Aug 27, 2008 1:55 pm US/Eastern
Most Incumbents Returned, Childrens Trust OK'd
School Board Member Evelyn Greer Only Incumbent Forced From Office
Israel Leads Tight Broward Sheriff Race
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
It was a great night to be an incumbent politician in Miami-Dade county, unless you were school board member Evelyn Greer. She was the only incumbent to be tossed out of office when Tuesday's Miami-Dade election ballots were cast and voters returned Mayor Carlos Alvarez, all 6 county commission members on the ballot, and three other school board members to office by wide margins.
Only Greer, representing district 9 in South Miami-Dade, struggled at the hands of Teacher-supported school principal Larry Feldman. Feldman erased Greer's lead early on, and moved smartly away from her throughout the evening as the votes were counted, ending the night with a 54% to 46% margin. Feldman will apparently be the only new face on a school board wracked with indecision about the future of Superintendent Dr. Rudy Crew.
One of Crew's biggest critics on the board, Ranier Diaz de la Portilla, was in a tight race with former TV reporter Angel Zayon for much of the evening, but widened the gap as the night progressed to end with a comfortable margin of 53%.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez was returned to office despite a surprisingly strong challenge by former teacher and political unknown Helen B. Williams, who managed to pull in 34% of the votes.
The biggest smiles not on the face of political candidates were worn by supporters of the Dade Children's Trust, which asked voters to once again approve a special property tax for children's programs. 85 percent of the voters said yes, bucking a tax-cut trend for the sake of kids.
In Broward County, Scott Israel led a 5-way race in the democrat primary for Broward County Sheriff, but he's being closely followed by Richard Lemack. Together, the two men held more than 60% of the votes. The eventual winner will face republican sheriff Al Lamberti in November.
Incumbent tax assessor Lori Parrish easily bested her opponent, former employee Sara Truini, with 82% of the vote. Also in no danger of having to clean out her office was Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, who sailed into the November general election with 85% of the vote.
Incumbent Public Defender Howard Finkelstein also had reason to smile Tuesday, as his primary opponent could only manage about 18% of the vote.
On the county commission, incumbent John Rodstrom faced a stiff challenge from former Ft. Lauderdale commissioner Carlton Moore, with just a percentage point separating the two candidates in a crowded field for the district 7 race.
In district 9, incumbent Joseph Eggelleton walked away with his race, taking 52% of the vote.
Broward school board chair Robin Bartleman easily won re-election to her at-large district 9 post.
Voter turnout was light in South Florida, with about 10% of registered voters taking part in Broward County, and about 14% in Miami-Dade. This is the first election using new paper ballot scanners for voting, and election officials reported no significant problems with the change from electronic voting.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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