Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/118445
Sarasota News Leader March 29, 2013 it appeared Lumpkin and Holland were saying they supported the same goals and objectives as Dorfman and Atwell. "We are in harmony on how the city should grow," said Lumpkin at the outset of the press conference. "We're here to offer our support to do whatever we can to help get them elected." ELECTORAL MATH It did not take long for the word of the unique crisscross endorsement to get out. The arrangement was cooked up over the weekend, but the media did not get official wind of the 12:30 p.m. press conference until an 11 a.m. email arrived. Page 18 By late afternoon the rumor mill was in full swing. "People were calling me," said Atwell after a 6 p.m. ceremony. "Are we running as a slate or a bloc? Well, of course not. We received a couple of endorsements, that's all." One political insider said it looked like a replay of the District One race of 2011. Only one seat was at stake, so the four-person primary boiled down to a two-person final election. The two non-prevailing candidates — Republican Richard Dorfman and Democrat Frederick Douglas Williams — both endorsed Democrat Linda Holland against Willie Shaw, another Democrat. Prior to the March 12 primary, the six candidates address a neighborhood organization: (from left) Susan Chapman, Linda Holland, Pete Theisen, Richard Dorfman, Suzanne Atwell and Kelvin Lumpkin. Photo by Stan Zimmerman