Ford, Campbell face off for house seat
BY LISA NEWELL Gulf Breeze News lisa@gulfbreezenews.com

Lisa Newell/Gulf Breeze News Clay Ford and Elizabeth Campbell try to make an impression on voters in District 3 before they face off Tuesday Feb. 27 in the special election to fill Holly Benson's house seat.

Republican Clay Ford and Democrat Elizabeth Campbell each won their party's nomination last week to fill the District 3 House seat vacated by Holly Benson.

Ford defeated George Scarborough, Tom Banjanin and Lyn Hart to win the Republican berth for the Feb. 27 election and Campbell defeated John Wyche, securing her name on th ballot as the democratic nominee.

Gulf Breeze's precinct 22 was only one of the 45 precincts able to cast ballots in the election but it was a big factor in the election because of heavy voter turnout.

"I want to give a big thank you to all my voters in Gulf Breeze," Campbell said. "They gave me a good comfort zone when the votes were coming in."

Ford said his campaign was grass roots all the way.

"We knew from the beginning that we weren't going to be able to match the contributions or endorsements of some of the other candidates, so we came up with a simple plan. We went to our established core groups such as the military, church groups, my constituents in Gulf Breeze, and Pensacola Christian College. We knew we had to go door to door."

Ford, who served as Mayor Pro Tem for the Gulf Breeze City Council, submitted his resignation effective Feb. 27, the day of the election.

"The last time a council member resigned, (the council) asked for letters of interest," Buz Eddy, City Manager, said. "I assume they will do that again, but it's really their decision."

Now, the candidates have 13 more days to prepare for the next election which will decide who succeeds Holly Benson in Tallahassee.

Campbell said she will hit the ground running.

"I want to represent the individuals who want this old retired chief to get to Tallahassee and go to bat for the panhandle," Campbell, a Navy chief, said. "I want to fight this insurance battle once and for all."

Ford vows to continue his efforts to meet voters.

"We've got three weeks and we're going to campaign pretty hard," Ford said.
Primary Election Results
  Republican Primary
  Voting totals: Tom Banjanin       C.V. "Clay" Ford             Lyn Hart             George Scarborough
  Escambia         1,152                   1,737                               1,264                   1,660
  Santa Rosa     81                       586                                 49                       258
  Total               1,233                   2,323                               1,313                   1,918
  % Votes           18.2%                 34.2%                             19.3%                 28.3%

Democratic Primary:
Voting Totals   Elizabeth Campbell           John H. Wyche
Escambia         1,835                               1,757
Santa Rosa     149                                 29
Total               1,984                               1,786
% Votes           52.6%                             47.4%

Voter turnout:
  Escambia         14%
  Santa Rosa     28.7%