State attorney will be elected in Aug. 26 primary

Race pits incumbent Tanner against challenger Larizza

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Aug 6, 2008 - 9:23:10am

The race for the office of state attorney in Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit is between two Republicans: incumbent John Tanner, and challenger J.R. Larizza.

Voters will choose between the two in the Tuesday, Aug. 26, primary. The race is partisan, but because no candidate from any other party is running, the Aug. 26 vote will be what's called a "universal primary." Every registered voter in the 7th Judicial Circuit can cast a ballot, regardless of party registration.

Early voting in the primary begins Monday, Aug. 11. The 7th Judicial Circuit includes four counties: Volusia, St. Johns, Putnam and Flagler.

Tanner is winning the money-raising race. According to the Florida Department of Elections, as of Aug. 5, Tanner's campaign had reported $228,597 in contributions, and Larizza's had logged $65,766.

Both candidates in the race are concerned about turnout on Election Day.

Tanner said its timing can work against him as an incumbent. Supporters may assume he will be re-elected, and not bother to vote in a primary.

Tanner said he has the experience for the job, with 20 years as a prosecutor, more than 14 of those as state attorney. He was first elected in 1988.

Larizza points to 13 years' experience at the Department of Corrections as a probation officer and supervisor, as well as six years as an assistant state attorney in the 7th Judicial Circuit.

Their determination to get out the vote and win the race is about where their similarities end.

John Tanner

"The bottom line on me is I have been a prosecutor for 20 years," Tanner said. "This community knows me. I haven't changed. I've been steady."

He faces political opposition backed by police unions whose members said Tanner pushed his authority too far in the aftermath of the arrest of his daughter Lisa.

Tanner said he isn't concerned about lack of support from police unions. They've never supported him.

"I'm sure citizens don't want the unions running the police department — or the State Attorney's Office," Tanner said. "We are the gatekeepers of the criminal-justice system."

Here's what happened with Tanner's daughter:

Flagler police arrested Lisa Tanner in March 2005 for disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence.

Officers said the 115-pound woman became combative at the Flagler County Jail, and they had to strap her in a restraining chair.

In a videotape of the incident, four guards are seen strapping 28-year-old Lisa Tanner into the chair after she got free once and went to the door of the cell and started talking to them. One male guard told her several times she had to take a shower.

The guards began putting Lisa Tanner back in the restraint chair, and she didn't appear to offer resistance. Then, she began to scream, "I don't know what you're doing," and flail about, as deputies forcibly held her down.

One of the guards put Lisa Tanner in a chokehold, and the young woman appeared to faint.

Investigations began into the alleged mistreatment of Lisa Tanner and other prisoners. Flagler officials accused Tanner of using his office to get revenge.

Tanner points out he was never involved in the investigation surrounding the treatment of his daughter Lisa.

In April 2005, Tanner requested an independent prosecutor be assigned to the case, and Special Prosecutor Jerry Hill of the 10th Judicial Circuit in Polk County took charge.

In May 2006, with Hill handling the matter, a grand jury reviewed the situation and found, "We believe that what was done to Ms. Tanner was just plain wrong." The grand jury called the 57-minute video of Lisa Tanner's handling at the jail "grim and shocking."

John Tanner said it was the grand jury that suggested the State Attorney's Office investigate other allegations of abuse at the jail. He didn't begin this investigation until a year after his daughter Lisa's case.

Probes into these other cases brought the state attorney into conflicts with Flagler County Sheriff Donald Fleming and police unions, who vigorously defended the officers and accused Tanner of going on a witch hunt.

Tanner asked then-Gov. Jeb Bush to reassign the case, and it went to 4th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Harry Shorstein.

Shorstein impaneled a grand jury that cleared the corrections officers and turned its gaze on Tanner's handling of the investigation. Tanner said Shorstein was exceeding the authority the governor gave him, and playing politics. Shorstein's son once worked for Tanner, and was fired.

A Flagler County judge sided with Tanner; he said Shorstein's investigation of Tanner was improper.

A Duval County grand jury, to which Shorstein took the case against Tanner, issued no indictments. Circuit Court Judge Kim C. Hammond kept the grand jury's report on Tanner sealed, amid the legal volleyball.

Read commentary by Craig James on the sealed report.

