Don’t Count Him Out! Scott Israel Can Win Reelection
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Scott Israel needs a job.
Will the voters give him one?
The answer to that question is…maybe.
Israel officially began his reelection campaign this week.
In December last year, I threw Israel into the political trash heap.
I thought the scandal surrounding Israel’s handling of the mass shootings in Parkland and the airport would end his political career. It would be too much to overcome in a campaign.
My prediction was premature. Israel still has a shot…despite his negatives.
He was suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January for his mismanagement. He is fighting the suspension in the State Senate.
Even if his suspension is upheld by senators, he can still run for reelection in 2020.
Running with the cloud of the deadly Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and airport shootings over Israel’s head is going to be tough.
But for Israel to lose the sheriff’s race, he needs a good opponent.
So far he’s got appointed and unproven Sheriff Gregory Tony. He has never run a campaign.
Israel’s also got four other Democratic dweebs. And two Republicans.
Tony has been making appearances at Democratic clubs and throughout the black community. That potentially cuts into Israel’s strength among Democratic activists and supporters in the African-American and Caribbean communities.
Yet Tony has not officially opened a campaign.
Meanwhile, Israel has a ready-made campaign issue: DeSantis has overturned the will of the voters with Israel’s suspension. His suspension is nothing but a plot against Democratic voters by a governor who is allied with Donald Trump!
It’s an issue that can sell in a Democratic primary.
And, of course, the Democratic primary is all that counts in Broward, where one out of every two voters are Ds. Many independents also lean Democratic.
Yes, it will be tougher for Israel to raise money out of office and with the controversy over the shootings on his resume. But an out-of-office Israel also has the time to spread his message at every event between now and August 2020.
Israel also is a proven campaigner.
Politics on the level of a sheriff’s race requires someone who enjoys the countless outstretched hands and pats on the back. Who enjoys listening to the needs and desires of thousands whispered in their ear.
It also requires a candidate who is pragmatic, calculating and ruthless. A candidate who doesn’t shy away from the quiet deals and the backchannel machinations that it takes to win office.
Tony is untested in all of this.
Ask a half dozen Broward political consultant and you get a half dozen different answers about the sheriff’s race. Consultants know little more than polls, which have been proven less than reliable.
You might as well ask Zoltar.
Can Israel win?
My answer is maybe. Don’t count him out.
July 2nd, 2019 at 11:13 am
I’d say judging from last weeks financial disclosure filings it’s Greg Tony who really needs this job!
But seriously, how is it even possible that he ran a “successful” business where he trained tens of thousands of law enforcement officers and others, was considered an expert in the field of training and yet the business didn’t make a dime!? How could this Republican governor be so eager to please a handful of parents from Parkland that he wouldn’t even bother to vet the guy who was brought to him out of nowhere?
Untested in campaigning?? Greg Tony isn’t remotely battle tested to be Sheriff and that’s the part that should really frighten us.
FROM BUDDY:
Having a job isn’t just about money. Its about having something meaningful to do. Its about a sense of self fulfillment. Its about a person’s personal net worth, not just a person’s financial net worth.
That said, you are right about Sheriff Tony’s finances. They are not good.
Sheriff Tony had a negative net worth of $73,194 at the end of last year, according to the financial disclosures. Almost all the money he owes are education loans totally more than $80,000. He now earns $188,262 annually as sheriff.
Israel presumably lost his $192,229 annual sheriff’s salary when suspended. He still has a pension from the Fort Lauderdale police, which totaled $72,615 last year. He has a net worth of $701,530.
But Israel doesn’t have a job. He has been looking for one, according to numerous sources. Tony has one.
July 2nd, 2019 at 11:16 am
Israel not no deserved second chance
He paid so much for out rich program and give free food and other we the tax payers pay for
I will give chance to other candidates for sheriff
And I hope other to all do need to replace or fix 911 dispatch
July 2nd, 2019 at 12:51 pm
Who is the strategist running the Israel 2020 campaign this time? Judy Stern and Israel have been enemies since the 2008 defeat, Ron Gunzburger moved to Maryland and has not been heard from since, Lisa Castillo is busy with her husband’s Pembroke Pines mayor campaign, Israel MSD crisis consultant Ashley Walker is running Sheriff Tony’s campaign, and sleazy Roger Stone is possibly going to be joining Paul Manafort in prison soon.
July 2nd, 2019 at 2:36 pm
Scott Israel will win re-election in a landslide just as he did last time because everybody knows his suspension was all about dirty partisan politics, He did not kill those kids, a highly armed crazy mass murderer did. Every third grader knows the acts of a cowardly deputy does not merit a Sheriff’s removal. The parents of the dead children deserve sympathy, but face it they want revenge not justice. Some of them still amazingly cling to the incomprehensibly stupid pro-gun stance that helped kill their own children. Sad, well they demanded a scapegoat from the Governor and untalented Greg Tony became that stooge. This is the same group that tends to yawn when Black kids are killed. They have no credibility and this too has been well noticed. Broward will soon send a message to Tallahassee that we not them decide what happens in Broward County. Scott Israel is the Sheriff we want running BSO.
July 2nd, 2019 at 2:37 pm
I think that Scott Israel is done … stick a fork in him. The condo vote is different than it was the last time Israel won, and Tony is courting the black vote. I hope that the solidly get behind Sheriff Tony
July 2nd, 2019 at 5:45 pm
I think too much blame has been placed on ourlocal police agencies for the horrifying Stoneman Douglas tragedy. Apparently the FBI had been advised several times of the threats made but never did contact our local police. Had they made contact with our local agencies this tragedy might never have happened.
July 3rd, 2019 at 8:50 am
The Parkland parents are Republicanand their votes don’t count in a primary so Israel has that in his favor.
July 3rd, 2019 at 9:00 am
Scott Israel was a great sheriff and he will be re-elected next year. It is incredible that DeSantis makes a campaign promise to remove Sheriff Israel and does it on his 3rd day in office as Governor. There were no charges against Scott Israel, no investigation, no hearing, no procedure . . . just the wrongful removal of Broward’s twice elected Sheriff for political reasons. WHAT ABOUT GUN CONTROL?
How did those weapons get to the hands of the shooter? The NRA is responsible as are the right wing gun enthusiasts who like automatic weapons. That is the real problem . . . not Sheriff Scott Israel.
July 3rd, 2019 at 3:31 pm
Maybe Israel is still unemployed because he is a has been politician. His political skills seem sharper than his abilities to effectively manage a law enforcement agency.
However, yes he could win the election. The letter D and name recognition would score points with some voters. His political ability to “tell them what they want to hear” could pick up many votes.
But, why should the taxpayers of Broward give Israel a job? Let him take his pension and move on down the road.
July 10th, 2019 at 8:13 pm
“It also requires a candidate who is pragmatic, calculating and ruthless. A candidate who doesn’t shy away from the quiet deals and the backchannel machinations that it takes to win office.”
Can’t we do better than that?