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From: jocall7868@flaelectionwatcher.yahoo.invalid
Subject: Partisan Democrat defeats Teresa LePore in Palm Beach County
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-------------------------------1094036815
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LePore falls behind in re-election bid
By Mary McLachlin, Jane Daugherty, Mark Schwed
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, Aug. 31
FULL RESULTS:
Vote totals in all races
=E2=80=A2 Latest news on local races
WEST PALM BEACH =E2=80=94 Challenger Arthur Anderson pulled ahead of incumb=
ent=20
Theresa LePore in a tight race Tuesday night for the Palm Beach County Supe=
rvisor of=20
Elections post.
With 81.4 percent of 693 precincts reporting, Anderson had 51.5 percent of=20
the vote to LePore's 48.2 percent. Write-in candidate Glenn MacLean had 0.2=20
percent.
LePore, 49, led in early returns, maintaining a 10 percent margin that slow=
ly=20
dwindled as late-arriving totals came in from south county precincts in=20
Anderson's home territory. Anderson, 63, of Boca Raton is an education prof=
essor at=20
Florida Atlantic University and a former member of the Palm Beach County=20
School Board.
If either LePore or Anderson gets more than 50 percent of the vote, no runo=
ff=20
would be necessary. The non-partisan supervisor's post pays $121,494 a year=20
for a four-year term, beginning in January.
LePore bristled when reporters asked, near midnight, why Palm Beach County'=
s=20
vote tallies were running behind those in Broward, Miami-Dade and other=20
counties.
"Do you want speed, or do you want accuracy?" she asked. "It's on schedule.=20
It'll get done when it gets done. Geographically, this county is so large, =
it=20
takes time to get the (voting machine) cartridges in here. We have 25 reade=
rs=20
going, we'll be there when we get there. You guys couldn't find anything al=
l=20
day to write, and now you're going to write about this."
LePore had predicted a 28 percent turnout for the primary, but lowered it a=
s=20
the day went on and reports of heavy demand for storm supplies at stores=20
indicated voters may have been distracted by the threat of Hurricane France=
s. With=20
75 percent of precincts reporting, Election Day turnout stood at 17.5 perce=
nt=20
and total turnout, including absentees, at 22.9 percent.
Anderson remained optimistic as the night wore on, barely paying attention =
to=20
vote totals as they came in by computer and television.
"I'd be in bed sleeping if all these folks weren't here," he said, referrin=
g=20
to about 25 family members and friends who dropped by his house in Boca Rat=
on=20
for a victory party.
Anderson's campaign was driven by money, endorsements and residual anger=20
stimulated by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, whose own crusade fo=
r a=20
paper ballot trail put him at legal and political odds with LePore long bef=
ore=20
the supervisor's race began. Wexler sued LePore and Secretary of State Glen=
da=20
Hood, claiming paperless touch-screen voting machines violate state law. Th=
e=20
claim was rejected by state circuit and appellate courts and by a district=20
federal judge, but is still before a federal appeals court.
Wexler, his aides and others hovered around a laptop computer watching the=20
vote get closer and closer until 11:47 p.m., when huge applause broke out, =
with=20
supporters screaming, "You're winning!"
"Wow! Wow! Wow!" Wexler exclaimed. "I'm starting to have fun."
If Anderson's edge held, it would be a major upset and demonstrate public=20
support for a paper ballot trail, Wexler said.
"This shows how fired-up Democrats are," he said. "The message is: George a=
nd=20
Jeb Bush, watch out, 'cause we're coming."
Anderson, who barely cracked a smile all night, suddenly couldn't stop=20
smiling. "We're headed to victory," he said.
"People have lost faith in the (electoral) process," he said, repeating a=20
campaign theme. "We have a president elected by the courts, and not by the=20
ballot, and that's what this is all about."
After Wexler was reelected without opposition, he employed unused money fro=
m=20
his own campaign to fuel Anderson's flagging effort against LePore. He brou=
ght=20
Democratic favorites Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and presidential=20
candidate, and former vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman,=20
D-Conn., to make appearances for Anderson and paid for TV ads promoting him=
and=20
attacking LePore.
The contest was marked by accusations of ethics and election law violations=
,=20
with each side filing or threatening to file complaints against the other.=20
After the March 9 presidential primary and municipal election, Anderson all=
eged=20
"numerous problems and irregularities" and called for Gov. Jeb Bush to remo=
ve=20
LePore from office.
