Escambia County District 4 has been without a commissioner since January, and the race to fill the seat has become one of the most competitive local races this year.
Ashlee Hofberger, Buck Mitchell and Walker Wilson are seeking the Republican nomination in the Aug. 20 primary to face Democratic candidate Ron Helms in November.
Unlike other local races, all three Republican candidates have been able to raise enough money to effectively advertise and run a campaign across District 4.
District 4 covers all of Pensacola Beach, the eastern half of the city of Pensacola and most of the Ferry Pass area.
Candidate Q&A: Ashlee Hofberger for Escambia County Commissioner - District 4
Candidate Q&A: Buck Mitchell for Escambia County Commissioner, District 4
Candidate Q&A: Walker Wilson for Escambia County Commission, District 4
Ashlee Hofberger looks to reform Escambia County
Hofberger, owner of The Wash Room and Bogeys Golf Suites, is a political newcomer but has been able to raise $96,085 with her message on reforming the Escambia County government.
Escambia County has been plagued with issues in its Emergency Medical Services department for the last five years, and Hofberger said it was her personal experience with that during a medical emergency with her 2-year-old daughter that got her involved in local politics.
"Back in November, our little girl had a febrile seizure, and when we called 911, the fire department got here extremely quickly," Hofberger said. "And when we asked for an ETA on an ambulance, they were unable to give us one. And digging into it, it's because they are so short-staffed, and we just don't have the number of ambulances on the roads that we need for our community of our size."
Hofberger's message about reforming the county's EMS has led the county's paramedic and EMT union to endorse her campaign. The unions representing county firefighters and Escambia County sheriff's deputies also endorsed Hofberger's candidacy.
The other reason Hofberger is running is to improve how the county interacts with small businesses.
Hofberger opened Complete DKI, an emergency restoration company, in 2012. In 2021, the business was acquired by a national firm, First Onsite. Hofberger said she used the profits from the sale to start The Wash Room, a high-end laundromat.
Hofberger said her experience opening The Wash Room is another reason she is running. She saw first-hand how hard Escambia County makes it for small businesses to get started.
"When we opened Bogeys, it took us over 13 weeks to get a permit for an interior remodel," Hofberger said. "I took a step back, and I thought, man, we are missing the opportunity to create more jobs in our community through small businesses just because it's so difficult to do business in Escambia County."
Buck Mitchell runs on 35 years of community service experience
Mitchell is also running for office for the first time, but as one of the owners of Seville Quarter and The District, he is no stranger to Escambia County politics.
Mitchell has picked up the endorsem*nt of several high-profile local politicians including the four former mayors John Fogg, Mike Wiggins, Ashton Hayward and Grover Robinson. The police union that represents Pensacola Police Department officers and Sen. Doug Broxson have also endorsed Mitchell.
"I've been giving back to this community longer than both the people I'm running against have been alive," Mitchell said. "I know the history of Pensacola. I know the players already. I'm involved in a lot of things that have put me in the room, and now to have somebody that's going to have Escambia County's best interest at heart sitting at the table, is what we need."
Mitchell has been able to leverage his connections to the political class in donations raising $146,150 − the most of any Escambia County candidate this election cycle.
Mitchell said he served community-minded organizations his entire professional life and has been a former president of the Pensacola Navy League, the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival, and the Fiesta of Five Flags. He said he viewed serving on the county commission as another opportunity to serve his community.
"I've been giving back for 35 years to this community, and to now have an opportunity to have a seat at the table and really make some long-lasting decisions that will be positive for our community is just a great opportunity," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said he also supports finding a way to fund beach renourishment of Pensacola Beach.
"The Santa Rosa Island Authority has a plan, but they're about $5 million short right now," Mitchell said. "The price has actually gone up. When we have the most beautiful beaches and the crown jewel of our tourism industry that brings millions of dollars of economic impact to our area, we cannot just let that slide."
Wilson ties campaign to national issues like immigration
Wilson is the only candidate who has run for political office before. Wilson, who is executive director of the Downtown Improvement Board, had an unsuccessful bid for the District 3 seat on the Escambia County School Board in 2018, and more recently Wilson was a finalist for the executive director position of the Escambia Children's Trust.
Wilson said he is running because he believes the county needs leadership from a new generation who has the experience and an outside perspective.
"I feel like I'm the best person suited for this job at this time," Wilson said. "And I've had the experience with multiple nonprofits in town, including being the president of Pensacola Young Professionals and starting OnBikes, Pensacola. In my time at the DIB, I've had experience in reducing government spending and turning it back into services to the downtown taxpayers, and on the county planning board and county board of adjustment, I had the opportunity to protect our citizens' property rights and protect small neighborhoods from unfit large development coming in their backyard."
Wilson said his priorities are public safety, managing growth, and investing in public infrastructure.
Wilson has raised $94,010 and won the endorsem*nt of state Rep. Alex Andrade. Wilson has sent several mailers to District 4 Republicans, and while several have been about local issues, some have taken on a national tone.
One mailer claims "illegal immigration" cost Escambia County $10 million a year in jail and hospital costs. The mailers featured images of the border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Another advertisem*nt sent out by a political committee called Free Florida PC that featured Wilson's logo said he "wants to sue Joe Biden to recover the nearly $10,000,000 we lose giving mandated benefits to illegal aliens every year."
The numbers in Wilson's advertisem*nt are misleading. Of the $10 million figure, $8.4 million is uncompensated care at Escambia County hospitals, according to a report from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. The non-partisan Florida Policy Institute pointed out in an April 2024 report that while ACHA's statewide number for uncompensated care for undocumented immigrants was $566 million, the figure combines several categories and the actual statewide number is closer to $21.3 million.
Walker said he did not coordinate with the political committee directly but believed the advertisem*nt was developed through the work of consultants he hired for his campaign. When asked if he thought Escambia County was taking up another lawsuit after having a run of unsuccessful lawsuits, Wilsons said he wants to explore all options.
"I want to make sure that we're getting our dollars back from the federal government to take care of an issue that our county didn't create, and our county can't solve alone, and whatever means we've got to go about that, whatever channels or avenues," Wilsons said. "If that's working with folks in Tallahassee or our federal delegation through Congressman Gaetz office or one of the United States Senators' offices to try and get as much of this funding back as we possibly can for the county taxpayer, then I think we need to explore those options."
The other two candidates in the race said while immigration is an important topic, there's not much the county government can do about it.
"As Republican voters, there are some core issues that we all agree on," Hofberger said. "Immigration has got to be stopped. We are pro-life. We are pro-law enforcement. We are anti-drug. All of those things you would be hard-pressed to find a Republican voter who would say, 'No, I don't agree with all of those.' So, I think the idea of playing those into a local race really shows that you don't know what the county commissioners do. You don't know what their budget goes toward and what your capabilities actually are. I think we need to be talking about building really strong relationships in our community and not building walls three states over that we don't have any ability to do."
Mitchell said he agrees that immigration is out of control, but he believes Walker is following the advice of consultants who are trying to turn the race into state-wide issues rather than focus on local issues.
"You have your three core areas: tourism, the military, and the medical fields," Mitchell said. "Distirct 4 has so much activity. It is the commercial core. Immigration is important, but making sure that we're concentrating on what we have here, developing areas for new growth and new jobs, and paying attention to those areas are very important."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: District 4 Republicans battle in competitive race for commission seat
