%                            38.7%                         

Casey             31%                    30%                        33%                           34%                            31.02%

Owens           13%                     16%                        17%                           14%                            22.48%

Trotter            4%                      8%                           5%                            10%                              7.8%

So the glide slope to the election was pretty consistent, with me in the 40s, Jesse in the low 30s, Jonathan in the teens (and trending downward in the last poll before the election) and Trotter struggling to get out of single digits.

The big surprise for me on Election Day was the extent to which Jonathan rose and Jesse and I went backwards.  I had predicted a much closer election margin between Jesse and I;  I had predicted it

Bergosh 40%, Casey 35%, Owens 18% and Trotter 7%.  My prediction was close, however Jonathan managed an 8.5 point rally that actually pulled from all the other candidates somewhat equally;  3.3% from me, 3% from Jesse, and 2.2% from Trotter.  And that is how we got where we ended up on election day.  And that is how I won this election.  With hard work, a good team, but most importantly with good data.

Thoughts on the Primary Part II: Who Were the Candidates?

A picture of an Andy Marlette Cartoon similar to this one (above) hangs currently outside the office of the District 2 Escambia County Commissioner.  My version is much better though!

Now that the race for the District 1 Commissioner is over, and I have prevailed, there have been some lingering questions put to me by some friends and also some online haters about this race.  Because I won in the primary and there is no General Election opponent of a different party--I will (if the Good Lord wills it and I don't die) serve the next 4 years and 3 months as the D1 commissioner.  But there are curious questions out there from some.....

So I'm going to go through some of the salient aspects of the race over the next week in a series of blog posts and then this one will officially be in the history books and my rear-view mirror forever as I serve the next nearly 51 months as commissioner, as the 2020 victor in this race.

After my General Election victory in November of 2016 by a 69%-31% Margin--- I knew I was going to run for re-election for my D1 commission seat in 2020--as there were/are a ton of issues in the works for which I wanted to see to completion. So I pre-filed early, in October of 2018.  I subsequently mapped out a fundraising strategy that included two (2) major fundraisers in 2019 (March and October) which were smashing successes and which allowed me the war-chest necessary to conduct a proper and successful campaign.

On April 2nd of 2019 (my birthday), Jesse Casey pre-filed to run against me.  This would be his third run at the office--after having been defeated in both the 2012 and 2016 primary elections.  Full disclosure-I think highly of Jesse;  I even hired him to do some concrete work at my house in early 2018.  And he did great work on a concrete slab at my house.  At the completion of that project he and I were talking, and I asked if he was going to run again, against me, and he was honest and forthright saying "Yes, I'm probably going to run again."  And he did.

In January of 2020 District 2 Commissioner Doug Underhill's office aide had received an attorney's opinion that he could keep his job with D2 at the county while also running in a partisan election against me for the D1 seat.  So Jonathan Owens, office aide to Doug Underhill,  pre-filed to run in early January of this year to run against me as well.

(The PNJ took interest in this race early, and asked my opinion about it.  I correctly predicted the outcome in this PNJ article from January 10th when I stated there would be no change to whom it was that occupied this seat after the primary.  I was right.)

Early in the spring of 2020, the fourth candidate, Jimmie Trotter, pre-filed.

So we had a four-man Republican primary race, and upon the final date for candidate filing when no NPA or DEM candidate filed--I knew it would be an election settled in the primary.

I also knew it would be an election that would not have a runoff, as in Florida---partisan primary runoff elections have been discontinued for years.  

It would be an election where the candidate with the most votes on primary election day, August 18th, would be the victor.

Thoughts on the Primary Part I: "Tool-Boy" Marlette and PNJ have NO Say, and NO Sway :)

Andy Marlette and the PNJ, although they tried, exerted ZERO influence in this year's elections--mine in particular......NADA, Zilch...Hopefully this holds true in November as well.....

