State Rep. Heather Fiorentino beats Chuck Rushe, chief financial officer for the school district.
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published September 1, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - State Rep. Heather Fiorentino grabbed a razor-thin victory over Chuck Rushe in the race to replace retiring Superintendent John Long on Tuesday night.
Fiorentino, a classroom teacher for 14 years and a state lawmaker for six, faces two more months of campaigning against Democratic challenger Alice Delgardo before the Nov. 2 general election, according to the preliminary vote count.
"This is like Prewitt all over again," Fiorentino said as she watched the election returns come in late Tuesday. In her first successful race for state Legislature, Fiorentino won against state Rep. Debra Prewitt by 23 votes.
Tuesday's Republican outcome brings an end to months of speculation as Rushe, chief financial officer for the school district, fought to gain name recognition in a county that has heard or seen the word "Fiorentino" every year since her first bid for public office in 1992.
"We were very much the underdog early on. She enjoyed wide, broad name recognition but my people worked hard to close the gap," Rushe said.
Though an employee of Pasco County schools for 29 years, Rushe's work overseeing the business end of school operations meant his public profile has been relatively low. He out-fundraised Fiorentino 2 to 1. He had the backing of Long and retired Superintendent Tom Weightman - two friends and colleagues who presided over the district for a combined three decades and hoped to pass the baton on once again.
But the day belonged to 46-year-old Fiorentino, whose message of change resonated with voters.
With the backing of local GOP leaders and Gov. Jeb Bush, Fiorentino posed stiff competition for Rushe from the beginning. She made an issue of staff morale, saying the current administration was doing a poor job of listening to its 7,500 employees. She plans to explore reorganizing the district leadership and alter how special needs students are taught.
As a part-time teacher last year, state Rep. Fiorentino made $15,487 plus $29,802 for her legislative work. The superintendent job currently pays $145,869 a year with a possible $7,500 state supplement.
Long, who retires when his replacement takes office Nov. 1 said Tuesday afternoon that the reality of his impending departure was finally sinking in: "It's not the easiest thing in the world to walk away."
He doesn't anticipate the public tension aired between him and Fiorentino during the primary campaign to pose problems during the transition if Fiorentino is successful in November.
"This school system is too big to harbor any hard feelings and I can assure you I won't have any," Long said.
