During Palm Beach County's 2020 elections, some races that were non-partisan since 2004 will now be partisan, including the one for Palm Beach County Sheriff.
The Incumbent, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, is running in a Democrat primary next August, facing only Alex Freeman for now...though the qualifying deadline is months away.
"Let me make this clear...even though the court changed the way the elections system is, the court hasn't changed the way I will do business. I never make decisions based on a political party to start with, and I won't going forward."
Voters here in 2002 cast ballots in support of making the races for Sheriff, Property Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections non-partisan. Sheriff Bradshaw was first elected to office in the first year that the race was non-partisan, 2004.
The change came about this year, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled in a case involving Orange County that state election law prevents counties from deciding to hold nonpartisan elections.
Bradshaw is also speaking out, for the first time, about the controversy surrounding late businessman and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's time in jail.
"We're confident at the end of the day that we're going to come out on the right side of this. And if there was any mistakes made eleven years ago, if there's anybody still here that was working eleven years ago, then we'll address that."
Bradshaw asked Governor Ron DeSantis to have FDLE conduct an investigation and his agency has also been looking into whether any policies were violated.
He says Epstein, who was given a so-called "sweetheart deal" on a prostitution charge, shouldn't have been in the county lock-up.
"People that come to the county jail are supposed to be here for a year or less. He was sentenced to 18 months. That's supposed to go to the division (Department) of Corrections."
The investigations surround claims that the money manager was allowed to arrange for sex while on work-release at his West Palm Beach office.
"I've stopped work release altogether until this whole thing has been reviewed and I may not even have work release again because my personal stance is if you get sentenced to a year in the county jail, you need to do a year in the county jail...period."
Bradshaw also asked the independent Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission to conduct a formal review of the work release program.
Photo: PBSO