Republican wants elected officials in St. Lucie County to join in having sheriff resign

ST. LUCIE COUNTY − The Chairman of the St. Lucie County Republican Executive Committee plans to speak with the St. Lucie County Commission, Port St. Lucie City Council and Fort Pierce City Commission in January and “ask them to join us in having Sheriff Keith Pearson to step down.”

Kenny Nail, top Republican in St. Lucie County, on Thursday discussed his plans regarding Pearson, appointed sheriff Dec. 1 by Gov. Ron DeSantis the same day longtime Sheriff Ken Mascara abruptly stepped down, citing health reasons.

Pearson, hired in 2003, was a lieutenant at the time of DeSantis’ appointment.

Pearson has said he hadn’t considered running for sheriff prior to the appointment, and was called by the governor’s office and told he’d been selected about 30 minutes before a news release was issued.

Nail and St. Lucie County Commission Chairperson Cathy Townsend, a Republican, have criticized the appointment. Nail has said Pearson was “unethical” and “should not even be our dog catcher,” while Townsend described him as “the worst choice the governor could have made.”

Nail said he – and any other Republican who wants – will address commission and council members at meetings in January.

The Port St. Lucie City Council meets Jan. 8; the St. Lucie County Commission meets Jan. 9; the Fort Pierce City Commission meets Jan. 16.

“I would like to go ahead and ask them to join us for Keith Pearson to step down,” Nail said.

Pearson on Dec. 4 spoke to the media, but attempts to reach him in subsequent days have not been successful.

“Seeing the confidence that's put in me and then actually getting that and speaking to different people, it's like, wow … sometimes you underestimate yourself,” Pearson said Dec. 4. “Sometimes you don't see your true value, and you don't see how much of a difference you could really make or how much a difference you've already made.”

Patrick W. Lawlor, a personal injury attorney with an office in Boca Raton, represents Pearson, and in a Dec. 8 letter to Nail asked him to “cease and desist” making “derogatory or defamatory” statements regarding Pearson.

Lawlor states Nail published a document describing Pearson as a “corrupt sheriff.”

“You claim to the community that Sheriff Pearson acts with ‘dishonesty and malfeasance,’” Lawlor wrote. “Further, you claim that Sheriff Pearson is a criminal.”

The letter asked Nail and the Republican Party of St. Lucie County by noon Wednesday to apologize on social media and via the press and to take back any endorsement of a candidate for St. Lucie County Sheriff.

Nail rejected the request.

“We want people with honesty and integrity, and we're not getting that in the sheriff's office right now,” Nail said.

Attempts to reach Lawlor on Thursday were not successful.

A Dec. 5 request with DeSantis representatives about a general understanding of how Pearson was selected has not been fulfilled.

Nail raised questions about Pearson, referencing a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation he said “called for the prosecution of Keith Pearson, stemming from criminal activity.”

Pearson was among many the FDLE interviewed in 2021 in a probe related to allegations Mascara and others broke the law in promoting a straw candidate in the 2020 primary and general elections for sheriff. Prosecutors found insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.

According to an executive summary of the investigation from the FDLE’s public corruption unit, Pearson “knowingly conspired, confederated, abetted and aided Ken Mascara … to facilitate” an alleged ghost candidate.

Nail said he hasn’t spoken to Pearson.

“I probably would not take his call,” Nail said. “If he would like to go ahead and have a conversation about him stepping down and doing the right thing ... I'll stand with him on that.”

Controversy at SLC sheriff's office: Mysteries remain at SLCSO after Ken Mascara's abrupt retirement; successor's appointment

SLC Sheriff's Office developments: Sheriff wants local Republican official to cease 'derogatory or defamatory' statements

Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: St. Lucie Republican leader moves to remove Sheriff Keith Pearson