In the waning days of my recent successful primary election campaign, I must admit I was somewhat astonished that the PNJ in general, and their cartoonist Andy Marlette specifically, had not attempted to interfere more openly in my election.  There's a history between me and the PNJ---and after they pulled this disgusting, unprofessional stunt on me earlier this year--I expected more attacks.  

Then came Friday, August 7th and an out of the blue,  non-contextualized attack cartoon by Marlette against me. (below-photograph taken 8-29-20 from PNJ online site of PNJ cartoon published Friday 8-7-20).  

Just out of the clear blue sky this cartoon arrived.  The day they published it was the day before the start of 8 days of early voting for my election.  Now, I chuckled to myself when I saw this garbage cartoon  pop on the Friday before early voting--thinking Andy had probably toured my district and seen one or more of my 19 billboards deployed in D1.  Given PNJ's proclivity for attacking me-- I naturally assumed there would be an attack editorial in the subsequent Sunday paper.  But there wasn't.   Instead--they attacked two different Republican candidates (actually three different Republicans).  Anyhow--I did another Marlette Manipulation (above) and actually succeeded in properly contextualizing the dishonesty and duplicity of this publication and their cartoonist in particular--along with what is really true about them that should be plastered on billboards around this town.

And now that I have decompressed from the primary and I begin serving (if the Good Lord wills it and I do not die) what will be at a minimum the next 51 months as Escambia County's District 1 Commissioner (that's a LONG time PNJ)---I see in today's paper a "letter to the editor" is published "praising" this cartoon from 8-7-20 bashing me from before the primary.

So now is the time to challenge this misplaced "praise."  And to call out PNJ for what they are....

First off---The PNJ and their editorial board are dishonest, fake news.  

Everyone know this. They publish extreme viewpoints that alienate the majority of their ever-dwindling subscriber base--bashing Jesus Christ and Christianity, bashing public officials (exclusively conservative ones) and they promulgate viewpoints that, at least  to my district according to MANY I speak with, come off as extremely left-leaning, liberal, and out of step.  I guess PNJ doesn't understand this, but my goodness--with print-media revenues declining you would think they would at least be a little more covert with their outright contempt for the center-right majority in Escambia County.  

But no.

More troubling, though, are the personal attacks that are unfair and untrue.  For example and #1.) --the cartoon they published on 8-7-20 deceptively misleads the reader to think that I am a pawn of the folks in the community that write campaign checks--the so-called "downtown crowd." I'm not and they know it. I have routinely voted against contributors' wishes and for what was best for the people I represent--and I will continue to do so when appropriate. Meanwhile, though, every other incumbent commissioner--and several challengers in multiple other races--also got contributions from these same folks.  So why attack me exclusively?  More importantly---the only incumbent Democrat commissioner in the race got contributions from the SAME folks who wrote me checks (and he got a LOT more money from them).  The very same donors Andy apparently hates donate to us all.  But the Democrat is not scrutinized and bashed (and he should NOT BE) for taking the same money ----but I am?  That is dishonesty in media.  Dishonesty and duplicity.  (Here's a newsflash for the PNJ....there is a small, small pool of check writers locally that pay attention to politics and actually fund candidates they believe are good public servants--because they have interests affected by our decision making.  Most citizens that could afford to participate and contribute simply do not do so..... PNJ fake-news, failed logic alert:  "If these folks give to Jeff Bergosh--it is BAD!  But when the same donors give money to candidates we favor, this is FINE and we will not cover it."

#2.)  The implication that I am somehow "anti-environmental" is a lie.  PNJ knows this. I grew up fishing on the west side of Pensacola, I was a Boy Scout, and I am an environmentalist at heart!  They attempt to tie me into the issues of International Paper and their FDEP discharge permit---knowing full-well the county has NO play in that permit process--that is a Federal and State-Level Issue.  PNJ also never reported that I independently toured IP's facilities in both Cantonment and Beulah on multiple occasions and wrote extensively about these visits and what I learned.  They also never report the FACT that Perdido Bay's Health is BETTER now than it has been in the last 20 years.  No mention of this from PNJ....nope.  Goes against their narrative.  (Incidentally--when I toured IP's facilities last year, I asked and was told that neither Andy Marlette nor anyone from the PNJ had requested and taken a tour of their facilities and polishing wetlands like I did...)  Not a surprise to me--they have their minds made up already:  IP= Evil Capitalists!

