Yay! It's the Day That 90 Percent of Us Don't Vote!

Finally, the end of the municipal election cycle is upon us. A few races we'll be watching today:

In Fort Lauderdale, we've got runoffs in three commission districts, which means that a majority of the city's governing body will be elected today, joining mayor-elect Jack Seiler and Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom, both of whom earned decisive victories last month.

In District I, a bruising battle between incumbent Commissioner Christine Teel and former Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bruce Roberts. Teel got about 200 more votes last month, but Roberts has waged a fierce campaign over the past month, putting Teel on her heels. Will it be enough to put Roberts over the top? This one will be close.

In District III, it's Pamela Adams and Bobby DuBose slugging it out for the commission seat vacated by the term-limited Carlton Moore. DuBose, an insurance adjuster, looks good here after nearly winning the seat outright, with 49 percent of the February 10 vote. Then again, turnout was so anemic (just 1,820 votes cast in the first election) that this race could swing wildly in a new direction if there's an uptick in voter interest.

Coleman Prewitt and Romney Rogers will finally settle District IV. This has been a relatively civil contest, and though Rogers won 46 percent of the February vote to Prewitt's 35 percent, this race may hinge on the 800 votes left over from supporters of Jim Lewis and George Trodella, who didn't make it to the runoff.

Here's a nice video mash-up of Fort Lauderdale candidates courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel.

Perhaps no city will breathe a bigger sigh of relief after today than Deerfield Beach, site of the region's bloodiest campaign.

You've got one ex-mayor trying to campaign against his own pending felony corruption case (Al Capellini). You've got another polarizing ex-mayor in Jean Robb, who is trying to convince voters to think nostalgically about her time in City Hall, though others remember the low morale. Another familiar name, ex-commissioner Peggy Noland, is trying to recover from yesterday's arrest of her son, who is charged with petty theft for allegedly stealing campaign signs of his mom's mayoral rivals. Rounding out the field: Republican C. Don Petersen, who moved to Deerfield Beach after his wife's murder, a case that's still unsolved; another relative newcomer in Don Cleveland, who's captured much of the local Democratic Party's support and has happily embraced political-outsider status; and city activist Caryl Berner, who's struggled on the fund-raising circuit and is considered a long shot.