Debra Roberts' rival says she wasn't the best choice for the bench. Joseph Sowell contends he has more experience.
By ALEX LEARY
Published August 30, 2004
Ask Joseph Sowell to distinguish himself from his opponent in the race for Pasco County judge and he falls back in time - way back.
"Lewis and Clark," the 49-year-old lawyer says. "Lewis and Clark crossed the whole country and saw these places and dealt with the difficulties."
Sowell fancies himself as a sort of legal explorer, having worked as a trial lawyer, prosecutor and attorney for various state agencies. He was staff attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit in Bushnell until a few weeks ago when he left to campaign.
"I've been in the trenches," Sowell said. The incumbent judge, he asserts, has not. Sowell faces Debra Roberts in the Aug. 31 primary.
At stake is a six-year term that pays $121,325 annually. County judges preside over misdemeanor criminal cases, landlord-tenant disputes, domestic violence injunctions, traffic violations, small claims and civil disputes of damages of $15,000 or less.
Despite Sowell's portrayal of Roberts as unseasoned, she too can point to a varied legal background and has something Sowell does not: judicial experience. Roberts made history in 2002 when she became Pasco's first black judge, appointed to the bench by Gov. Jeb Bush. She has sat in for circuit court judges as well.
Sowell suggested other candidates were more qualified for the job and that Roberts' appointment was made for reasons other than merit. He did not fully elaborate, but said, "I don't think it's a question of race." He also criticized the judicial nominating process as unfair in his 2003 bid for 5th Judicial Circuit judge.
Roberts, 51, says the past 21/2 years speaks to her command of the law, fairness and rapport with lawyers who go before her. While she lacked criminal law experience coming into the job, she said she "hit the ground running" and managed well. "I was able to do the work and pick up on it very easily."
She has the backing of some of Pasco's most prominent legal figures, including. J. Larry Hart, Declan Mansfield and John Renke II. She also has been endorsed by State Attorney Bernie McCabe and has raised far more money than Sowell, a relative unknown in Pasco having never practiced law in the county.
"People want to know that when they go to court they will come before someone who will be fair and impartial and will listen," Roberts said. "I have a history of doing that."
Sowell said he can offer the same. Born in Jacksonville, Sowell attended Stetson University College of Law. One of his first jobs was an attorney for the Department of Children and Families. He later became a partner with his wife in Cecelia M. Redman and Associates in Tampa. She now runs a wedding service business at their home in Trilby. Sowell has two sons from two marriages. He is a member of the National Rifle Association and operates a business selling weapons, primarily, he said, to law enforcement officers.
Roberts, who is single and lives in Trinity, was born in Sanford and attended Florida State University College of Law. She has previously worked for seven years as court counsel for the 6th Judicial Circuit and before that was senior staff attorney at the Florida Supreme Court. She also holds an advanced degree in social work, which she says provides an understanding of the domestic abuse cases before the court.
"The main thing I want to get out to the people," she said, "is that I'm running on my record and my accomplishments ... and I stand on that record."