#3.)  PNJ shadow banned me from writing viewpoints.  I've written dozens of these over the last 14 years and they hate it.  They just do not like it, so they simply started saying NO---- citing a policy that  ".....they do not publish the op-eds of candidates with primary or general election opposition..." [paraphrased].  But wait a second--- they did just that on multiple occasions---allowing viewpoints from at least two (2) other incumbent officeholders during this election cycle to be published in the PNJ--- even though these same officeholders had primary and general election opponents!

There is much more I could say about all of this, and there will be plenty of time for this now that the election is over.

So no, I'm not a fan of PNJ.  But they are here and so am I, so we will simply co-exist.  I'll have to deal with them, and they'll just have to deal with me.

But I will continue to call out their ridiculous partisanship, dishonesty, and duplicity for at least the next 51 months because this is America and I have the right of free speech just like they do.  And I have a platform to do it!

Escambia County to Receive $8.48 Million in Additional Oil Spill Settlement Money Next Week!

County Attorney Alison Rogers reports that the Levin-Papantonio Law Firm has contacted her with notification of a punitive damages settlement award related to the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill of 2010.   This settlement is from Transocean and Halliburton, two firms that were involved in the litigation surrounding the spill. 

From the Levin Papantoino attorney to Alison Rogers:

"....The total gross award from the HESI/Transocean Punitive Damages & Assigned Claims Settlements for the coastal real property claims we filed on behalf of Escambia County is $10,343,477.12.  The outstanding cost total is $179.79.  The attorneys’ fee pursuant to the fee agreement is 18%, which is 1,861,793.52, making the net award $8,481,503.81.   We will prepare and email the Distribution Statement to you next week for review and signature.  Once we receive the signed Distribution Statement, we will request the check and provide it to you.  We are very pleased with the resolution of these claims and thank you for allowing us to represent you!"

Thank You District 1!

The race for me was long, beginning in March of 2019.  

But it is over as of last night.  

The votes have been counted and the results are in: by 1082 votes and representing nearly an 8-percentage point margin--I was victorious in last night's election.  

I am humbled and extremely thankful that the citizens have re-elected me to another term on the Board of County Commissioners!

First and foremost, I thank God.  I am so blessed and I am thankful to Him!

Next, I am thankful to my family--my wife Sally and our three children Tori, Nick, and Brandon.  I'm thankful for all the support of my brother Gary, my sister-in-law Carissa, my nephews Alex and Ben, and my extended Marsh family in San Diego--Jeff and Gayle, Charlene and Tyler, Matthew and Rachel, Dylan, Jake, Charlie, and Ben.  

There is nobody a candidate leans on more than family--I have a great family, they are supportive, and for this I am thankful.

I am also thankful for the many great friends I have in the community that are always there for me;  It is incredibly difficult to do anything in politics without great friends that are there for you when you need them--and I am blessed to have a great network of friends in District 1 and throughout the county who stepped up, supported this campaign, helped to canvass, wrote checks, posted on social media, placed signs in their yards, and attended campaign events.  It really takes a team to do these campaigns, and I am thankful for the team that stood behind me in this election.

So I am prepared to serve and will serve, if the Good Lord wills it, for the next 4 years and 3 months in this position as we continue to move forward and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic locally. And we have so many ongoing projects that we are working and challenges we will turn into opportunities for our citizens.  I look forward to the years ahead, and  I am so thankful and grateful for the opportunity to serve--thanks to all who have made it possible.

Now, let's get to work together---there is lots to do!