Anderson accused Lepore of violating election law by not certifying all pol=
l=20
watchers by the Aug. 24 deadline, which LePore said wasn't true. In print a=
nd=20
broadcast ads, some paid for by Wexler, Anderson reminded voters of the=20
discredited punch-card ballots and Palm Beach County's "butterfly" design t=
hat=20
confused voters, led to massive recount efforts and eventually gave George =
W. Bush=20
the presidency.
LePore's campaign treasurer filed complaints with ethics and elections=20
officials in August, alleging Anderson's financial disclosure and campaign =
finance=20
reports failed to disclose the source of a $25,000 personal loan to his=20
campaign, illegally made repayments from campaign funds to a corporation, m=
isstated=20
his net worth and understated his debt to the federal government for back t=
axes.
Anderson said failed business ventures in Africa had left him unable to pay=20
his taxes. His reputation was scarred by disclosures that the Internal Reve=
nue=20
Service had filed $93,880 in tax liens against him since 1988 and a court h=
ad=20
ordered money deducted from his FAU salary for 15 years for a child he had=20
with a woman who sued him for paternity and support.
LePore and Anderson both began Election Day early, he on the phone at 6:45=20
a.m. with campaign workers and she at 7 a.m. at Precinct 3041, Lake Clarke=20
Shores City Hall.
"This is the first time I've ever voted in person at my own precinct," LePo=
re=20
said. "In the past I've voted absentee so I could be at the elections offic=
e=20
or available to go to precincts if need be."
The supervisor voted for herself, as well as for candidates for U.S. Senate=
,=20
sheriff and others whom she politely refused to divulge. She was greeted li=
ke=20
a demi-celebrity by poll workers and early morning voters in the tiny subur=
ban=20
community, which has 2,378 registered voters.
Hugs, handshakes and "Hey, Theresa," greeted her at nine other polling plac=
es=20
in Palm Springs, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Lantana and West Palm Beach. At=20
Lake Worth Towers on Lucerne Avenue in Lake Worth, a man in a wheelchair ro=
lled=20
up and began a pep talk:
"You hang in there, girl," he told LePore. "The people criticizing you have=
a=20
political agenda. I've told everyone I know to vote for you because you're=20
the most competent elected official in Palm Beach County. You're the best=20
candidate."
Her endorser was former State Rep. John Jordan, 78, sidelined by a leg=20
infection but hoping to be back on his feet soon. Jordan represented Palm B=
each and=20
Martin counties as a Republican for one term in the Florida House in 1968-7=
0.
LePore was a registered Democrat who advocated the office be non-partisan.=20
She switched to No Party Affiliation after the 2000 election.
At St. Thomas More (cq) Church, where two Boynton Beach precincts vote, Dav=
id=20
Neiman, 85, proudly wearing his orange mesh Election Deputy vest, said he=20
voted for LePore without hesitation.
"All this baloney from 2000, you can't blame that on one person," said=20
Neiman, a retired retailer from Chicago.
But another elections worker at St. Thomas More, Lee Wixman, a retired=20
Justice of the Peace from New Haven, Conn., said former vice presidential c=
andidate=20
Joe Lieberman's recent criticism of LePore made some legitimate points.
"He's right, she's wrong about the paper ballots," Wixman said. "It would b=
e=20
good to have some backup, but I think she's done some things very well."
At Precinct 7120, voting at Temple Beth Kodesh cq in Boynton Beach, LePore=20
shook hands with Clinton Waters, an African-American voter, as he was leavi=
ng=20
the polling place. "I voted for you," he volunteered.
"I've lived here since the '60s and never had any trouble voting," said=20
Waters. "I've never missed a general election, and I haven't missed too man=
y=20
primaries . . . I think she's done a good job."
Anderson cast his ballot at 9 a.m. at the Boca-Delray Clubhouse in Delray=20
Beach and concentrated on south county precincts the rest of the day.
He returned to the site of his earliest foray into politics, the sprawling=20
Boca Raton seniors community of Century Village West, home to 6,000 registe=
red=20
voters. Anderson said he began his first School Board race in 1986 with a t=
ea=20
at Century Village and received 85 percent of the vote in the community.
Marvin Manning, president of the community association, said turnout was on=
ly=20
a third of what it was in November 2000. Anderson acknowledged the turnout=20
was low, but said absentee ballots would more than compensate for it.
"We've been urging absentee voting," he said, citing voter uncertainty abou=
t=20
electronic voting with no paper trail.
