Who prevailed in Lake County municipal elections? Check the results here.
TAVARES — Voters in five cities Tuesday cast ballots in municipal elections, and the closest contest was a neck-and-neck race between two of the three candidates for Minneola City Council Seat 5.
The unofficial results show Joseph Saunders capturing 40.09 percent of the 1,539 votes, compared with 39.44 percent for Kelly Price. Saunders had 617 votes compared to Price’s 607. Juana Delacruz had 20.47 percent, or 315 votes.
Also In Minneola, Pam Serviss beat Monica Luna 1,066 votes to 479, or 69 percent, to fill the Seat 1 position for City Council. In the Seat 3 contest, Pat Kelley edged Nathan Focht, 831 to 762 votes, or 52.17 percent.
In Clermont, Chandra L. Myers was the winner for City Council Seat 4, with 1,961 votes or 51.76 percent, over Max Krzyminski, who received 1,828.
In Lady Lake, Mike Sage won big in the Town Commission Ward 5 election with 68.14 percent or 415 votes. Jim Rietz got 194 votes.
Randy L. Brasher won his election for Mascotte City Council Seat 5, getting 109 or 57.67 percent over Sharee Hodge, who got 80 votes.
Sandy Gamble won election to Seat 2 on the Tavares City Council, with 52.90 percent or 785 votes to Doug Keown’s 699.
Clermont voters overwhelmingly said no to changing council terms and term limits, 2,090 to 1,332, or 61.08 percent.
Currently, council members serve two-year terms with a maximum of four consecutive terms. A yes vote would have become effective with the elections in November of 2024 and 2026, increasing council terms to four years, with council members elected in November 2025 serving a one-year term and reducing term limits to three consecutive terms.
Voters in Minneola said yes to two ballot questions.
Currently, annual City Council elections are staggered two-year terms. The change increases the term from two to four years and provides staggered four-year terms of office. Council seats 1, 3, and 5 shall be filled for a four-year term starting in November 2026, and seats 2 and 4 shall be filled for a four-year term starting in November 2024.
Ballot Question No. 2 dealt with term limits.
Currently, there are no term limits for City Council seats. The change now provides a term limit of eight years and 60 days beginning after the November 2023 election and allows further eligibility for one additional maximum of eight years and 60 days after sitting out for a four-year period.
The approved amendment allows appointing someone who has already served the maximum term limit to fill a City Council vacancy.
Alan Hays, the supervisor of elections, reported that out of 49,184 registered voters, only 7,733 cast ballots, or 15.72 percent.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Who won? Who came up short? Lake County election results
