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Everett Rice

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Everett Rice
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 54th district
In office
November 2, 2004 – November 7, 2006
Preceded byDon Sullivan
Succeeded byJim Frishe
Pinellas County Sheriff
In office
January 3, 1989 – November 2, 2004
Preceded byGerry Coleman
Succeeded byJim Coats
Personal details
Born (1944-09-03) September 3, 1944 (age 81)
Roanoke, Virginia
PartyRepublican
SpouseLinda Rice
Children3
EducationUniversity of South Florida (B.A.)
Stetson University College of Law (J.D.)
OccupationAttorney
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Merchant Marine
Years of service
1964–1967

Everett S. Rice (born September 3, 1944) is a Republican politician from Florida who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 54th district from 2004 to 2006 and as Pinellas County Sheriff from 1989 to 2004.

Early life

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Rice was born in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1944, and graduated from the University of South Florida. He served in the United States Merchant Marine from 1964 to 1967,[1] and joined the Pinellas County Sheriff's office as a deputy in 1967.[2] Rice attended the Stetson University College of Law while on leave from the sheriff's office from 1982 to 1985, and left in 1985 to practice as a criminal defense lawyer.[2]

Pinellas County Sheriff

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In 1988, Rice challenged Sheriff Gerry Coleman for re-election in the Republican primary.[2] He attacked Coleman for mismanagement of the office, citing multiple investigations of the office by state and federal law enforcement agencies.[3] Rice defeated Coleman in a landslide.[4] In the general election, he defeated Pinellas Park police officer Leroy Kelly, the Democratic nominee.[5]

Rice ran for a second term in 1992, and was challenged by former sheriff's deputy Scott Kuebler in the Republican primary. Kuebler attacked Rice for "not provid[ing] a higher level of service" while "the budget . . . has gone up."[6] However, both the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times endorsed Rice for re-election, with the Tribune arguing that "the Pinellas Sheriff's Office is better off now than it was four years ago," citing his creation of a civil service board and administrative improvements.[7] The Times similarly concluded that Rice "has made great progress in the sheriff's department," and noted that the election was "about continuing the gains in law enforcement professionalism, or turning back the clock."[8] Rice won renomination by a wide margin, receiving 67 percent of the vote to Kuebler's 33 percent. He did not face an opponent in the general election and won his second term unopposed.[9]

In 1996, Rice ran for a third term.[10] Though he faced criticism over his management of the county jail, including for an incident in which an inmate died after the contracted medical provider did not call emergency services in time, he was re-elected by a wide margin over Democrat Georgia Palmer, a court psychologist.[11]

Rice ran for a fourth term in 2000, and was challenged by two opponents in the Republican primary: St. Petersburg police officer Jack Soule, the president of the local Police Benevolent Association, and Tom McKeon, a retired Philadelphia police officer.[12] He defeated both by a wide margin and won the general election unopposed.[13]

Florida House of Representatives

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In 2004, Rice did not seek a fifth term as Sheriff, and instead ran for the Florida House of Representatives from the 54th district following the unexpected decision by State Representative Don Sullivan not to seek re-election.[14] He faced no opponent in the primary or general election and won unopposed.[15]

2006 campaign for Attorney General

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When Attorney General Charlie Crist declined to seek a second term to instead run for governor, Rice ran in the Republican primary to succeed him.[16] Rice faced former Congressman Bill McCollum and State Representative Joe Negron in the Republican primary, and was seen as a "long shot" candidate.[17] He campaigned as a "tough on crime" candidate and earned the endorsement of most of the state's sheriffs.[18]

On July 10, 2006, Rice dropped out of the race, citing fundraising difficulties,[19] and Negron did the same shortly thereafter, leaving McCollum as the nominee by default.[20]

2012 campaign for Sheriff

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In 2011, Rice's successor as sheriff, Jim Coats, announced that he would not seek re-election, and he ultimately resigned from office. Rice ran to succeed Coats,[21] and ended up challenging Bob Gualtieri, who was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve out the final year of Coats's term.[22]

Though Gualtieri won the endorsement of prominent state and local politicians, including Coats, Rice's campaign spent significantly more money than Gualtieri's did.[23] Rice attracted controversy for accepting the endorsement of Richard Mack, a former sheriff from Arizona who headed the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and for signing the Oath Keepers' pledge.[24] Gualtieri ultimately won the primary over Rice, receiving 57 percent of the vote to Rice's 43 percent,[25] which Rice attributed to Gualtieri's "negative ads."[26]

References

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  1. ↑ "Everett S. Rice". Florida House of Representatives. 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Allen, Kenneth S. (October 14, 1987). "Clearwater lawyer seeks sheriff's post". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Tobin, Thomas C. (September 4, 1988). "Both candidates clean lead in sheriff's contest". City Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 1. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Tobin, Thomas C.; Ovack, Kathleen (September 7, 1988). "Pinellas will get new sheriff; Republicans back Everett Rice". St. Petersburg Times. p. 6B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Tobin, Thomas C. (November 9, 1988). "Rice wins handily, promises clean-up". St. Petersburg Times. p. 13B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Fay, Michael (August 28, 1992). "Challenger slams sheriff's record". St. Petersburg Times. p. PI-5. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Rice has earned another term". Tampa Tribune. August 12, 1992. p. 4-St. Petersburg. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "For better county government". St. Petersburg Times. August 18, 1992. p. 8A. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Fay, Michael (September 2, 1992). "Sheriff Rice nabs re-election victory from voters". St. Petersburg Times. p. Florida/Metro-7. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Sheriff Rice will seek third term". St. Petersburg Times. February 27, 1996. p. 3. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Pilla, Jen (November 7, 1996). "Sheriff weathers bad publicity". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Meinhardt, Jane (August 29, 2000). "Three candidates for sheriff focus on job, not foibles". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Meinhardt, Jane (September 6, 2000). "Voters give Rice overwhelming nod for 4th term". St. Petersburg Times. p. 7B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Carrie (June 4, 2004). "Sheriff to seek seat in House". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Nelson, Matt (August 25, 2004). "When campaigns end, pleas for funds begin". Neighborhood Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 5. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Bousquet, Steve (May 10, 2005). "Ex-Pinellas sheriff plans run for attorney general". St. Petersburg Times. p. 4B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Smith, Adam C. (January 15, 2006). "Drop out of race? No way, Pinellas ex-sheriff says". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Leary, Alex (March 22, 2006). "Most of state's sheriffs back Rep. Rice for attorney general". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Cotterell, Bill (July 11, 2006). "Rep. Everett Rice withdraws from race for attorney general". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 2B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Fineout, Gary (July 18, 2006). "Attorney general race down to 2". Miami Herald. p. 8B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Thompson, Stephen (August 26, 2011). "Pinellas sheriff to step down in November". Tampa Tribune. p. Metro 3. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Thalji, Jamal (October 8, 2011). "Gualtieri named sheriff". Tampa Bay Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Decamp, David (March 31, 2012). "Amid turmoil, Rice on attack". Tampa Bay Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Jamison, Peter (June 14, 2012). "Ex-sheriff accepts far-right support". Tampa Bay Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 7B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Primary Election August 14, 2012: Official Results". Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. August 17, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Rice concedes Pinellas sheriff's race; Stearns trails in congressional battle". St. Petersburg Times. August 15, 2012. p. 6B. Retrieved July 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
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