Sullins Stuart, former Dist. 3 candidate for the County Commission said this week that he has dropped his lawsuit challenging the results of the Republican primary election. In that election, he lost to Charles "Sonny" McCoy by 12 votes. McCoy went on to win the seat in the November general election. Stuart carried all but 10 of the County's 33 precincts. In half of the precincts he lost, the margin in five was five votes or less. McCoy won the election by garnering 58 percent of the more than 700 absentee votes. Stuart said he filed his lawsuit because he was concerned about possible irregularities in the absentee vote.
But Stuart has yet to formally concede the election to McCoy. "I am convinced that I would
have prevailed had I pursued this suit," he said. "But it would have been costly and time consuming. I
decided that it was in the best interests of the residents of Monroe County and myself to give this closure."
This year's Toys For Tots campaign was the biggest ever, according to the Key West Police Department's Ellie Barker. "We had at least 500 toys donated this year, in addition to money we used to buy razor scooters and safety helments for kids aged 6-12." She estimated that 130 needy kids received toys this year through the program.