After 28 years holding a local seat in the Democratic party, Rose Sorrentino (pictured) lost a hard battle Tuesday to Alderman Robert Lee.
“It’s over,” declared Lee at 5 o’clock, standing outside in the rain outside the Bella Vista housing complex. With over 230 votes clocked in, the Ward 11 alderman was sure he had overthrown the queen of Bella Vista politics in the race for the Ward 11 co-chair seat. Lee was running with Patty DePalma against two party-endorsed incumbents.
The final results bore out Lee’s confidence:
Patty DePalma 152
Robert Lee 134
Rose Sorrentino 127
Adelaide DelFranco 115
Sorrentino wasn’t out in the rain Tuesday afternoon. The Democratic diehard, who’ll be 87 in March, had caught a cold running around delivering absentee ballot applications. She sat inside, out of the reach of the chilling wind, but still poised at a key gateway to her stronghold of support.
She sat at an indoor walkway where Buildings A and B — where she and her running-mate, Adelaide DelFranco live — pour out into the polling place. She woke up at four, got freshened up, and sat on her walker at the doorway at six, meeting voters as they rolled up to the door.
As she awaited a snack of peanut butter crackers, Sorrentino said she felt good about the race. She had help from Emily Byrne, a young staffer in the mayor’s office who’s been active in local campaigns since she worked for the mayor’s gubernatorial bid. Byrne helped set up a pre-election party Monday night, complete with hot dogs and three types of cookies. Mayor John DeStefano showed up and put in a good word for the two co-chairs. And everyone got done in time to go play bingo.
Standing opposite Sorrentino at the tunnel’s opening was Jack Brennan (pictured), handing out cards for Lee and his cohort, Patty DePalma. Brennan chatted with Sorrentino as the hours passed by. She gave him advice on his mom. By four o’clock, he had only passed out a dozen cards – “people hand them back,” he said. “They know these two ladies,” not Lee.
Away from that warm nook, however, Sorrentino’s stronghold was slipping. In Buildings C, D and E, Lee had a strong presence. Voters who came in from outside the complex leaned towards Lee, too: Sorrentino didn’t campaign outside Bella Vista, she said, because most of her friends out there have died.
And Lee was outdoors almost all day, passing out flyers and giving out doughnuts and coffee. Hill Alderman Jorge Perez dropped by to show support, he said. Lee’s trusty cohort, Ed Douglas, camped out below a green tent in the chilly afternoon drizzle. “This is my second change of clothes,” said the man, hoping not to get doused by rain again.
As wind rattled the tent, Lee (pictured, with DePalma) was all confidence. He said the mayor’s brief appearance at the hot dog party Monday night just wouldn’t be enough to beat his team of allies at the housing complex.
“He better get some Georgia hots next time,” Lee suggested.
Lee trumpeted his victory as a sign that the mayor doesn’t have support in that part of town. Lee had handily fended off a challenge from the Democratic “machine” in a hot aldermanic race in November. Ward co-chairs are key in picking who gets to be chair of the local Democratic party, and who gets nominated to be alderman or mayor.
“Bella Vista is looking for a change — not only in the alderman race, not only in the co-chair race, but in the mayor’s race,” Lee charged. “He [DeStefano] better look out for a change.”