John Flynn, Ruth Moracen Knight face runoff in Polk County judge race

John Flynn and Ruth Moracen Knight will meet in a runoff election for Group 8 County Judge after an election marred by accusations of partisan campaigning.

Flynn, a lawyer with a practice in Bartow, received 35.8% of the vote in the five-way race. Knight, an assistant public defender, came in second with 19.9%. She narrowly edged Adam Patton, a Lakeland lawyer, who received 18.9%.

Because no candidate received a majority, the top two finishers will be on the ballot for the Nov. 8 general election.

Tara Wheat, a Winter Haven lawyer, placed fourth with 16.3% of the vote, followed by Carmalita Lall at 9.1%.

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The seat on the 10th Judicial Circuit became open as County Judge Susan Barber ran for a position as a circuit court judge. Barber faced no opposition and will assume her new title in January.

The duties of the county judge will be assigned after the winner is determined. County judges oversee cases in such areas as criminal, civil, evictions and small claims. The 10th Judicial Circuit, based in Bartow, covers Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties.

Flynn, 48, has operated his own private practice in Bartow since 2005. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa, a master’s degree in business from Nova Southeastern University and a law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans.

After passing The Florida Bar exam in 2002, Flynn began his career in the State Attorney’s Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit under the now-retired Jerry Hill. He spent three years as a prosecutor before going into private practice and eventually opening his own firm, The Flynn Law Group.

The Mulberry resident said he handles mostly criminal cases but has also worked in family and civil law.

Knight, 54, has worked for the Public Defender's Office of the 10th Judicial Circuit for the past 20 years.

She came to the U.S. when her parents fled Cuba in 1985, and live some of her youth in Puerto Rico. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico Cayey University College, where she studied psychology and community mental health. She received her law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

In the final week of the campaign, accusations of partisan campaigning arose.

The Polk County Republican Party posted what appeared to be a campaign advertisement for Flynn on its website, though parties are barred by Florida law from endorsing judicial candidates. J.C. Martin, chair of the Polk GOP, told a Ledger reporter that the party’s board had endorsed Flynn, though Ed Shoemaker, a member of the executive committee, said the leadership had not issued any endorsements in the nonpartisan race.

Flynn said he was not aware of the graphic posted on the Polk GOP website. After an inquiry from a Ledger reporter, the party added a disclaimer Friday saying that the notice was not an endorsement. By Friday evening, the illustration had been removed.

Dena DeCamp, a volunteer for Flynn’s campaign, attended a meeting of the Polk County GOP last week and offered a spoken pitch for the candidate. Flynn attended a gathering of Polk Patriots, a group headed by DeCamp that she said is nonpartisan.

That prompted Patton’s wife, Heather McArthur, to file an complaint with the Lakeland Police Department, according to an incident report. An officer responded and determined that the group was nonpartisan.

Patton, 43, is a former prosecutor who now operates a solo law practice in Lakeland.

Patton, a Lakeland resident, trained as a mediator before receiving a law degree in 2011 from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville. He worked as an assistant prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit under Hill. He left and in 2016 opened his own law firm.

Wheat, a graduate of Lake Wales High School, spent about a decade as a teacher at public schools in Polk County. She received her law degree in 2012 from Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport.

Wheat, 39, left teaching to practice law full time and joined the Public Defender's Office of the 10th Judicial Circuit, based in Bartow. She left that position to become a private lawyer.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Flynn, Knight face November runoff in Polk County judge race