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White Takes Sheriff's Primary

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By LISA A. DAVIS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - In the Republican corner, Round 1 appeared to go to incumbent Pasco Sheriff Bob White with nearly all of the precincts reporting. In the Democratic primary, Kim Bogart, a consultant, now moves to the general election.

The two winners of Tuesday's primaries, plus Bobby Kinzy, a retired TECO employee with no law enforcement experience who's running as a nonpartisan candidate, will go head-to-head during the Nov. 4 general election for Pasco's top cop.

Despite months of loud criticism and accusations about White's leadership by the local Fraternal Order of Police and challenger Robert Sullivan, White moved toward his goal of being the first three-term sheriff in decades.

Sullivan, a retired vice and narcotics lieutenant who rose through the ranks during his nearly 26 years at the agency, was the most vocal opponent on the campaign trail. Among his campaign tactics, Sullivan, an adjunct college professor, lambasted the White administration for allowing staff - including civilians - to drive their agency vehicles to and from work or use them off duty. Sullivan, 47, said it was wasting thousands of dollars. White then changed the policy, saying the change had been in the works long before Sullivan called him out.

Neither White nor Sullivan could be reached for comment by press time Tuesday night.

White, 58, known to have tremendous financial and political backing by the Florida Republican Party, said he was confident throughout the race.

The Democratic candidates ran much lower-key races.

Bogart, 56, won by a landslide over the youngest candidate in the sheriff's race, Jeff Deremer, 38. Although Deremer's enthusiasm was undeniable, it was not enough to beat out the more experienced Bogart.

Deremer, a senior Parole and Probation officer for the Department of Corrections, had a unique perspective serving as the department's liaison to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office until he announced his candidacy. He still works for Parole and Probation and was the only candidate actively making arrests and dealing directly with criminals.

But Bogart, who was part of former Sheriff Lee Cannon's command staff whom White fired when he took office in January 2001, has been working as a consultant to law enforcement agencies across the state and elsewhere. He also served as the executive director of the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission for a decade until he took a leave of absence to concentrate on his campaign July 31. He also serves as a part-time administrative deputy for the St. Lucie office, working on accreditation issues and writing policy.

As he moves forward in the race, he said he looks forward to continuing the fight to bring change to the sheriff's office.

"We are ecstatic. How can you even describe how I feel right now?" he said. "We are gearing up to take it to the next higher level."

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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