Gillespie Defeats Krueger After Hard Fought City Election

Carol Gillespie has defeated incumbent City Commissioner Danny Krueger in the race for Seat 4. In an unofficial tally of all votes, Gillespie collected 1,325 votes to Kruegers' 983, or a winning total of 57.41 percent.,

In the second race for Seat 2, Daniel Williams collected an unofficial total of 939 votes, to Alvarado's 938 votes. The results are certain to trigger an automatic recount. A third candidate in the race, Crystal Higbee, won 347 votes, of 15.6%. There is no provision for a runoff in Lake Wales elections.

Colette McKie

Supporters of Carol Gillespie gathered early at the Lake Ashton Pavilion Tuesday evening to await election results. Gillespie defeated incumbent commissioner Danny Krueger 57.41% to 42.59%, a margin of 342 votes.

The News reached out to the two candidates for comment. Daniel Williams has not responded to a message left on his personal phone. Alvarado declined to comment on the results or next steps other than to say "I'm very proud of my team."

Courtesy Supervisor of Elections

Early returns from the Supervisor of Elections office had both incumbents, Daniel Williams and Danny Krueger, leading in their respective races. The final unofficial tally left Krueger solidly defeated by Carol Gillespie, while Daniel Williams and Brandon Alvarado finished separated by a single vote. A recount is expected to take place in the next couple of days.

By early afternoon 237 ballots had been cast at Lake Wales City Hall and another 203 at Lake Ashton, where three northern precincts are assigned. Votes cast in person favored the incumbents. There were 1,141 votes cast by mail in advance of the in-person voting. Those votes apparently favored the challengers.