visit to dr. moxley

Linda quit today. She will stay at school until a replacement is found...probably through November. I am very happy for her political success.

TAVARES -- Linda Stewart, who pulled a political shocker in September when she defeated longtime County Commissioner Catherine Hanson in the GOP primary with a promise to slow development, vanquished Democrat Egor Emery on Tuesday to win the seat.Stewart, who garnered 62 percent of the vote, will be joined on the commission by another newcomer and fellow slow-growth proponent, Republican Elaine Renick, whose certain victory was sealed with Tuesday's vote. Renick's name appeared alone on the ballot for that race, and only because she faced a write-in candidate. Renick had ousted incumbent Bob Pool in a three-way Republican primary.
In Stewart, a schoolteacher, and Renick, a three-term Clermont City Council member, voters chose candidates who could dramatically shift county government's pro-growth course. With their votes in September and in Tuesday's general election, Lake voters signaled they are fed up with overcrowded schools, congested roads and developers who have long influenced county commissioners."I can't believe it," Stewart said. "I'm not a politician. I've never had politics on my mind, but it's been too long since Lake County residents have been heard."I'm going to make a change."At the round courthouse, where votes were being tallied, Emery hugged Stewart and shook her hand.The outcome of Renick's victory, meanwhile, was never in doubt."I'm very happy," she said, adding, "I couldn't relax until it was official."All voters in the county were eligible to cast ballots in races that require candidates to live in a district. In the District 4 race, Stewart held off Emery, who was hoping to become only the second Democrat to win election to a commission seat since 1970. In the District 2 race, Renick's opponent was write-in candidate Hubert Martin III.Stewart, 55, emphasized the need to lure higher-paying jobs to Lake. She proposed to do so by setting aside land exclusively for light industry and commercial development. Like Renick, Stewart has said she would preserve what's left of the county's rural lands.Renick, a 54-year-old former school psychologist, also pledged never to meet with developers or their attorneys outside of public meetings."I think we have already felt the change, and there's going to be more changes with the decisions concerning growth ahead of us," Renick said.