Circuit Court Judge: Bergmann seems headed to victory
Appointed to the bench in 2002, Charles "Ed" Bergmann held a commanding lead over his Group 17 seat challenger.
By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD
Published September 1, 2004
TAMPA - Hillsborough Circuit Judge Charles "Ed" Bergmann appeared poised to hold onto his Group 17 seat Tuesday, leading opponent Beth Gilmore Reineke by a significant margin.
Bergmann, 59, said he did not want to claim victory until all the votes had been counted.
"I'm one of those fairly conservative people. I don't want to say it's in the bag until it's in the bag," Bergmann said late Tuesday, waiting at Tate Brothers Pizza on Davis Islands as results reflected his commanding lead.
Bergmann said he rose at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and spent the day campaigning hard across the county.
Bergmann worked as an attorney for 30 years focusing on civil litigation before Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the circuit bench in February 2002.
He now serves as a judge in the family law division, handling a crowded docket that includes about 125 new cases a month including divorce, paternity and child support.
His opponent, Reineke, a 41-year-old Tampa lawyer whose practice focuses on family law, awaited election results at home with her family. She said she was pleased with the election results, being a first-time candidate running against an incumbent.
"A lot of people thought I wouldn't do as well as I have done," Reineke said. Win or lose, she told her children, she would take them to Disney World. "I'm going to take my family on a well-deserved vacation and reacquaint them with their mother."
During the campaign, Reineke pointed to her 14 years of civil litigation work and spoke of bringing professionalism and fairness to a family law system she said was broken.
On the campaign trail, the Hillsborough County Judicial Campaign Practices Committee found Bergmann committed an ethical violation by making the unverifiable claim that a majority of family law attorneys supported his candidacy. The committee also found Reineke had violated the code of judicial conduct by claiming in the press that Bergmann was "just doing time" on the bench.
