2 commissioners from Lake County lose in primaries
Sullivan, Breeden defeated while Blake wins race
Two incumbent Lake County Commissioners lost their seats on Tuesday, as voters rejected reelection bids from Tim Sullivan and Wendy Breeden.
Josh Blake, the other incumbent county commissioner on the ballot, won his Republican primary and faces only a write-in and a no-party affiliation candidate in November.
School Board member Kristi Burns took her race, while incumbent Sandy Gamble was trailing in his race for another term.
All votes were counted by 10 p.m.
Overall, about 24.6% of registered voters cast ballots in the Lake primary, which is a little less than 2018, when 28.5% turned out for a primary that included a race for governor. Almost 30,000 people voted by mail and another 9,140 went to early voting sites. More than 23,000 voted in person on Tuesday.
Sullivan, 66, of Leesburg, was in his third term as a county commissioner, but lost to newcomer Doug Shields in the District 1 race 55 to 45%. Sullivan, a financial professional and retired brigadier general from the Florida Army National Guard, previously was a Fruitland Park commissioner and mayor as well as a Lake County
Board member.
Shields, a certified public accountant who has been became active in fights against high-density growth, jumped in the Republican primary on the last day, which opened it to all voters, since the winner takes the seat.
Kirby Smith, 52, a former Tavares council member and mayor, defeated Breeden in the Republican primary for County Commission District 3, 59% to 41%. Smith faces only write-in candidates in November. Breeden, 70, of Leesburg, is in her first term on the commission after serving as the county’s Public Resources Department director from 2009 through 2016.
Blake, 39, of Lady Lake, won in his District 5 Republican primary over former Lake Sheriff ’s captain Todd Luce of Umatilla. Blake, a former legislative aide, took 54% of the vote to Luce’s 46%. He faces only write-in candidates in November.
Commissioners are elected countywide but
School must live in their districts. They serve four-year terms.
Burns, 43, of Leesburg, won her bid for a second term on the Lake School Board, defeating Patricia Nave, 67, a longtime school administrator who lives in Leesburg. Burns received 65% of the vote to Nave’s 35% in the District 2 nonpartisan race.
The School Board District 4 race will go to a runoff in November, but incumbent Gamble was trailing in third place late Tuesday.
Mollie Cunningham, 59, of Tavares, was leading the race with 30% of the vote, with Betsy Farner (26%), Gamble (25%) and Michael Garcia (20%) trailing. Since no one received more than 50% of the vote, the top two meet in November. (Rounding brings totals to more than 100%.)
Cunningham worked 36 years as a teacher and school administrator, retiring as principal of Carver Middle School in Leesburg. Farner, 61, of unincorporated Tavares, taught 37 years, including at Tavares
Elementary, Middle and High School, with 20 of those as a science teacher. She retired in June. Gamble, 62, of Tavares, is the incumbent District 4 School Board member, elected in 2016. He worked for the district in classified support roles for more than 20 years and also is pastor of the Church of God of Prophecy in Tavares. Garcia, 54, of Mount Dora is a Mount Dora police officer who has worked as a school resource officer.
School Board members are elected countywide but must live in their districts. They serve four-year terms.
Among other local races in Lake:
■ In the vote for Clermont City Council Seat 3, which is the city’s mayor, no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, setting up a November runoff between the top two vote-getters, Diane Travis (41%) and Tim Murry (38%). Stephen A. Franklin finished third with 21%.
■ In the vote for Groveland City Council District 3, no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. Barbara Gaines (44%) and Dina Sweatt (32%) will face off in November. Ana Luiza Afshin finished third with 24% of the vote.
■ In Howey-in-the-Hills, about 75% of the voters backed the removal of council member Matthew McGill from his seat.