Shorstein and a newspaper, so far, have been unsuccessful at getting the report unsealed.

Controversy is nothing new to Tanner.

First elected in 1988, Tanner lost an election in 1992. Some elections-watchers said that was because of his campaign against video-store owners who rented or sold pornography.

Critics charged him with going too far, waging a religious and moralistic crusade.

Tanner quit pushing that issue when he was re-elected.

It was his experiences praying with serial-killer Ted Bundy on death row that convinced Tanner to begin anti-pornography efforts. The killer described his obsession with pornography as a contributing factor to his obsession with murdering women.

Tanner said he's proud of his record; for instance, the 100-percent conviction rate of the recently reorganized unit that investigates and prosecutes homicides.

The State Attorney's Office has "the best trial lawyers on 24-hour call," Tanner said. He hopes to continue to work for improvements during a new term, including beefing up the funding available to tackle the problems of violent juvenile crimes and growing adult gangs.

Tanner wants to get both the state and county to invest in "strict but alternative treatments" for drug offenders. Thousands of addicted people have been treated through an anti-drug initiative and a partnership between Stewart-Marchman Treatment Center and the State Attorney's Office.

The 69-year-old Tanner is a native Volusian, having grown up on the east side of the county and graduated from Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach. He joined the U.S. Army's airborne infantry, and became a Green Beret.

He earned a law degree at the University of Florida. Though Tanner considered becoming a veterinarian when he was young, he turned to the law, he said, because he hates injustice.

His wife of 29 years, Marsha, has stood with Tanner through his career as a prosecutor. They have two daughters: Lisa, who is now enrolled in law school, and Carmel Tanner Tomlinson, a U.S. Navy JAG officer. Tanner also has a daughter and grandchildren from a previous marriage.

R.J. Larizza

R.J. Larizza comes to the state-attorney race with the backing of the Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association and the Teamsters Law Enforcement League.

Currently in private practice in St. Augustine, Larizza said he has comprehensive experience in the criminal-justice system through his experience as an assistant state attorney and as a probation officer and supervisor. Those would help him as state attorney, he said.

"I think the office can be run better," Larizza said.

For example, Larizza said he wouldn't spend $300,000 or more to keep a grand jury report sealed. That's what Larizza said Tanner has spent to keep secret the report created in the aftermath of the Flagler County Jail investigation.

Larizza said Assistant State Attorney John Kaney is being paid separately for his legal services in the dispute over the report, through the law firm Cobb and Cole.

Kaney confirmed it.

"I am representing the office of the state attorney in this matter as a private lawyer," he said.

Kaney expects the report to remain sealed, noting it was a judge who sealed it.

"It's still in court. It's not Larizza's business," Kaney said.

Larizza, who defended Flagler County Jail guard Samuel Ferris against charges of abuse, unrelated to Lisa Tanner's case, disagrees.

Tanner is working hard to keep the results sealed — at least until after the election, Larizza said.

Larizza worked at the State Attorney's Office 1996-2002. "I was hired by [State Attorney] Steve Alexander," he said. "I worked the bulk of the time under Tanner's regime."

Larizza said he would institute regular merit reviews in the State Attorney's Office — something he didn't get.

"I had only one performance evaluation," he said.

Larizza said he wants to keep career prosecutors working for the state attorney. He also wants to be proactive and involved in preventive measures, working with high-risk families in the community. He wants to partner with programs like Weed and Seed, instead of just reacting to crime. Larizza also wants to designate a liaison to work with law-enforcement investigators throughout the circuit.

He said relations with law-enforcement personnel won't get better "until and unless John Tanner's gone."

What made Larizza run for office?

The union groups came to him and said "You need to run. Somebody needs to run against John Tanner," Larizza reported.

"I believe I can provide leadership to the State Attorney's Office," he said.

Larizza described running for state attorney as "an act of faith," not his first. Another, he said, was entering law school at Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Ga., at the age of 35. He graduated in 1996.

Larizza grew up on the north side of Jacksonville, graduating from Bishop Kenny High School in 1976, then earning a degree in criminal justice at Troy University in Alabama.

His wife, Trish, a native of Palatka, works with him in his law practice, handling clerical details.

The Larizzas have two children: Justin, 26, and Ashley, 23.

Visit The Beacon's 2008 Voter's Section

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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