Two nail-biters leave Broward election losers disenchanted, winners elated

A tale of two elections: A recount after a highly competitive contest in Davie, and a reversal of fortune in Lauderhill.

BY SAMUEL P. NITZE AND BETH REINHARD

Davie Vice Mayor Susan Starkey walked out of Broward County's election warehouse savoring victory Wednesday, after a recount certified a nine-vote victory in Tuesday's Town Council election.

About an hour earlier, Lauderhill candidate Hayward Benson left the same Fort Lauderdale warehouse in disappointment, his bid for a recount denied.

The rulings by the canvassing board marked the end of two tumultuous races that stretched into the day after election night, a tale now commonplace in recount-weary Broward County.

The losing candidates still aren't entirely satisfied.

Starkey's opponent, Democratic political consultant Mitchell Topal, vowed to back a lawsuit aimed at adding printers to the state's electronic voting machines, so that future close votes can be recounted by hand. Benson is considering a lawsuit to contest the results of his race, which he thought he had won by five votes. Instead after the absentee ballots were tallied he lost by 50.

''I went to bed thinking I was the winner,'' said Benson, a Lauderhill council member in the early 1980s. ``I woke up the loser.''

Around 11 p.m., the elections office's website showed Benson had a five-vote edge over Howard Berger, another former council member. Benson called the city clerk, who affirmed he was the winner.

''They saw the smile on my face, and the room erupted,'' said Benson, who was in a hotel conference room decked out with campaign signs, where about 50 family members and friends had gathered to celebrate.

He woke up the next morning to a newspaper story that said he'd lost the race.

''We were flabbergasted,'' he said. ``My children and supporters were sickened. I called the city clerk, and she started crying.''

When he appealed to the canvassing board, he was told that the margin in the election did not meet the threshold required to trigger a recount. County officials like attorney Ed Dion hope for big margins.

''It's the prayer he does before every election,'' said Broward County Mayor Ilene Lieberman, a canvassing board member. ``So far, we have not been successful.''

Shortly after the recounted Davie results were announced by the canvassing board 1,274 votes for Starkey, 1,265 for Topal Starkey turned and beamed at Davie Mayor Tom Truex, seated to her right. Among the others who turned up to support her were Broward Republican Party Chairman Kevin Tynan and former party chairman Ed Pozzuoli.

As television cameras moved into position, Topal approached to shake Starkey's hand and offer his own congratulations.

Their quick handshake and tight smiles followed a bitter race marked by mutual accusations of underhanded campaign tactics and questionable ethics.

Starkey had suggested she may go after Topal for possible violations of campaign regulations, but added Wednesday that she hopes to unite the town.

''It's been a difficult race,'' she said. ``That's where we'll start first reaching out to the community.''

Topal said he accepted his loss, but was committed to pushing the state toward a system that requires a paper record of all votes.

''When you get these close elections, that will allow for full verification,'' he said. ``Otherwise, there's always a question.''

On election night, the Davie candidates awaited the results at local restaurants, surrounded by dozens of well-wishers.

Topal's supporters recalled a moment around 9 p.m. when poll results showed their candidate taking the lead.

A cheer went up, but the jubilation was fleeting.

A short time later, the results shifted again, giving Starkey a four-vote lead that would grow to seven shortly after midnight.

''It was a roller coaster,'' said Davie resident Norm Blanco, a Topal supporter. ``Very, very up, and then quite down.''

Starkey said she tried not to jump to conclusions until the final results were tallied.

''I knew we just had to wait for all the precincts to come in,'' she said.

Candidates had to wait more than an hour after the electronic votes were counted for the absentee ballot results.

Election officials had to verify that voters whose mail-in ballots arrived on Election Day hadn't gone to the polls.

The use of 88 different types of ballots across the county, depending on the voter's municipality and party affiliation, also complicated the tally.

'I was looking around, thinking ahead to the bigger election in November and thinking, ``How are we going to do this?' '' recalled Pete Corwin, a county official working closely with the elections office. ``If there had been wider margins, we all could have gone home.''