A funny thing happened at the Sam Himmel roast the other night. Himmel jabs of course. But she wasn’t the main attraction. The current sheriff was. Mike Prendergast wasn’t among the 300 or so who attended Saturday night’s event, but there was little doubt he was on their minds. In the early days following my Chronicle retirement, more than a few folks suggested political consulting as my next career. Certainly made sense. Over the course of covering Citrus County politics for 30-plus years, I’ve witnessed what works and what doesn’t. I’ve seen candidates win. More importantly, I’ve seen them lose. Those are not necessarily opposites. Some candidates are simply not going to win. Others, however, lose through unforced errors. Meanwhile, back on Betz Farm. Boy that thing sorta fell off the radar, didn’t it? Well, there’s been a development that we should discuss. A little perspective: Betz Farm, 350 acres on Turkey Oak across Crystal River High School, is county-owned land that never cost taxpayers a dime. You can tell I’m losing my edge when I come up with the lamest idea to mask that I really have no particular plan for today. “Whiner Friday.” That was the idea. I’d write 700 words whining about this and that. I hatched this act of brilliance driving home Thursday on S.R. 44 from Crystal River, while trying to dream up a blog topic to wrap around today’s photo of me in the Floral City Library. If dollars are votes, the sheriff’s race is a runaway. Sheriff Mike Prendergast’s campaign has collected a whopping $184,707, including thousand-dollar checks from just about every big-name mover and shaker in Citrus County. It is an impressive booty. Sometimes, there are no winners. Sometimes, everyone involved has the right intentions and still nothing is done. Sometimes, devoted minds can sit in a room and leave two hours later frustrated yet again. Welcome to Inverness Villages 4. Then there’s this. Between a fairly steady stream Monday of political stuff, and the VERY cool mid-afternoon solar eclipse came word that Sheriff Mike Prendergast is starting a campaign to raise money. Actually, specifically, he wants YOUR money. Welcome to our special edition of Eclipse Monday! I gave great thought to today’s subject, considering I won’t be able to get a second bite for 20 years. See, I bought a pair of $3 eclipse protective eyewear from Lowe’s so I can glance at the sun during the eclipse without damaging my eyes. Valuable lesson from years gone by: Don’t write what I don’t know. You’d think that’s a no-brainer, right? I shouldn’t write a plumbing blog (“Just Plumb Citrus”) because that’s not my expertise. Some people wrongly assume I must be pretty smart to write what I do. Truth is, I know a little bit about a lot of things. Most of my actual smarts come from listening to other people. I try not to meander where I shouldn't. Anyone driving on State Road 44 in Lecanto is familiar with the two-story white house atop a ridge just west of Crystal Oaks. It has sat stately on 38 acres since 1987, roughly the same time I moved to Citrus County. Property is property, and all things are equal. Life changes overnight, as we’re seeing. I’m clinging to little pieces of normalcy. |
AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 36 years. Archives
May 2024
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