There are only 29 days to go until the residents of Fort Lauderdale start the process to choose their leaders for the next three years, a new Mayor and four City Commissioners.
It’s the Primary Election first, on February 10th.Then, if no one won at least 50% of the vote in the Primary, a run-off Election will take place on March 10th, and the new Mayor and City Commissioners will be finalized.
There are a slew of candidates in all the Districts and in the Mayor’s race this time around. That’s probably due to the fact that term limits kick in this year for the first time in the City’s 100- year history.
So, there has been much speculation among the residents that follow such things about just who might be rising to the top of the political heap. And I am one of those citizens that follow such things.
So we conducted a poll. A telephone poll. The poll was formulated by a professional campaign company, Political Strategies Inc, and conducted by a group of sharp local residents.
Those that were polled were the best voters in the City, ones that voted in the most recent National and Local Elections. In the Political biz, we call them the “Super Voters”. They make up the 10% to 15% of the population that actually vote on a regular basis.
So who’s ahead already, you ask!
This is what we can tell for sure, so far.
The “Super Voters” are clearly not yet ready for February 10th. Maybe it’s voter fatigue from the tumultuous Presidential Election just passed, or maybe it’s just a little too early to poll, but it’s pretty clear that a majority of the electorate is not firmly committed to their candidate.
If we had to call the races today, the Commission might made up of Mayor Nobody and his four Commissioners, Commissioners Nobody, Nobody, Nobody, and Nobody!
But that doesn’t mean trends are not forming, and challenges to an eventual win are not firming up.
The race for Mayor looks like this, so far!
Former State Representative Jack Seiler appears to be trending ahead of the pact. Only 64% of the respondents knew who he was, or knew enough to form a judgement, but of those folks, 89% gave him a positive rating.
Former City Commissioner Dean Trantalis appears to be back some lengths. More “Super Voters” knew him, or knew enough to form a judgement of him, 71% , but of those, only 47% of those offered him a positive rating.
Former Lt. Colonel Earl Rynerson, a longshot for sure, is only known by 36% of the respondents, and his positive rating so far is just 41%.
Former F.B.I. Agent Steve Rossi, is least known of all the candidates, with just 31% name recognition, and holds a positive rating of just 29%.
Lots can still happen. Get ready for the onslaught, when the candidates will undoubtedly be discussing their competitor’s shortcomings, and touting their own strengths. In Politics, 29 days can be an eternity!
I’ll discuss the results of the four District Commissioner races in my next blog posting!..
Local Election Poll Results In !
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