Winners and Losers in a Poor Turnout Contest
Victors Mike Byerly and Eileen Roy savoring their wins
Last night, in a race that I thought was too close to call, Sheriff Sadie Darnell handed her challenger, Lonnie Scott, a stunning defeat. Scott, who had campaigned loudly and vigorously against what he considered corruption and mismanagement, got just under 40% of the vote in a pathetic 24.6% voter turnout. I had thought a low turnout would help Scott, but the number that seemed to support him was illusory. They were louder, but incumbency and name recognition trumped the noise. A landslide is usually defined as a beating by 60-40% or better, and this was one of them.
The Property Appraiser’s race was even less competitive as Ed Crapo was returned for yet another term in a 65-35% drubbing of Alonzo Perkins. And District 2 School Board member Eileen Roy put away her challenger, Jeannine Cawthon, by the even larger margin of 67-33%.
In a rare turn of events, incumbency was not enough to save District 4 School Board member Janie Williams from former 3 term member Barbara Sharpe. Monster name recognition and deeper political ties gave Barbara her old job back, 53-47%.
Janie Williams (left) and her friends watch the inevitable roll out on the screen.
In the Democratic Primary for the District 1 County Commission seat, Mike Byerly was firing the bullets instead of dodging them this time. He put away his well-funded challenger, Rick Bryant, by a solid 55-45% margin. Byerly has been helped by fortunate circumstances in the past: a third candidate who siphoned off an opponent’s support in 2000, and a write-in candidate closing his primary to Independents and Republicans at the last minute in 2004. The closed primary helped him again, but it was not unreasonable to think that Bryant, a popular Gainesville City Commissioner, could knock off the last environmentalist standard bearer. But the greens always show up. The voter turnout was highest in this race, 30% of Democrats voted, and Mike Byerly has earned a third term.
In the race for Alachua County Judge, Denise Ferrero beat her nearest competitor 2-1, but it was not enough to take the race outright. Because she got only 45% of the vote, instead of the 50% + 1 needed to end it all, she will face the second place finisher, Lorraine Sherman, on the November ballot. In what was the heartbreaker of the night, first time candidate Rob Groeb was nipped for the number two position by only 64 votes, or 0.22% of the vote. It was a Michael Phelps finish for Lorraine Sherman.
Onlookers glued to the big screen at the county admin building…
