By admin 
It wasn’t even close, and Holly Davis isn’t going anywhere.
The first-term commissioner easily defeated an upstart without a party Paul Grogan to win re-election to Citrus County Commission, District 5.
Grogan, who joined Johannes Labriolaa defeated candidate for Inverness City Council known for his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, rarely campaigned and never said why he was running against Davis.
Davis won with 76% of the votes.
Davis posted a thank you note on her Facebook page.
“It has been an honor to serve you these past four years, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue,” she said.
On paper, this wasn’t even a competition. Davis had $85,000 in collections; Nearly all of Grogan’s $5,189 came out of his own pocket, and his largest expense was the $2,929 voting fee.
Additionally, no non-party candidate had finished with more than 41% in a Citrus County race. Most received 20-30%.
Still, many wondered whether the August unrest in Primary would spill over to District 5 in the general election.
District Commissioner 3 Ruthie Davis Schlabach also thought she had an easy re-election path only to lose Unpleasant Janet Bareka cranky 74-year-old woman from Citrus Springs who regularly attends County Commission meetings.
One key difference: Barek campaigned vigorously, appearing whenever candidates were invited.
Grogan, a merchant navy captain who spends eight months a year at sea, did not campaign in the traditional sense. Grogan did not participate in the Citrus County Chronicle election events, nor did he provide the newspaper with campaign information.
Grogan is one fertile Facebook dog, who often posts dozens of times in one day. The posts rarely get any traction.
Other than a few yard signs scattered around and $1,000 in radio ads, Grogan took no campaign action whatsoever.
Grogan didn’t seem to have a specific platform. His website states: “He hopes to support responsible development and local autonomy in Citrus County, while also giving back to his community and the world through this position and through Rotary.”
The race in District 5 was headed to a Republican Primary until Davis’ opponent, Jesse Rumson – known as “incitement panda‘for wearing a giant bear costume during the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot – lost his ballot due to a paperwork problem.
Davis supporters say Grogan was a factory designed to close the primary to Republican voters only. They pointed out that Grogan did the same in 2022, as a no-party candidate in County Commission District 2, closing the Primary to non-Republicans. He openly supported the winner of the Republican primaries, Diana Fineganwho easily won the general election.
Davis, who is wrapping up her year as chair, is best known as the architect behind the province’s first strategic plan. She also has frequent contact with citizens.
“You may not like my answers sometimes – too often I’m just as frustrated as you are, but it’s the legal reality of the situation – but you’ll always get the straight truth from me about what we can achieve together,” said them.
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