John H. “Buddy” Dyer was elected to a fourth term as Orlando’s mayor last night. He received nearly 63 percent of the vote and bulldozed the two challengers looking to unseat him.
Sunshine Grund totaled 978 votes and Paul Paulson garnered 7,381.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer giggling during one of his many swearing in ceremonies/Photo courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel
No challenge for Buddy as Sunshine and Paul couldn’t muster the necessary votes to sniff City Hall.
But the story of this election wasn’t Buddy’s popularity or electability, it was more so that of Paul Paulson’s money and how he spent it.
For all the fuss and controversy surrounding Paulson’s campaign and static statements, Paulson spent a healthy 814k and commissioned just 7,381 votes out of the deal.
That’s about $110 per vote not counting outside money.
Paulson ran on the idea that Orlando deserved better and he would be the great unifier. Dyer lead the charge to raise property taxes 17.7%.
Paulson said that he would repeal that increase.
Dyer isn’t concerned about the safety of the city’s minority residents. Paulson said that he would change that.
The current mayor–and still by popular voting demand–lacks transparency and will not answer tough questions. Again–Paulson championed the idea of a people powered campaign and a City Hall run on the ideas of those living in Orlando.
7,381.
That’s the number that Mr. Paulson has to hang his hat on. It’s not one of shame or defamation, but Paulson spent upwards of 800k to unseat Dyer and still fell 6,000 votes short of topping the list.
That has to count for something, right?
It’s not an indictment on Dyer’s popularity or his electability; it’s an expensive snapshot of just how poorly Paulson’s campaign was run.
The issues that Paulson talked about are valid and just. Some voters were irked by the tax increase and believe that Dyer doesn’t pay enough attention to the cares of those living in the city.
Remember Food Not Bombs? Yeah. What about Occupy Orlando? Yeah. The recent change in the city’s election date? Yeah. Orlando City Soccer’s stadium? Faith Deliverance Temple? Yeah.
So it’s not as if the issues aren’t there, but when one candidate spends likely over one million dollars to unseat a man tattooed with problems, and still loses by thousands of votes, that campaign has to be tagged as one the biggest failures in recent political history in Central Florida.
Paulson didn’t lose by a little, he lost by a lot. He created tacky and reckless signs that read “It’s ok to be black in Orlando.”
Those black people still voted for Dyer.
Whether one loves, hates, or is just apathetic about Dyer, he’s as close to teflon as it gets. Paulson tossed a Brinks truck of political money at him and still sank to the bottom of Lake Eola.
Lesson? Come harder and better prepared for John next time.
Maybe if he runs again, Paulson will choose a better team of advisers and consultants to help guide his campaign for mayor. Because this time around, they were simply writing checks and tossing them to the wind.
-JH
The post It’s good to be king appeared first on Jason Henry Project.
