A spirited race has formed to be Osceola County’s Sheriff for the next term of office.
Despite the current sheriff running for reelection in the partisan race, there are five Democrats qualified for the Aug. 20 primary election. The top vote-getter in that will run against Donnie Martinez, the lone Republican who qualified.
The News-Gazette spoke to the Democratic candidates at the July 10 Osceola Chamber Hob Nob to find out why they are running, or running again.
Wiley Black served in the Sheriff ’s Office for over three decades following an Armed Forces career, reaching the rank of Major while working with a number of the policing forces and department. He’s leaning on that experience in this race.
“I have more experience and am the most qualified,” he said. “I’ve been from the bottom to the top and was happy to be retired under the current Sheriff and been happy. Sheriff (Bob, in 2016) left that Office in immaculate shape. I believe it became politicized, and I want to get back to serving the community.”
Black said he wants to be a leader, and not a manager of resources like the last two Sheriffs since Hansell.
“I would have gotten behind someone with a servant’s heart,” he said. “Out of the military, Osceola was the only agency I’ve ever wanted to work for. This county needs a Sheriff who will surround himself with the best experience.”
Tony Fernandez spent 15 years with the Sheriff’s Office as a road patrol deputy, a field training officer, and a detective, before moving on to work for the Florida Department of Corrections as a Law Enforcement Inspector Detective heading up regional response for state prisons.
He said the main points of his administration would be Justice, communication, public service, transparency, improved relations within the Sheriff’s Office and integrity.
“I’ve never been investigated in any scandal or investigation, and I’m not looking for a doover,” he said. “I have a clean heart and a clean slate, and am running to implement some new values. I’m willing to fight corruption.”
Russ Gibson won election to be Sheriff in 2016 and served for four years before losing the same Democratic primary to Lopez in 2020. He has worked for a security company in the four years since.
“I lost by 616 votes, a third of the vote in a three-way race,” he said. “There’s numbers with FDLE for anyone to look at that we reduced the crime rate. My opponent said he’s reduced it 10 percent, but not a single number has been provided to FDLE, like I thought we’re required to do.
“That’s one of the problems I had with the current administration. There’s also the debacle at Target (a deadly shooting of a misdemeanor shoplifting suspect) and the person burned (at a Wawa on a motorcycle). Even if they happened while I was Sheriff, they’d be handled differently, with transparency. I want to turn the agency back around.”
Gibson said his command staff will mirror the heritage of Osceola County.
“I’m the only candidate that can hit the ground running on Day 1 and make a difference in this agency,” he said. “It’s not the time for on-the-job training. The men and women of the agency are holding it together, but they lack true leadership from the top.”
Current Sheriff Marcos Lopez first joined the agency in 2003 and worked with the Communications and Patrol Divisions, Criminal Investigations, and Community Response Team before being elected Sheriff in 2020.
He has launched a number of programs, including a real-time crisis center and new specialty units, Fugitive Extradition Program with Puerto Rico, a program that creates mentorship between juveniles and deputies and the Women on Watch Initiative, the first-ever all-female police academy unit, an anti-bullyingprogram, Police Athletic League and Veterans Initiating Change Through an Organized Response (V.I.C.T.O.R.).
“Violent crime is down,” he said. “The real-time crime center has had a direct impact on combating crime. We’ve implemented tag readers, and we’re working on weapons recognition technology and technology in the schools to recognize if there’s an active shooter. It’s about real-time crime prevention.”
He said the tag-readers, with input from cameras, are able to get reads on vehicles, especially stolen ones, to capture criminals the same day they offend.
“Just in general, people will be able to see crime, violent crime, has gone down,” Lopez said. “We need to improve on the technologies in place to get response times down. We are getting close to being at full capacity with deputies, especially with Women on Watch, so we can raise the bar compared to other agencies.”
Amaryllis Rivera, like Black, joined the OCSO after a military career, and has 17 years of administration with the West Patrol Captain’s office and as a Community Service Officer and Sergeant. She’d be the first female Sheriff, and is the first Latina to run for the office.
“After 17 years in the agency, I’ve felt the integrity of the agency has been compromised, and for me, integrity is everything,” she said. “I’m not a politician, I just want to be the difference that the agency needs.”
Rivera said Community Oriented Policing is the best way to prevent crime and increase trust after use-offorce complaints under the current Sheriff. Her plan is that increased training will also have an effect on morale.
“All the experience in the world doesn’t make you a better leader. My degree in Criminal Justice Administration sets me apart a bit, and my community involvement shows where my heart is, that is something you can't fake."
