The year was 2009. After 14 full years in office, and a seemingly iron-clad hold on town politics, Mayor Anthony Grant was beaten by his political nemesis, Vice Mayor Bruce Mount. Mount had tried twice before to unseat Grant. The third time, it seems, was the charm.
Fast forward to 2015. The arm of the political pendulum has swung to the opposite side of the arc. Grant is back– not just on the political scene, but as Mayor of Eatonville once again. Mount is out, but he’s not taking the news well.
This month’s election results gave Grant the victory by a margin of 271 votes to 159. Alvin Moore and Charles Bargaineer were also candidates for the seat. In a field of four, Grant’s vote total represented roughly 42 percent of the total 652 votes cast. Of Grant’s total 271 votes, 196 were cast by absentee ballot.
Mount isn’t happy about those ballots, and he and his son, attorney Bruce Mount, Jr., are crying foul, and he has filed a complaint against both Grant and the Orange County Canvassing Board alleging improprieties in the election. The lawsuit, styled BRUCE MOUNT, SR vs. ORANGE COUNTY CANVASSING BOARD et al., accuses Grant of forging absentee ballots.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles says Mount will have a hard time proving the absentee ballots were forged because “all the checks and balances are in place to prevent it.”
Six years ago, when Mount unseated Grant, he won by a margin of only 26 votes (450 – 424). While the count was still “unofficial,” Grant told the Advocate he would respect the apparent wishes of the voters and step down. He promised to make the transition of power to Mount as smooth as possible. There’s a notably different scenario playing out here.
Grant was sworn in on March 17
