Alachua Voter Guide

The District 4 race for the Alachua County Commission got more interesting yesterday as Constitution Party of Florida candidate Lloyd Bailey dropped out, leaving incumbent Democrat  Cynthia Chestnut in a two-way race with Republican Susan Baird. Bailey’s letter to the Supervisor of Elections is quoted in the Gainesville Sun:

“My desire to remove 23-year career politician and Socialist Cynthia Chestnut from office far exceeds any desire that I might have to be elected. The entry of Republican candidate Susan Baird in the District 4 race subsequent to my qualifying will only serve to divide the patriotic and conservatives that are presently suffering in the most highly taxed and oppressive county in Florida.”

The Sun also reported that Bailey has run as a Republican three times previously. This is a factual error. According to the Supervisor of Elections web site, Bailey ran with No Party Affiliation against Rodney Long in 2000 and in 2006, against Chestnut. In 2008, he initially filed to run with No Party Affiliation again. Then Ward Scott, a Republican, got into his race. To keep it from being a three-way race, Bailey switched from NPA to Republican in order to force a primary to eliminate either him or Scott. Ward Scott then switched to run in District 5 against Rodney Long.

Meanwhile, the North Central Florida chapter of the Police Benevolent Association rescinded its endorsement of both Cynthia Chestnut and Lee Pinkoson over the County Commission’s intransigence over Sheriff Sadie Darnell’s budget.