Regina Hill roundly defeated Juan Lynum in a runoff election today to become the next city of Orlando Commissioner, District 5.
Hill, who many felt had long odds against Lynum, the son of current Commissioner Daisy Lynum, secured 54.5 percent of the votes cast against his 45.5 percent.
In early February, Daisy Lynum abruptly announced her resignation opening the door for her son to jump into the hotly contested race on February 7. Many squirmed at the manner in which it was done.
Juan Lynum, who at first campaigned on his mother’s 16-year ‘Legacy of Leadership’, quickly changed course after six in ten voters rejected him in a three-way race with Hill and Cynthia Harris, last month. Although far better resourced, he led Hill by a mere 37 vote difference.
Hill, who has had a troubled past, was obviously able to connect better with voters in District 5. She campaigned on jobs, fighting for the homeless, affordable housing and securing adequate resources for the people in the District. Hill also characterized her campaign as a movement and vowed to shake up the system, which she has clearly done. New to elected office, time will tell how effective she will be in representing her constituents.
Today’s election also had another big surprise – the huge number of absentee ballots cast. Of the 1,173 votes Hill received, 78% voted by absentee ballot; and in Lynum’s case, 81% or 796 persons voted absentee. A mere 251 persons showed up at polling stations today to vote for Hill. And in Lynum’s case, even less, 154.
While absentee ballot fraud is rampant in Florida, according to True the Vote, a citizen watch-dog organization that works to restore truth, faith and integrity to elections, given the 9 percent margin of victory in the Hill -Lynum race, no one expects the outcome to be materially affected.
