All eyes on Citrus County's future

One thing confirmed this week:

Citrus County in 2024 is ga-ga over local politics.

Been doing this kind of work for a few days. Overseen newspaper coverage of local elections here and there. Gotten to a point where I can tell when there’s enthusiasm, or if voters’ minds are elsewhere.

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Monday night proved what I’ve gradually observed the last six months. People are paying more attention to this primary than any I’ve seen in a very long time. That was a HUGE crowd at the Fairgrounds Auditorium for the Chronicle political forum. And, while plenty of folks sported T-shirts of their favorite candidate, the vast majority were not affiliated with anyone.

Tuesday’s blog wrapping up three of the races brought an impressive number of comments. Many wondered why I stopped at those three races. Here’s the rest:

— Tifani Long had the kind of performance that gives candidates night sweats. The Supervisor of Elections hopeful froze on stage, and clearly wasn’t prepared for this kind of atmosphere.

I felt terrible for Tifani. It was painful watching her struggle to answer simple questions.

But it should serve as a stark reminder. Running for office is seriously difficult stuff. Candidates without a batch of close helpers suffer as the Campaign Trail winds along.

It reminded me of a situation decades ago. A co-worker decided to run against a first-term constitutional officer, similar to what Tifani did. He was bolstered by certain people in the community who didn’t like the incumbent.

I thought his campaign idea was a terrible one, and I told him that. All those people who wanted him to run were nowhere to be found when the actual campaigning started. He was out there by himself for months, and lost handily on Election Day.

Tifani is looking at a similar fate. The Citrus County Trumpers who don’t like incumbent Maureen “Mo” Baird talked Tifani into running, and then gave her little support. Monday night in front of 700 people, Tifani felt alone on that stage.

Politics aside, very difficult to see.

— Here’s my bit on the County Commission races. They were fine. Not wonderful. Not awful. Just OK.

My challenge, and I’m going to come right out about it: I was simply uninspired.

The Q-and-A portions seemed awkward. I didn’t hear any ground-breaking positions about anything from anyone.

All four candidates did well in his/her own right. I’m not suggesting otherwise.

My dream of a cohesive debate about growth well, that just didn’t happen and probably won’t. Look. There is just too much distance between incumbents/challengers. I know people don’t want to hear that. It’s easy for challengers to have all the answers, and both had plenty Monday night. The question: Can they deliver? 


Neither has convinced me. Yet. (Let’s stop right there. This is my opinion. As we saw from Tuesday’s blog, others have differing opinions than mine. Have at it; I’m especially interested to hear from folks who saw the forum either in person or online.)

Lest anyone think I’m suddenly bailing on my interests in all things county government, I assure you that is not the case. In fact, quite the opposite. As I watched Monday night, in my gut I wasn’t seeing the deep dive with County Commission candidates that I’d hoped.

It’s not too late to change that. I’ll be out with the candidates when I can (had to miss one of those opportunities Wednesday), looking for certain things. Chief among them is support from others. Not online. Actual people showing up at events. 

I’ll get into my 30,000 foot level thinking about these races at another time. Love the politics of the County Commission, just not loving this year’s election lineup. Hey, it happens.

— I have nothing to say about the guy running for Congress.

— I’ll save the judicial candidates for another day. Now, THAT is a rough road. Judicial candidates can’t promise a thing, can’t be specific, have to avoid partisan places, and if elected, chances are you’ll never see them perform their jobs.

— An observation about the comments from Tuesday’s blog: Diverse opinions. Tremendous debate. Nearly everyone was respectful; even the side chats, which can go dark in a hurry, were above board.

Keep paying attention, Citrus. An informed electorate can’t lose.

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