Photo finish at Chronicle forum

Happy Friday! 

So, here’s the deal. I don’t wear ties very often — never did. But in retirement, it’s even rarer. I think I’m down to four total ties.

There are three days in even-numbered years that I wear a tie: Primary Day, Election Day…and the Citrus County Chronicle political forum.

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Even though I’m no longer part of the Chronicle team, I still consider it the political event of the year outside of casting ballots. That auditorium is my room. It’s been that way for nearly 40 years, and I felt right at home the other night.

I thought I’d end the week with a Chronicle forum photo page highlighting some of the candidates who didn’t make the blog headlines. (The Chronicle covered the forum quite well with stories and video.) Plenty of candidate links, so please check ‘em out.
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Democrats have a significant primary between Chris Irizarry and Robert People for Congressional District 15. The winner faces Republican U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee in the November election.

Other than circuit judge, which I’ll get to in a minute, this is one of those under-the-radar races on the ballot. Redistricting shoved us from one district to another, so it’s difficult to get a feel for the candidates or issues districtwide.

Both Irizarry and People fared quite well Tuesday. One will still be campaigning after Aug. 18.
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At least we’ve all heard of Congress. The steepest climb for relevance this year belongs to the two candidates for Circuit Court Judge: Nicole Morris and Lisa Yeager.

While each had a table Tuesday, the format didn’t include them speaking. That’s unfortunate; there are very few opportunities for these candidates to introduce themselves.

The campaign playing field for judicial candidates is far different from everyone else. They can’t participate in partisan meet-the-candidate events unless BOTH are invited. When speaking, judicial candidates can’t say much more than their experience and community service. And forget about commenting on anything specific related to the bench.

Making matters worse, this is the only judicial race on the ballot in the entire Fifth Judicial Circuit (Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties). It’s for a Citrus County seat, so nil interest in the other counties.

This one is decided in the Primary and is open to all registered voters. Both of these candidates have plenty on the ball. 
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More familiar, perhaps, are the candidates for House District 23: Republicans Tod Cloud and incumbent JJ Grow; Democrat Mark Baker.

I'm a fan of all three of these guys. They’re all stand-up humans. JJ and Tod are fantastic campaigners. No kidding. Put them in any room and they’ll dazzle, not by political trickery, but with sincerity. I admire that.

We’ll get to know more about Mark's campaign after the Primary. All three candidates represent our community well. They truly care and want to make it better. 

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Election workers are among my favorite people. For all the crazy rhetoric of the last decade, the Citrus County Supervisor of Elections remains a steady, trustworthy beacon in our community.
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Important date: Monday, July 20. That’s the deadline to register to vote or change your party for the Primary. Geez, don’t sit this one out. The real deal isn’t in November. It’s the Aug. 18 Primary, when Citrus County voters elect two County Commissioners, one School Board member, and one Circuit Court Judge. Those decisions take place in August, not November.

It’ll be here before we know it. Breathe in, breathe out.

Have a great weekend, friends.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.
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