A week from Election Day, the District 3 race between Diane Rowden and John Druzbick has turned nasty, forcing both Hernando County Commission candidates to defend their previous tenures on the School Board.

The most negative attacks — possibly unprecedented in nature — are aimed at Rowden, the two-term Democratic incumbent. A nebulous political group called the Committee to Protect Florida mailed fliers to Hernando County voters and created a Web site called DianeRowdenRealityCheck.com. The group is led by  GOP super-operative Roger "Rocky" Pennington and possibly funded by Thomas Barnette, a former lobbyist and Rowden supporter. Read more here.