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Two wins put GOP in total control of Hernando County Commission

 
Nick Nicholson, candidate for Hernando County Commission District 1.
Nick Nicholson, candidate for Hernando County Commission District 1.
Published Nov. 9, 2016

With nearly all of the votes counted Tuesday night, the Hernando County Commission was poised to gain two new members, with 100 percent Republican representation.

District 1 incumbent Republican Nick Nicholson was more than 12 percentage points ahead in his race against Democratic opponent Jimmy Lodato, while Diane Rowden, the District 3 incumbent and the only elected Democrat in Hernando County, was 17 percentage points behind her Republican opponent, political newcomer John Allocco.

In District 5, where Republican incumbent Jim Adkins chose not to seek a third term, Republican Steve Champion held a nearly 2-to-1 lead over his opponent, Democrat Paul Douglas.

Nicholson, 69, had faced criticism over his relationship with a stripper who was a drug user in the months leading up to his election four years ago, but faced no charges after a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation. An engineer, Nicholson focused his campaign on his decisions regarding quality of life issues, his experience in various facets of county government, his efforts to improve management within county government and his votes to maintain conservative spending.

Nicholson said he thought his victory was based on his telling the truth and because of "the job that I've done, and people are happy with the way things are.''

Lodato, 74, had been a leader in the effort to return the half-cent sales tax to the county's schools. A retired businessman, he had run unsuccessfully twice previously for the commission. He pushed for a more focused emphasis on economic development.

Allocco said the county needs a full-time person in the economic development job. He is a 41-year-old physical therapist who has owned Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center in Spring Hill since 2006. He is vice chairman of the Hernando County Republican Executive Committee. He came to Hernando County in 1999.

When people told him he couldn't beat Rowden, Allocco said he just worked harder.

"I just got out there and talked to people,'' he said. "I'm still trying to soak it in right now.''

Rowden, 67, who has served three terms on the commission and spent three years on the Hernando County School Board, was known for her constituent service, her pro-environment stance and her strong support for Len Sossamon, both as county administrator and as economic development director.

Champion, 43, has owned American Gun & Pawn in Brooksville for the past three years and spent 23 years working in management for Target. A fifth-generation Hernando County resident, he is a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association and has been an annual sponsor of the Hernando High School chapter of Future Farmers of America.

Champion ran as a conservative, small government candidate, pro-Second Amendment and pro-business.

He said he worked hard for the win.

"I think people wanted real people in these positions to make decisions for them. They wanted change,'' he said.

Douglas, 72, was born in Pittsburgh and came to Hernando County in 2003. He has been local NAACP president and active in civil rights all his life.

Contact Barbara Behrendt at bbehrendt@tampabay.com or (352) 848-1434.