Nor was he fazed by the uncertainty of who would win the supervisor's race,=20
Anderson said.
"In the final analysis," he said, "both God's and the people's will will=20
prevail."
Staff writer Ron Hayes and researcher Krista Pegnetter contributed to this=20
story.
-------------------------------1094036815
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Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Language: en
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
LePore falls behind in re-election=
bid
By Mary McLachlin, Jane Dau=
gherty, Mark Schwed
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, Aug. 31
WEST PALM BEACH =E2=80=94 =
Challenger Arthur Anderson pulled ahead of incumbent Theresa LePore in a ti=
ght race Tuesday night for the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections po=
st.
With 81.4 percent of 693 precincts reporting, Anderson had 51.5 percent =
of the vote to LePore's 48.2 percent. Write-in candidate Glenn MacLean had =
0.2 percent.
LePore, 49, led in early returns, maintaining a 10 percent margin that s=
lowly dwindled as late-arriving totals came in from south county precincts =
in Anderson's home territory. Anderson, 63, of Boca Raton is an education p=
rofessor at Florida Atlantic University and a former member of the Palm Bea=
ch County School Board.
If either LePore or Anderson gets more than 50 percent of the vote, no r=
unoff would be necessary. The non-partisan supervisor's post pays $121,494 =
a year for a four-year term, beginning in January.
LePore bristled when reporters asked, near midnight, why Palm Beach Coun=
ty's vote tallies were running behind those in Broward, Miami-Dade and othe=
r counties.
"Do you want speed, or do you want accuracy?" she asked. "It's on schedu=
le. It'll get done when it gets done. Geographically, this county is so lar=
ge, it takes time to get the (voting machine) cartridges in here. We have 2=
5 readers going, we'll be there when we get there. You guys couldn't find a=
nything all day to write, and now you're going to write about this."
LePore had predicted a 28 percent turnout for the primary, but lowered i=
t as the day went on and reports of heavy demand for storm supplies at stor=
es indicated voters may have been distracted by the threat of Hurricane Fra=
nces. With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Election Day turnout stood at=
17.5 percent and total turnout, including absentees, at 22.9 percent.
Anderson remained optimistic as the night wore on, barely paying attenti=
on to vote totals as they came in by computer and television.
"I'd be in bed sleeping if all these folks weren't here," he said, refer=
ring to about 25 family members and friends who dropped by his house in Boc=
a Raton for a victory party.
Anderson's campaign was driven by money, endorsements and residual anger=
stimulated by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, whose own crusade f=
or a paper ballot trail put him at legal and political odds with LePore lon=
g before the supervisor's race began. Wexler sued LePore and Secretary of S=
tate Glenda Hood, claiming paperless touch-screen voting machines violate s=
tate law. The claim was rejected by state circuit and appellate courts and =
by a district federal judge, but is still before a federal appeals court.=
P>
Wexler, his aides and others hovered around a laptop computer watching t=
he vote get closer and closer until 11:47 p.m., when huge applause broke ou=
t, with supporters screaming, "You're winning!"
"Wow! Wow! Wow!" Wexler exclaimed. "I'm starting to have fun."
If Anderson's edge held, it would be a major upset and demonstrate publi=
c support for a paper ballot trail, Wexler said.
"This shows how fired-up Democrats are," he said. "The message is: Georg=
e and Jeb Bush, watch out, 'cause we're coming."
Anderson, who barely cracked a smile all night, suddenly couldn't stop s=
miling. "We're headed to victory," he said.
"People have lost faith in the (electoral) process," he said, repeating =
a campaign theme. "We have a president elected by the courts, and not by th=
e ballot, and that's what this is all about."
After Wexler was reelected without opposition, he employed unused money =
from his own campaign to fuel Anderson's flagging effort against LePore. He=
brought Democratic favorites Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and pres=
idential candidate, and former vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Joe Lieb=
erman, D-Conn., to make appearances for Anderson and paid for TV ads promot=
ing him and attacking LePore.
The contest was marked by accusations of ethics and election law violati=
ons, with each side filing or threatening to file complaints against the ot=
her. After the March 9 presidential primary and municipal election, Anderso=
n alleged "numerous problems and irregularities" and called for Gov. Jeb Bu=
sh to remove LePore from office.
