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Politics

One race won, two are likely runoffs

By CHRIS TISCH
Published September 6, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Of the three races for Pinellas-Pasco Circuit judge seats, voters were clear on who they wanted in one of them.

The other two races were not so clear late Tuesday. Both appeared headed for a runoff.

Jack Day walloped Robert "Bo" Michael in the race for Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Group 45 by taking more than 69 percent of the vote.

In the race for Group 32, Assistant State Attorney Pat Siracusa had collected 49 percent over two opponents, just shy of the majority he needed to win the election outright.

If those results hold, Siracusa will face off against the second-place finisher in his race, private lawyer LeAnne Lake, who took 29.4 percent of the vote.

Private lawyer Mark Schleben finished third with 21.4 percent of the vote.

Neither Siracusa nor Lake was ready to accept whether or not a runoff was necessary.

"It's so close that I don't think you could appropriately call it yet," Siracusa said.

Said Lake, "It's a disappointment if you don't win and you work hard."

In the Group 9 race, Christine "Chris" Helinger had a commanding lead over two opponents with 44 percent of the vote. But because she didn't get the majority, she too will head to a runoff against one of her opponents.

It appeared that it will be Assistant State Attorney Glenn Martin, who held a 28.6 percent to 27.4 percent lead over another assistant prosecutor, Mary Handsel, late Tuesday.

Martin said he believed he had made the runoff but wanted to wait to say so for sure. Handsel said she believed Martin beat her.

Helinger, an assistant public defender, said she was ready for the runoff whoever her opponent will be.

"I'm just really glad that I got through the primary," she said.

Such uncertainty wasn't a problem for Day, a private lawyer in St. Petersburg with more than 30 years of experience.

Michael, who is now a four-time loser on election day, sent mailings to voters late last week that implied Day had tax problems. In fact, Day had paid tax penalties for underestimating his earnings, a common occurrence for private lawyers.

Day sued Michael for defamation on Friday, claiming Michael was trying to fool voters just before election day. It appears the negative ads either didn't resonate with voters or turned them off.

"I'm profoundly grateful for the support of my family, friends and colleagues in helping me attain this opportunity to serve," said Day, who celebrated at home with his family. "This is a victory for all those who feel that trickery and deceit have no place in the election of a judge."

[Last modified September 6, 2006, 01:21:27]