MIAMI _ Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, a little known security consultant and former cop who was appointed to the prestigious job in the wake of Florida's worst mass high school shooting, was on the verge of holding off a crowded field _ including his predecessor, Scott Israel _ to win Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Tony was up by 4,000 votes with 567 of 577 precincts reporting, according to the Broward Supervisor of Elections Office.
If the margin holds, Tony's hard-fought victory over Israel, a two-term elected sheriff, and retired Broward County Sheriff's Office lifer Al Pollock would all but guarantee the first Black sheriff in county history and its 17th overall top law officer a four-year term after November's general election in the bluest county in the state.
Tony campaign supporter and Broward Mayor Dale Holness said he was fairly comfortable Tony would be victorious.
"He came in and took charge and made the changes that were necessary," the mayor said. "And he diversified the leadership command like it hasn't been done in 105 years. He did what the public cried for _ disciplining deputies who used excessive force."
Tony will likely face off against Republican H. Wayne Clark, a military veteran and practicing trial attorney whose expertise is construction litigation.
Though voter turnout was expected to be high for a primary election _ both campaigns said they expected in excess of 30% _ Tuesday was relatively quiet compared to the weeks leading up to election day, when accusations of a rogue and out-of-control office under Israel and lying and illegitimacy during Tony's 19 months as sheriff were regularly tossed about.
But for many voters the election really came down to a pair of shootings almost three decades apart _ one that tore at the heart of a Broward community considered one of the safest in the nation and another that lay hidden for almost three decades.
To win back the office he was elected to twice since 2012, Israel, 64, had to overcome being removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis after a state-appointed panel determined his lack of leadership likely contributed to deputies not initially confronting the gunman during the Valentine's Day 2018 rampage at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas Senior High School that left 17 students and administrators dead and another 17 seriously hurt.
And for Tony, 41, to remain in office he needed to convince voters that he wasn't hiding a shooting that occurred 27 years ago when he was 14. The shooting left a man dead outside Tony's home in Philadelphia _ an encounter he never mentioned to DeSantis when he was appointed Broward sheriff in January of 2019.
To 61-year-old Jeanna Rhoulhac, who voted at the Answer Church in Hollywood, Tony's past didn't matter. She said she voted for the incumbent sheriff because he was "trustworthy" and "safety-minded."
"He definitely is a champion for the children. He's a strong leader. I just felt that Gregory Tony's been doing an excellent job and he was the better choice," said Rhoulhac. "He's less controversial."
But for M. Patrice Bourdeau-Quispe, choosing Israel was an easy decision. The governor, she said, has no right to appoint someone to an elected post.
"It's not an appointed position. It's a usurpation of citizen rights and I'm (angry)," she said after casting her ballot at Coconut Palm Elementary School in Miramar. "I voted for Israel on principle. He was democratically elected. The governor of Florida does not have the right to usurp our democratic decisions. It's not an appointed position."
With the race so close and thousands of votes still to be counted by 8:30 p.m., both campaigns said they wanted to withhold comment until the results were final.
Pollock hoped to latch onto disgruntled voters tired of the dirt being thrown around leading up to Tuesday's vote. He received the backing of the largest deputies union in the county. Also in the Democratic primary were businessman Willie Jones, retired Marine and BSO Deputy Andrew Maurice Smalling and another former BSO deputy, Santiago Vazquez Jr.
