ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The race for sheriff here already has become the most expensive local race in county history, with the majority of that fundraising and spending coming from candidates in the hotly contested Aug. 20 Republican primary.
On the same January day former Sheriff Ken Mascara, a Democrat, was sworn in for his sixth term in 2021, Richard Del Toro — then-assistant chief of the Port St. Lucie Police Department — filed to run for the next election, a full four years before he would be sworn in if he were to win.
In the time since, Mascara announced he would not seek reelection; Preston Michael DiFrancesco announced a Republican run; Del Toro was promoted to interim-chief; Mascara abruptly announced his retirement; Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed then-Lt. Keith Pearson to replace Mascara; Pearson filed to run as a Republican; TCPalm filed a pre-suit letter with Pearson related to then-unfulfilled records requests; two other Republican candidates failed to qualif;, and a major supporter of Pearson has filed a lawsuit against Del Toro that also names TCPalm.
None of that even touches on Democrats in the race, all but one of whom failed to qualify, leaving just Steven Giordano to face the eventual Republican nominee in the Nov. 5 general election.
With all active candidates combined, the race has seen more than $1.15 million raised, blowing previous campaign fundraising records in St. Lucie County out of the water.
In a recent interview, Del Toro said the fundraising and endorsem*nts he has seen, which include the union that represents the county's deputies, have blown him away.
"It means the world to me. It's overwhelming. It's a heavy burden because it puts a lot of responsibility on you because you don't want to let these people down," Del Toro said.
Del Toro said between his campaign and his political committee he has raised more than $300,000 since Pearson's appointment, more than any other candidate has raised total.
"If that's not an indictment on the fact that they're not happy with what's going on here locally, then I don't know what is," Del Toro said.
Neither Pearson nor DiFrancesco responded to requests to be interviewed for this story.
That said, Pearson has grown increasingly critical of Del Toro's endorsem*nts in recent weeks, particularly one from the AFL-CIO, an endorsem*nt that Pearson has said in social media videos shows Del Toro is a "liberal" because the same group also backed President Joe Biden before his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
Del Toro said the idea that he is a "Joe Biden liberal" is ridiculous, claiming he has met and taken pictures with former President Donald Trump more times than Pearson has.
"I'm a lifelong Republican conservative," Del Toro said. "However, I do believe in serving every single person in this community. I had one endorsem*nt, out of all the different union endorsem*nts that have endorsed me, from the AFL-CIO ... the hardworking men and women that are in the industrial fields of plumbing, electricians — and by the way, they're not all registered Democrats. The majority of them are Republicans. So I find it very insulting."
After the deputies union endorsem*nt, Pearson said he does not need the kinds of endorsem*nts Del Toro has received, which also include the Port St. Lucie officers union and a number of other law enforcement unions.
"The only endorsem*nt I’m seeking is the one from the people who want a no-nonsense, call-it-like-it-is, lock-the-bad- guys-up sheriff — which I am, every day," Pearson said in an email at the time.
Pearson has, on social media and in his campaign literature, suggested that he has the backing of DeSantis. Though the governor did appoint Pearson to replace Mascara, he has made no endorsem*nt in the race.
Beyond discussion of the political mudslinging that has taken place, Del Toro laid out a number of priorities if he is elected sheriff.
"My priority is implementing a standard of performance at the Sheriff's Office that is going to transform St Lucie County into the safest county in the state of Florida, but also making the St Lucie County Sheriff's Office the premier agency, not only in the state of Florida, but the entire United States," Del Toro said.
Specifically, Del Toro said, he would like to see the Sheriff's Office receive international accreditation. The Port St. Lucie Police Department is one of only about 800 law enforcement agencies in the country, out of about 18,000, to have that accredittion.
The Sheriff's Office once had it, but lost it, Del Toro said.
"To be internationally accredited, you have to have 400 or more best policies and practices in place, and an outside commission is going to come in and evaluate your agency," Del Toro said. "To be the very best, to be premier, you have to have the high standards in law enforcement."
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Del Toro also emphasized transparency, trust and professionalism.
"We've got to restore that integrity, public trust, that accountability, that professionalism and transparency in the Sheriff's Office," Del Toro said. "That is just so critical for doing what we want to do, for our overall vision and making this county the safest county. You can't do that without public trust."
ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
Position:Sheriff
Term:Four years
Salary:$211,732
Who can vote:St. Lucie County registered Republican voters
Next steps:The winner on Aug. 20 will face Democrat Steven Giordano in the Nov. 5 general election.
Keith Pearson, incumbent
Age:41
Profession:St. Lucie County sheriff
Time in office:Appointed December 2023
Richard Del Toro
Age: 47
Profession:Interim chief of the Port St. Lucie Police Department
Time in office:None
Preston Michael DiFrancesco
Age: 56
Profession: Construction, former corrections deputy and Fort Pierce police officer
Time in office: None
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com.
