Four Escambia Incumbents Lose

Charlotte Crane | 11/1/2008

Primary election voters ousted four Escambia County incumbents, including two-term Sheriff Ron McNesby and 12-year Commissioner Mike Whitehead. David Morgan, a retired Air Force officer and owner of a private investigations firm, defeated McNesby in the Republican race, despite having only one-fourth of McNesby’s budget. The biggest topsy-turvy result favored businessman Wilson Robertson, a two-term commissioner in the ’90s, who took 80% of the vote in the race against Whitehead. Both McNesby and Whitehead may have lost some favor with voters resulting from well-publicized charges of hunting law violations during a 2004 Wisconsin trip — to which they pleaded no contest. Also losing seats: Escambia County School Board member Pete Gindl and Emerald Coast Utilities Authority member Logan Fink. Winners in all of the races face opposition this month, except for Fink’s successor, educator Elizabeth S. Campbell.

Tags: Northwest