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Kicia Daniel Wins Reelection in Tamarac; Mike Gelin Secures Commission Seat After Court Battle, City Website Says 5

Kicia Daniel and Mike Gelin.

Tamarac Commissioner Kicia Daniel won reelection Tuesday, defeating challenger Carol Mendelson by a wide margin in District 4, while former Commissioner Mike Gelin secured a return to the City Commission after a court disqualified his only opponent from the District 2 race, according to the city.

Daniel received 4,176 votes, or 65.34%, compared with Mendelson’s 2,215 votes, or 34.66%, according to unofficial results from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections.

The Nov. 3 contest was a rematch of the 2022 election, when Daniel defeated Mendelson to win her first term on the commission.

Daniel, a longtime Broward County educator and school principal, holds degrees from Florida A&M University and Nova Southeastern University, including a doctorate in educational leadership.

In December 2024, she became the first Black woman to serve as Tamarac’s vice mayor. She has also served on the Broward League of Cities Board of Directors.

Mendelson, a retired Broward County School Board administrator and longtime Tamarac resident, campaigned on fiscal accountability and infrastructure improvements.

In District 2, Gelin was elected without opposition following a legal battle that resulted in the disqualification of incumbent Commissioner Morey Wright Jr., according to the city, after judges declined to reverse Wright’s disqualification or order a new election.

Also on Tuesday, Mayor Michelle Gomez won reelection unopposed

Gelin, who previously represented District 2 from 2018 to 2022, had filed a lawsuit challenging Wright’s eligibility over deficiencies in his candidate qualifying paperwork.

On Oct. 14, Broward Circuit Judge Michael A. Robinson disqualified Wright after finding that he had failed to meet mandatory requirements under Florida election law.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the ruling Oct. 28, rejecting Wright’s argument that he had substantially complied with the law.

The appeals court found that Wright failed to properly designate a primary campaign bank account and appoint himself deputy campaign treasurer before signing the check used to pay his qualifying fee.

“Disqualification may be a harsh result, but we must enforce the law as written,” the appeals court wrote.

Wright’s name remained on ballots printed before his disqualification, but the court ordered that votes cast for him could not be counted. Election officials distributed notices informing voters that the race was uncontested.

Wright has vowed to continue fighting the decisions.

A partial election-night tally posted by the Broward County Supervisor of Elections and visible shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday showed Gelin with 2,428 votes, or 50.09%, and Wright with 2,419 votes, or 49.91%.

Wright said that the results were subsequently removed by the Broward Supervisor of Elections before all votes were counted. He called for them to be publicly released.

Gelin previously gave up his commission seat to run for mayor in 2022, losing to incumbent Michelle Gomez. Wright won the District 2 seat that year.

Wright’s disqualification also prompted a separate lawsuit filed Oct. 22 by two Tamarac voters, Patti Lynn and Patti Fox, who argued that city officials were required to postpone the election and reopen candidate qualifying under Tamarac’s municipal election ordinance. The residents sought an emergency injunction delaying the election and allowing additional candidates to qualify, but the court did not issue one ahead of election day.

Wright said he intended to seek another term if a new qualifying period was ordered.

The results of Tuesday’s election remain unofficial pending certification by the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, according to the city.

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.