With only a few precincts outstanding, Delray Beach City Commissioner Mack Bernard holds a big lead and appears headed to victory over Riviera Beach Councilman Cedrick Thomas in the special state House District 84 election.

Near-complete results show Bernard with 59.9 percent of the vote.

“I’m excited. This is a great opportunity….I’m happy to represent the people of District 84,” Bernard said tonight from a party at Pistache restaurant in West Palm Beach.

He called Thomas “a great city councilman in Riviera Beach.”

Bernard, a 33-year-old business lawyer and president of a title company, will replace Priscilla Taylor, who stepped down in July when Gov. Charlie Crist appointed her to a Palm Beach County commission vacancy.

District 84 is about 54 percent black. Bernard will be the only black member of Palm Beach County’s state House delegation.

He lives outside District 84 and couldn’t vote in today’s election, but said he plans to move into the district before he takes office Sept. 22.

Bernard raised nearly $70,000 — including $15,000 of his own money — for the race while Thomas raised $27,106.

Tags: Cedrick Thomas, Mack Bernard, special election

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 10:32 pm and is filed under George Bennett, State House. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.