Some random thoughts about the election in Lake Worth last Tuesday, in no particular order.

May add more thoughts later on today. Check back on Tuesday morning prior to the Swearing In of Commissioners-Elect Omari Hardy and Herman Robinson. Will move this blog post back near the top. Buckle Up! Here we go:

• Here is the scorecard for the Post editorial board endorsements in 20 City elections, basically a coin flip, a winning rate of 54%. They were 50% right in Lake Worth.
• Omari Hardy didn’t get the HRC endorsement. Neither did State Rep. Bobby Powell last year. They both won anyhow. Feel free to “read between the lines”.
• Endorsements do matter. But some less so when what the organization says in public is different in private.
• Herman Robinson campaigned hard. People like Dave Kerner, Jeff Clemens, Erica Whitfield, and a whole lot of others endorsed him. All Herman had to do was call and ask. It was an easy choice for a lot of people to say, “Yes”.
• Interestingly, the pay raise for mayor and commissioners was a non-issue in the election.
• Cara Jennings told people what she thought on Facebook and even campaigned with McVoy. It didn’t matter. Nobody listens to her any more.
• McVoy got the Realtors endorsement. What were they thinking?
• Yes, it was a dismal voter turnout. But extrapolate using a 2, 3, 5× or higher turnout and it wouldn’t have made a difference. The wins by Hardy and Robinson would have been larger margins.
• Some tried to make this Lake Worth election about national issues and the mood of the electorate nation-wide. Many are burned out on politics. However, the election was decided on local issues: the way it should be.
• Omari Hardy kept to the high road. McVoy didn’t. The question looming is how will McVoy leave the stage. The consensus? Not very nicely. All eyes and ears will be on what he says this coming Tuesday, that is, if he shows up at all.
• The referendum extending terms of electeds from 2 to 3 years passed easily. Cara Jennings was against it. But then again, she is irrelevant.
• Being the “environmentalist” candidate, McVoy sure used a lot of #5 Chloroplast signs, especially on election day. I told one of his supporters they make great TV trays. We can only hope they were recycled appropriately.
• For most people, Mr. Hardy’s race was a non-issue. That should make our entire City proud.
• When the “other side” gets stung what they do is go silent. They were silent a whole lot this last election. But sometimes when they get stung they will do things like send a “former journalist” to give quotes to a newspaper reporter. This was the day after a mailer about McVoy.
• The usual suspects going voting location to voting location for McVoy did not seem very motivated this year. They didn’t laugh at my jokes either.
• Everyone in the Hardy and Robinson campaigns should be very proud. They all worked extremely well, stayed coordinated, and worked as a team.

So that’s it for now. In April is another big day for this City. City Manager Michael Bornstein was hired on April 16th, 2012, five years ago. For a man who has worked so hard it would be nice to see a result: a City Commission that respects each other, disagrees without being disagreeable, a learns to work together.

We all know what can happen when one commissioner decides to do the opposite. That’s why the voters sent McVoy packing.