Anderson accused Lepore of violating election law by not certifying all =
poll watchers by the Aug. 24 deadline, which LePore said wasn't true. In pr=
int and broadcast ads, some paid for by Wexler, Anderson reminded voters of=
the discredited punch-card ballots and Palm Beach County's "butterfly" des=
ign that confused voters, led to massive recount efforts and eventually gav=
e George W. Bush the presidency.
LePore's campaign treasurer filed complaints with ethics and elections o=
fficials in August, alleging Anderson's financial disclosure and campaign f=
inance reports failed to disclose the source of a $25,000 personal loan to =
his campaign, illegally made repayments from campaign funds to a corporatio=
n, misstated his net worth and understated his debt to the federal governme=
nt for back taxes.
Anderson said failed business ventures in Africa had left him unable to =
pay his taxes. His reputation was scarred by disclosures that the Internal =
Revenue Service had filed $93,880 in tax liens against him since 1988 and a=
court had ordered money deducted from his FAU salary for 15 years for a ch=
ild he had with a woman who sued him for paternity and support.
LePore and Anderson both began Election Day early, he on the phone at 6:=
45 a.m. with campaign workers and she at 7 a.m. at Precinct 3041, Lake Clar=
ke Shores City Hall.
"This is the first time I've ever voted in person at my own precinct," L=
ePore said. "In the past I've voted absentee so I could be at the elections=
office or available to go to precincts if need be."
The supervisor voted for herself, as well as for candidates for U.S. Sen=
ate, sheriff and others whom she politely refused to divulge. She was greet=
ed like a demi-celebrity by poll workers and early morning voters in the ti=
ny suburban community, which has 2,378 registered voters.
Hugs, handshakes and "Hey, Theresa," greeted her at nine other polling p=
laces in Palm Springs, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Lantana and West Palm Bea=
ch. At Lake Worth Towers on Lucerne Avenue in Lake Worth, a man in a wheelc=
hair rolled up and began a pep talk:
"You hang in there, girl," he told LePore. "The people criticizing you h=
ave a political agenda. I've told everyone I know to vote for you because y=
ou're the most competent elected official in Palm Beach County. You're the =
best candidate."
Her endorser was former State Rep. John Jordan, 78, sidelined by a leg i=
nfection but hoping to be back on his feet soon. Jordan represented Palm Be=
ach and Martin counties as a Republican for one term in the Florida House i=
n 1968-70.
LePore was a registered Democrat who advocated the office be non-partisa=
n. She switched to No Party Affiliation after the 2000 election.
At St. Thomas More (cq) Church, where two Boynton Beach precincts vote, =
David Neiman, 85, proudly wearing his orange mesh Election Deputy vest, sai=
d he voted for LePore without hesitation.
"All this baloney from 2000, you can't blame that on one person," said N=
eiman, a retired retailer from Chicago.
But another elections worker at St. Thomas More, Lee Wixman, a retired J=
ustice of the Peace from New Haven, Conn., said former vice presidential ca=
ndidate Joe Lieberman's recent criticism of LePore made some legitimate poi=
nts.
"He's right, she's wrong about the paper ballots," Wixman said. "It woul=
d be good to have some backup, but I think she's done some things very well=
."
At Precinct 7120, voting at Temple Beth Kodesh cq in Boynton Beach, LePo=
re shook hands with Clinton Waters, an African-American voter, as he was le=
aving the polling place. "I voted for you," he volunteered.
"I've lived here since the '60s and never had any trouble voting," said =
Waters. "I've never missed a general election, and I haven't missed too man=
y primaries . . . I think she's done a good job."
Anderson cast his ballot at 9 a.m. at the Boca-Delray Clubhouse in Delra=
y Beach and concentrated on south county precincts the rest of the day.
He returned to the site of his earliest foray into politics, the sprawli=
ng Boca Raton seniors community of Century Village West, home to 6,000 regi=
stered voters. Anderson said he began his first School Board race in 1986 w=
ith a tea at Century Village and received 85 percent of the vote in the com=
munity.
Marvin Manning, president of the community association, said turnout was=
only a third of what it was in November 2000. Anderson acknowledged the tu=
rnout was low, but said absentee ballots would more than compensate for it.=
"We've been urging absentee voting," he said, citing voter uncertainty a=
bout electronic voting with no paper trail.
Nor was he fazed by the uncertainty of who would win the supervisor's ra=
ce, Anderson said.
"In the final analysis," he said, "both God's and the people's will will=
prevail."
Staff writer Ron Hayes and researcher Krista Pegnetter contributed to=
this story.
-------------------------------1094036815--