Former mayor Bruce Mount to contest Eatonville election results

A legal dispute is approaching in the wake of Eatonville’s recent mayoral election.

Bruce Mount Jr., an Orlando attorney and son of now former-Mayor Bruce Mount, confirmed that he and his father will legally contest the results of the town’s March 7 election for mayor.

Former Eatonville Mayor Anthony Grant was voted back into office earlier this month earning 41.56 percent of the vote, defeating candidates Alvin Moore, Charles Bargaineer and the elder Mount, regaining the mayor’s seat he had lost to Mount Sr. six years ago.

“Whatever good days to come and bad days to come, we’ve got to tackle those things together as a community,” said Grant, who was sworn in on Tuesday.

“It’s not going to be easy getting to where you want to get … It’s time to get to work.”

But swirling accusations of improprieties have surfaced since the polls closed. There’s been talk that Grant’s large number of absentee votes were forged, Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said.

Mount Sr. had garnered more support at the polls on Election Day with 80 votes to Grant’s 70, but Grant’s 196 absentee votes were enough to earn him back his seat.

Suspicion has pushed Mount Jr. and his father to act. They will be contesting the election results, Mount Jr. said.

“We want to make sure this election did not diminish or minimize the sanctity of our ballot box within the historic town of Eatonville,” Mount Jr. said. “There will be litigation in this case and the courts will decide.”

Cowles noted that Grant has usually drawn large numbers of absentee votes to win elections.

“I would point out that Mr. Grant is a very experienced long-term political candidate in Eatonville,” Cowles said. “He’s always worked the absentees very hard.”

Grant would not comment on the allegations, only saying “I’m rolling up my sleeves and doing what I was elected to do.”

Cowles assured that the system in place for absentee ballots is thoroughly checked and secure. It’ll take a great deal of evidence to prove otherwise, he said.

“All the checks and balances are in place,” Cowles said.

“It’s going to take somebody to come forward with some credible, reliable evidence to support their claim.”

Mount Jr. said the contest of election results will be filed with the circuit court before the deadline of March 22, which marks 10 days after the results were made official.