Three Big Questions Tuesday’s Primary Election Will Answer | Steve Bousquet

Every election tells us something we don’t know yet. We’ll have more answers on Tuesday. Here are three big questions in Tuesday’s primaries.

Torey Alston’s Story

Broward school board member Torey Alston is appointed by the extremely unpopular local governor Ron DeSantis, which should be enough politically to doom his candidacy. He is also trying to win a nonpartisan school board race in a Democratic district in southwest Broward (strike two) where he did not live (strike three).

Facing a formidable opponent in newcomer Rebecca Thompson, Alston is touting her experience and the support of Democrats including county commissioners Robert McKinzie and Hazelle Rogers.

Under pressure from local Democrats, Rep. Jared Moskowitz withdrew his endorsement after Alston’s name appeared in an ad for a Moms for Liberty school board candidate forum. (Alston did not attend the event and said he never gave the group permission to use his name, but any affiliation with the far-right group could do serious damage in an election dominated by Democratic voters.)

Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel columnist.

The Sun Sentinel editorial board endorses Thompson, a former Broward schools social worker and mother of three young children.

An Alston victory would be a success for DeSantis and his strategy of moving school boards to the right across Florida.

School board elections are officially nonpartisan, but party affiliations are always lurking in the background. (Thompson is a Democrat with many endorsements from Democratic officeholders.)

Alston’s hopes are based on the unlikely scenario that voters in the majority-minority district will ignore his Republican roots and elect him in part because of his race. “The publisher of the Westside Gazette said Black Broward has to support Torey Alston,” he said on the Can We Talk podcast, where he ridiculed political forces, including the Scum Sentinel, that he said are “taking the school board back to the point where there’s one black person on the school board.”

The best sheriff money can buy

Theoretically, low-turnout elections attract only the best-informed voters.

If true, most voters know that Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony was found guilty by a state official of breaking the law by knowingly concealing a decision to suspend his driver’s license, which a judge said was a breach of the public trust.

His history includes massive cost overruns at the training facility, including a rebranding effort to promote his name, and a record-breaking budget proposal that is reminiscent of the abuses of Nick Navarro, the sheriff elected by Republicans in a low-turnout primary in 1992. The national NAACP is seeking a federal civil rights investigation into 21 inmate deaths since 2021 at the Broward prison under Tony’s control, citing a “pattern of neglect and mistreatment.”

Are Broward voters happy with that? We’ll find out on Tuesday.

Over five years, Tony raised upwards of $2.6 million through his political action committee, Broward First. The money, some from deep-pocketed Republicans, paid for a steady stream of direct-mail flyers—including one featuring him with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Tony is the only sheriff candidate that some voters recognize, even if they misspell his name as “Tony Gregory.”

He could use three underfunded opponents who would split the votes of the incumbent’s opponents, increasing his chances of victory. The Sun Sentinel has endorsed Steve Geller, a 33-year law enforcement veteran who has worked for the FDLE and Plantation Police and who would be a huge improvement.

New Public Defender

The most important primary race in Palm Beach County is the Democratic primary for public defender. It’s a striking contrast between Daniel Eisinger, a career PD assistant, and Adam Frankel, a criminal defense attorney who served as Delray Beach commissioner for 12 years. Eisinger is a top assistant to highly regarded public defender Carey Haughwout, who is retiring after 24 years.

Daniel Eisinger, a candidate for Palm Beach County Public Defender, speaks during the Coalition of West Boynton Residential Associations (COBWRA) candidate forum in Boynton Beach on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett/Sun Sentinel)

The choice is between a career civil servant (Eisinger) and a career politician (Frankel) with a familiar-sounding name who is not related to Lois Frankel, the better-known member of Congress. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board has endorsed Eisinger. Since no other candidates are running, all voters, even independents and Republicans, can vote in this primary.

Overall, these early elections have a listless quality, reflected in the poor turnout so far. Most races are unconvincing, and most candidates are underfunded, limiting their ability to reach voters.

The candidate whose message proves effective has a good chance of winning, and voters are most likely to remember the candidates who knocked on their doors and personally asked for their vote.

Broward has shown few signs of a Democratic effort to encourage voting. The state’s Democratic Party is in disarray, with some candidates openly criticizing the party for mishandling a polling guide that initially left out some qualified Democratic candidates.

Despite their vast numerical advantage, Broward Republicans showed no such confusion. GOP voters were given a guide that listed the party’s preferred candidates and those endorsed by the party — including Torey Alston.

Steve Bousquet is the opinion editor of the South Florida Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at [email protected] or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on X @steve buquet.