Did Walton County send Rick Scott an anti-HB 631 message?
Walton Countians may have sent Gov. Rick Scott a message Tuesday regarding how they feel about the mess created when he signed HB 631.
Scott was obliged to clear the lowest of hurdles in order to move on to his much anticipated general election battle with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. All he had to do in the GOP primary was defeat journeyman candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, who ran this year in five other states.
And while he had no problem doing so, winning with 88.62 percent of the vote statewide, Scott didn’t poll nearly as well in Walton County as he did elsewhere.
“That was an anti-Scott vote, I think,” said Jim Anders, a longtime member of the Walton County Republican Executive Committee.
As he did everywhere else, Scott won easily in Walton, but the 20.48 percent of the overall vote De La Fuente received was far higher than the 11.38 percent he tallied in the rest of the state.
While 79 percent of Walton County voters cast ballots for Scott, nearly 88 percent voted for the governor in Okaloosa County and 85 percent supported him in Santa Rosa County.
Anders, who said he remains “100,000 percent” behind Scott, believes Walton voters have read about their county’s customary use controversies and some chose to let the governor know they weren’t happy about his signing a law that impacted only them.
“It was not an organized effort, I think people were following the issue, reading the paper, whatever, and reacted Tuesday to what they thought Gov. Scott did or didn’t do,” Anders said.
The county’s beaches became a battleground on July 1 when HB 631, signed by Scott in March, eliminated a customary use ordinance in Walton County and provided private beach owners, some of whom own deeds extending from their homes to the Gulf of Mexico, the right to declare their sliver of coastline off-limits to trespassers.
Controversy ensued when beachgoers objected to their “customary use” access to dry sand being taken away in some areas. Disputes between property owners and visitors have taxed the Sheriff’s Office and the county’s Tourist Development Council has given up trying to collect trash at some private properties.
Precinct 530, in South Walton’s Point Washington area, came out strongest in support of De La Fuente, with 327 voters, or 34.60 percent of those casting ballots, supporting the California businessman.
Just over 26 percent of Santa Rosa Beach voters sent an anti-Scott message, as did nearly 20 percent of Rosemary Beach voters. Miramar Beach voters, though, stood firmly behind Scott, with 90 percent of voters there supporting his primary effort.
The Scott campaign said efforts to point out Scott’s shortcomings in Walton County amounted to an effort by Democrats to distract attention from Nelson’s “failing campaign.”
“Rick Scott won more votes than any U.S. Senate candidate in Florida history,” spokesman Chris Hartline said. “Republicans are united behind Rick Scott and ready to retire do-nothing Bill Nelson.”
Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said more voters will turn away from Scott when they look closer at his record.
“I believe the voters in Walton County understand it was Rick Scott that signed the legislation to basically limit their access to public beaches,” he said.
Walton Countians may have sent Gov. Rick Scott a message Tuesday regarding how they feel about the mess created when he signed HB 631.
Scott was obliged to clear the lowest of hurdles in order to move on to his much anticipated general election battle with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. All he had to do in the GOP primary was defeat journeyman candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, who ran this year in five other states.
And while he had no problem doing so, winning with 88.62 percent of the vote statewide, Scott didn’t poll nearly as well in Walton County as he did elsewhere.
“That was an anti-Scott vote, I think,” said Jim Anders, a longtime member of the Walton County Republican Executive Committee.
As he did everywhere else, Scott won easily in Walton, but the 20.48 percent of the overall vote De La Fuente received was far higher than the 11.38 percent he tallied in the rest of the state.
While 79 percent of Walton County voters cast ballots for Scott, nearly 88 percent voted for the governor in Okaloosa County and 85 percent supported him in Santa Rosa County.
Anders, who said he remains “100,000 percent” behind Scott, believes Walton voters have read about their county’s customary use controversies and some chose to let the governor know they weren’t happy about his signing a law that impacted only them.
“It was not an organized effort, I think people were following the issue, reading the paper, whatever, and reacted Tuesday to what they thought Gov. Scott did or didn’t do,” Anders said.
The county’s beaches became a battleground on July 1 when HB 631, signed by Scott in March, eliminated a customary use ordinance in Walton County and provided private beach owners, some of whom own deeds extending from their homes to the Gulf of Mexico, the right to declare their sliver of coastline off-limits to trespassers.
Controversy ensued when beachgoers objected to their “customary use” access to dry sand being taken away in some areas. Disputes between property owners and visitors have taxed the Sheriff’s Office and the county’s Tourist Development Council has given up trying to collect trash at some private properties.
Precinct 530, in South Walton’s Point Washington area, came out strongest in support of De La Fuente, with 327 voters, or 34.60 percent of those casting ballots, supporting the California businessman.
Just over 26 percent of Santa Rosa Beach voters sent an anti-Scott message, as did nearly 20 percent of Rosemary Beach voters. Miramar Beach voters, though, stood firmly behind Scott, with 90 percent of voters there supporting his primary effort.
The Scott campaign said efforts to point out Scott’s shortcomings in Walton County amounted to an effort by Democrats to distract attention from Nelson’s “failing campaign.”
“Rick Scott won more votes than any U.S. Senate candidate in Florida history,” spokesman Chris Hartline said. “Republicans are united behind Rick Scott and ready to retire do-nothing Bill Nelson.”
Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said more voters will turn away from Scott when they look closer at his record.
“I believe the voters in Walton County understand it was Rick Scott that signed the legislation to basically limit their access to public beaches,” he said.
