Few Surprises in Election Results
Early voting was so busy here in Alachua County that I was certain that the turnout would be around 90%. So much for that starry-eyed optimism. It was actually 78.1%, down from 78.3% during the last Presidential election. However, that is still pretty good, and Barack Obama won this county predictably, 60-39%. And the coattail effect did its work. All three incumbent county commissioners won handily. Byerly beat Riordan 57-42%; Delaney beat Bailey 59-41%; and Long beat Scott 54-46%. I expected the Delaney/Bailey race to be the closest, but it was actually the widest margin, though not by very much.
In multi-county action, Cliff Stearns lost Alachua County 52-48% due to the Obama Effect, but the big McCain support in Marion County was enough to overcome it and help him finish 61-39% over Cunha. Chuck Chestnut crushed Bernie DeCastro 70-30% in the State House District 23 race, and Debbie Boyd squeaked out a 42 vote win in District 11 over the Republican challenger Elizabeth Porter. With such a tiny margin, it will likely be the subject of a recount, but it will also likely stand.
In non-partisan action, in which voters could not just look for a D to know how to vote, the race for Alachua County Judge was won handily by Denise Ferrero, 60-40%, despite the last month television onslaught by her challenger, Lorrain Sherman, who claimed that Ferrero’s campaign was deceptive. In the race for Soil and Water Conservation District seats 2 and 4, I only got these wrong. David Gildart lost to Todd Martin 61-39%, and Mary Ann Gosa beat Rob Brinkman 53-47%. I had presumed that name recognition would work for Gildart and Brinkman; Gildart because he used this site a great deal since July 1, and Brinkman because he has run for other offices. The best I can explain it is that what people learned about David Gildart on this site and his linked MySpace page actually turned voters off. And in Rob Brinkman’s case, it might be that his tendency to lose all his elections might mean that people just don’t like him.
In ballot initiative action, on the local level, the big wave of Obama voters seems to have liked new taxes. They approved both the One Mill for Education 64-36%, and the sales tax for Wild Places/Public Spaces 52-48%, and they overwhelmingly chose to limit the county government from selling off lands preserved for Conservation, Recreation or Cultural Purposes 75-25%.
