Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell and Supervisor of Elections Leach Valenti won their elections in the primaries Aug. 20.
Prummell defeated challenger Ryan Barber, a longtime county resident and former Walmart manager.
Prummell won 80.22% of the votes, or 26,536 votes, versus Barber’s 6,541 votes, or 19.78%.
Leah Valenti
Valenti ran against David Kalin and took 74.64% of the votes, or 14,840, against Kalin’s 5,031 votes, or 25.36%.
Kalin had a career in the corporate world and was involved in Pennsylvania politics before semi-retiring. He is a local beekeeper and a part-time minister.
Prummell has been a member of Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office for 32 years and served as sheriff since 2012.
He said Charlotte County crime was reduced by 19.21%, while the population grew by 40,000 and continues to grow.
As sheriff, he began several initiatives including partnering with Charlotte Behavioral Health Care to form the CCSO’s first Mental Health Unit, which develops and implements methods for containing emotionally explosive situations.
In another partnership with CBHC, his office developed the Drug Recovery Initiative to provide free addiction treatment for those who request it.
Working with the Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies, or CARE, his office created the Domestic Violence Unit.
Valenti became the Supervisor of Elections on Jan. 31, 2023, following an appointment by Gov. Ron DeSantis the previous day.
The appointment was made after former SOE Paul Stamoulis resigned from his position in December 2022 due to health concerns.
Originally from Maryland, Valenti relocated to Southwest Florida in 2003 after earning her degree in criminology and justice from the University of Maryland.
She moved to Charlotte County in 2012 and became involved in community service and served on various boards, including the United Way and the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition.
Prior to her appointment, she served as district director for Rep. Thomas Rooney and Sen. Rick Scott, from 2009 to 2022.
The Charlotte County Airport Authority had a seat up for grabs after former member Vanessa Oliver vacated her seat to run for state representative in District 76.
CCAA candidate Steven Leskovich won Oliver’s seat, defeating Bob Starr, and Oliver became the new state representative, defeating Steven Ceracche by 70.81%, with 6,238 votes to his 2,572.
