Beach Club Vote

Beach Club Vote Tally Starts with Bolt Cutters

By Charles D. Sherman

A meeting at the Key Biscayne Beach Club Friday afternoon began with Mike Rice, the husband of Club President Donna Rice, producing a massive bolt cutter to break into a locked ballot box filled with disputed votes for a new board.

A majority of the board voted on Tuesday not to count the ballots, arguing the election process had been tainted and a new vote was required under the bylaws. The board members, who make up the majority -- Chris Mack, Ron Erbel, Andrew Garcia and Nelson Zambrano -- did not attend the Friday meeting in protest, citing late notice during a holiday weekend.

With Club Secretary Mark Fried, who is a lawyer, Rice overrode her fellow board members decision and ordered the ballot box broken into. Before the meeting began Fried joked the group intended to open the ballot box with a hairpin.  Then the bolt cutter was brought into the Beach Club's office.

Key Biscayne former Mayor Myra Pena Lindsay attended the meeting and said Rice had asked her to observe the vote count. Jane Stuart, an acquaintance of Rice and a former board member, was identified as another observer.

Before counting the votes, Rice said the meeting was closed to this reporter and other members. Mayor Pena Lindsay was asked if she felt she was participating in a properly conducted election. She said, "yes."

Asked for a reaction to the events, Chris Mack said: "Amazing. I'm speechless." Erbel said: "Unbelievable."

What the legal and ethical implications of the process are remain unclear.