Two weeks ago, managers for incumbent Miami-Dade School Board member Evelyn Greer ran a tracking poll to see how she was doing against retired school principal Larry Feldman and the news was not good.

Greer held a slight lead in the poll over Feldman, but she could not muster a 50 percent majority with Election Day closing in, a clear signal that the race would be left to undecided voters who tend to sway for the underdog.

Greer, hobbled by illness and a loss of support from the local teachers union, was bounced Tuesday night from her seat. The election night shocker now could spell the end of embattled Superintendent Rudy Crew's tenure in Miami.

The surprise victory by Feldman -- who had recently offered to stay on the job for a $1 salary but was rebuffed by the district -- could shift the balance of power on the Miami-Dade School Board.

Greer had been one of Crew's strongest supporters on the bitterly divided nine-member board. Feldman has said in the past he would bring new leadership to the nation's fourth-largest school district.

But Tuesday night, Feldman was more measured and said he would first enjoy his ''David and Goliath'' win.

''I am on cloud nine,'' he said Tuesday evening, while celebrating with hundreds of supporters at an Offerdahl's Café Grill in Pinecrest. ``It's a mandate that the community wants change.''

About Crew's future, he would only say: ``There are aspects of his work that have been fine; there are aspects that are not acceptable.''

Greer, 58, was part of the 5-4 bloc voting in Crew's favor, the same bloc that saved his job earlier this month. Feldman, 55, could now swing the majority against Crew, especially if opponents can engineer another effort to fire him.

But nothing is likely to happen until Feldman takes office this winter -- if Crew even stays that long.

In a school district where incumbents usually win, Greer's loss to a virtual newcomer with little name recognition and even less political experience was surprising.

Greer was gracious in defeat.

''I'm very proud of the achievements of the last four years in my district,'' she said from her home Tuesday night. 'I stood on principle, and as the Buddha said, `Don't mistake victory for defeat.' ''

Greer had been ill for the last three weeks and had not campaigned.

In the other races, incumbent Renier Díaz de la Portilla, who has pushed for Crew's firing, fended off a challenge from former journalist Angel Zayón.

Incumbents Wilbert ''Tee'' Holloway and Martin Karp also held on to their seats, easily defeating Erhabor Ighodaro and Shawn Beightol, respectively.

The night capped off a contentious -- and highly publicized -- election season for the board.

Ana Rivas Logan was the only member automatically reelected when nobody challenged her.

THE UNEXPECTED

Widely seen as the underdog in the race, Feldman won with a grass-roots campaign -- and the backing of the United Teachers of Dade.

A career educator, Feldman was a political unknown until he offered to defer his retirement from Devon Aire K-8 Center in Southwest Miami-Dade.

At the time, Feldman was in his final year of a state program that lets educators declare their retirement up to five years before leaving the job, so that benefits can accumulate.

Feldman's offer drew the attention of the media, and parents rallied behind him. But Crew and the board declined, saying that keeping Feldman would create budget troubles.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@