Jesse Scheckner
Broward County voters cast thousands of ballots Tuesday, electing and re-electing candidates and weighing in on government matters across five municipalities.
Here are the results.
Coconut Creek
It was a good day for incumbents in the 57,800-resident city of Coconut Creek. All three Commissioners who ran to hold onto their seats — Jackie Railey, Joshua Rydell and Sandra Welch — did so by landslides.
With 8 of 9 precincts reporting, Railey had 78% of the vote to defeat Philippa Sklaar.
Rydell had 85% of the vote to fend off a challenge from Felicia Shuman Newkirk.
And Welch, the city’s current Vice Mayor, had 70% of ballots cast her way to repel opponent Patricia Duaybes.
Read more about the race here.
Deerfield Beach
The largest city by population with candidates running, Deerfield Beach will soon have a new Mayor and two new Commissioners.
Voters elected Commissioner Todd Drosky to succeed Bill Ganz as the city’s top official, choosing him over opponent Dan Herz.
For the City Commission, lawyer Daniel Sanetzky outpaced two opponents for the District 3 seat, and Thomas Plaut walloped a lone write-in opponent for District 4.
Read more about the race here.
Miramar
Yvette Colbourne easily won re-election to Seat 2 on the City Commission after her candidate errantly checked the “write-in candidate” box on his paperwork.
Voters also picked Avril Cherasard for Seat 3 over two opponents and Carson “Eddy” Edwards for Seat 4 over three opponents.
Read more about the race here.
Sea Ranch Lakes
The insular village of Sea Ranch Lakes, population 540, had three of its six Council seats up for election.
They went to incumbent Council member Douglas Hodgson and candidates Denise Bryan and Chad Volkert.
Christopher Weber, who ran to keep his seat, failed to secure enough votes to do so. Leann Bruener also ran for the panel but came up short.
Pembroke Pines
Voters in Pembroke Pines, population 171,119, face eight ballot questions. Most center on the role and responsibilities of City Manager.
Here’s how the referendum went:
— Should the City Commission be allowed to appoint or remove an Acting City Manager by a three-fifths vote instead of the current four-fifths threshold? No.
— Should the City Manager’s role be expanded to include Superintendent of city-owned charter schools? No.
— Should the City Commission be allowed to appoint or remove a City Manager by a three-fifths vote rather than a four-fifths vote. No.
— Should the City Charter be amended to replace the word “disability” with “incapacity” when referring to the City Manager’s inability to perform their duties in situations necessitating the appointment of an Acting City Manager? Yes.
— Should the City Charter be amended to expand the qualifications of the City Manager from three years of experience as a City Manager or Assistant City Manager to also include three years of comparable experience, as determined by the City Commission? Yes.
— Should a required public hearing be deleted from the process of removing a City Manager? No.
— Should the City Charter be amended to require, in cases of vacancies on the City Commission, the appointment of an interim Commissioner and a Special Election to fill the vacancy as soon as possible? Yes.
— Should issuance of $230 million in bonds be approved for the construction and improvement of a police and public safety complex, community facilities, recreational facilities, roadway and infrastructure improvement, and land acquisition? No.
