www.theledger.com/article/20081104/NEWS/811040237/1338/ -
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Published on: 11/4/2008
Last Visited: 11/5/2008
Smith pulled ahead of challenger Nancy Z. Daley, a Democrat, by 1,549 votes late Tuesday, winning with 48.4 percent of the vote to Daley's 47.7 percent and 3.9 percent for Independent Ghassan M. Zebdaoui.
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Smith received 108,196 votes, Daley had 106,647 and Zebdaoui had 8,684 votes.
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In the waning weeks of the election, Daley, 55, was more visible than her opponents as she worked crowds at numerous public functions throughout the county and touted her experience as a former commissioner and mayor of Lake Alfred.
Daley, special projects manager at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, raised $20,021 and spent $19,914.
She stressed the need to better manage county growth and to eliminate duplication of services.
Zebdaoui, 47, refused public contributions and contributed $2,348 to his own campaign.
Daley and Smith wooed voters by touting their experience in municipal government while Zebdaoui, a political newcomer and Winter Haven resident, cast himself as a change agent with an insider's perspective, having worked in recent years as a county traffic engineer.