Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony filed paperwork Wednesday indicating he plans to run for reelection next year.
Appointed to the job in 2019 and elected to a full term the next year, Tony is an overwhelming favorite for reelection: He’s one of the most prominent and recognizable elected officials in the county, and the nature of his job allows him to command public and news media attention.
He is a Democrat running in an overwhelmingly Democratic county. And he is Broward’s first Black sheriff — a fact noted in the second sentence of the statement announcing his intention to seek reelection — in a county in which 40% of registered Democrats, the people who decide who wins the nomination in next year’s primary, are Black.
As the incumbent sheriff he has a formidable advantage in raising campaign money.
In 2020, his official campaign committee raised and spent $200,000. But the Broward First political action committee set up to support his election that year raised $1.7 million.
Since 2020, Broward First has raised $189,000, including $70,000 in June, and spent modestly so most of the cash is available for the coming campaign.
“I am deeply honored to serve the people of Broward County as their duly elected sheriff. Over the last five years, my administration has made unprecedented enhancements in the area of public safety,” Tony said in a written statement on Wednesday. “We must maintain a sheriff’s office where public safety is the priority — not politics.”
Tony is seeking reelection while he still faces state-related proceedings that remain pending. The Florida Commission on Ethics has found probable cause to pursue a case into Tony, finding that there were lies and omissions on forms that led him to his first police job in Coral Springs.
Tony previously has faced scrutiny for not divulging to Gov. Ron DeSantis and on police applications that he shot and killed an 18-year-old man in 1993 when he was a teenager living in a tough neighborhood in Philadelphia. Tony said it was self-defense for which he was absolved of responsibility.
As sheriff, Tony said his accomplishments included development of a Real Time Crime center and Threat Management Division and a new Research, Development and Training Center. And he said his policies have led to enhanced school safety, transparency and accountability, and improved community policing.
After taking office, Tony has said he set about reforming the agency and modernizing its policies. He has also been aggressive in disciplining deputies who mistreat citizens, a major issue for Black voters, and a central reason why many people in minority communities say they distrust law enforcement.
The 2020 contest for sheriff was the most contentious of the year in Broward.
Tony narrowly defeated former Sheriff Scott Israel in the August Democratic primary — 37.4% to 35.1%, with four other Democrats splitting the remaining 27.5%. He then went on to easily defeat Republican H. Wayne Clark in November, receiving 63.3% of the vote.
Tony, a former Coral Springs police officer, was appointed by DeSantis in January 2019, after the governor suspended Israel.
DeSantis charged Israel with incompetence and neglect of duty in connection with the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre and the 2017 shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was among the 17 people killed in the Stoneman Douglas massacre and was a prominent DeSantis supporter during the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, has said Tony’s was among the names he asked the governor to consider as sheriff. The vetting in the new administration was done quickly, and Tony’s background wasn’t uncovered at the time.
During the 2020 primary, Tony had strong support from families of Stoneman Douglas victims.
David Howard
In August, David Howard filed paperwork with the Supervisor of Elections Office stating his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for sheriff.
From February 2021 until May 2023, he was the police chief in Pembroke Park in South Broward, hired and charged with creating a new police department for the town after commissioners decided to sever a contract with the Sheriff’s Office to provide police protection.
He and commissioners butted heads over costs, and the town has been consumed in political turmoil after new commissioners took office and reversed decisions made by their predecessors. The town fired Howard.
Before that, Howard spent 27 years with the West Palm Beach Police Department and was briefly a Silver Airlines pilot.
“With over 30 years of experience in law enforcement and aviation, I am a leader who can effectively protect and serve the diverse communities of Broward County. As a candidate for Broward County Sheriff, I bring expertise in community policing, fiscal and strategic management, and employee benefits to the role,” Howard said on his LinkedIn page.
Howard’s campaign website includes a lengthy platform and says if elected sheriff he’d place “a strong focus on violent crime and gang activity throughout Broward County.”
The paperwork filed by both Tony and Howard allows them to raise and spend campaign money. Candidates don’t formally qualify for the Aug. 20, 2024, primary until next year.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Facebook, Threads.net and Post.news.