28 Facts About Bob Gualtieri

Robert A "Bob" Gualtieri was born on October 2,1961 and is an American law enforcement officer, lawyer, and politician who is serving as the 15th sheriff of Pinellas County, Florida.

Bob Gualtieri previously served as Chief Deputy and General Counsel to PCSO under Sheriff Jim Coats.

Bob Gualtieri was elected to the office in his own right in 2012, and was re-elected in 2016.

Bob Gualtieri serves as the treasurer for the Major County Sheriffs of America.

Bob Gualtieri was born on October 2,1961, in Syracuse, New York.

Bob Gualtieri's father served as District Attorney in Onondaga County.

Bob Gualtieri moved to Florida with his parents in 1980.

In 1982, Bob Gualtieri was hired by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office as a detention deputy for the county jail.

Bob Gualtieri rejoined the Sheriff's Office in 1984 as a patrol deputy and later as a detective assigned to drug investigations.

In 2006, Bob Gualtieri accepted an offer from Sheriff Jim Coats to return to the Sheriff's Office as General Counsel.

Bob Gualtieri was appointed Chief Deputy in 2008, a role that saw him in charge of day-to-day operations.

Bob Gualtieri continued to serve in both roles until his appointment as Sheriff in 2011.

Chief Deputy Bob Gualtieri filed to run for sheriff the same day, and formally announced his candidacy two days later.

Bob Gualtieri would serve the remainder of Coats' term, which was set to expire on January 7,2013.

Bob Gualtieri faced a notable Republican primary challenge from former Pinellas Sheriff Everett Rice, who served from 1988 to 2004.

Bob Gualtieri was endorsed by his predecessor, Jim Coats, who succeeded Rice.

Bob Gualtieri then faced Democrat Swope and write-in Pound in the general election.

Bob Gualtieri participated in the first sheriff's forum of the 2020 election, hosted by Dream Defenders, on June 17.

Bob Gualtieri spoke alone the first hour, while McLynas and Santana shared the second hour together.

When questioned why he would not debate his challengers, Bob Gualtieri acknowledged that he refused to debate McLynas over a series of photo-shopped pictures and memes criticizing him.

Bob Gualtieri actively campaigned in opposition to Florida Amendment 2 in 2014, which would have legalized medical cannabis in the state; the sheriff argued that the amendment was crafted to push for the legalization of recreational use.

In 2015, Bob Gualtieri initially expressed support for a medical cannabis bill introduced by Republican state senator Jeff Brandes; however, the sheriff voted against it as a member of the Florida Sheriffs Association.

McLynas persisted through his 2016 campaign; although he finished second to Bob Gualtieri, following the results on the night of the election, he immediately pledged to run again in 2020.

Bob Gualtieri stated he did not plan to arrest people with warrants if they showed up at emergency shelters.

On July 20,2018, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced that his agency would not charge 47-year-old Michael Drejka for the shooting death of 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton in Clearwater the day before, in accordance with Florida's stand-your-ground law.

Bob Gualtieri criticized the national media for replaying a viral news clip of spring breakers packed on the beach earlier in the week, saying the problem did not reoccur in the following days, and criticized county leaders for caving into pressure to shut down the beaches, claiming such a closure would be a challenge for patrolling.

Tampa Bay Guardian, an independent online newspaper, called the event a "photo opportunity" and reported that Bob Gualtieri violated the county order by improperly posting notices to make them visible outside the premise but not to those "present on the premises", as the order requires.

Bob Gualtieri tested negative a week after his positive diagnosis.