Karen Aronowitz, the president of United Teachers of Dade, last week beat back competition from four other candidates to win a second term at the helm of the Miami-Dade County, Fla., union. (“Unrest Besets Scandal-Scarred Dade Union,” Feb. 14, 2007.)
The former English teacher received 55 percent of the votes in the Feb. 21 election, while her closest competitor, high school chemistry teacher Shawn Beightol, won 23 percent. Ronald Beasley, Patrenia Dozier Washington, and Harold Mandell took 10.75, 10.51, and 0.67 percent of the votes, respectively.
Ms. Aronowitz was the Miami-Dade County union’s first elected president since Pat L. Tornillo Jr., who led the union from the early 1970s until 2003. He was convicted of swindling the union of millions of dollars and was sentenced to prison.
The American Federation of Teachers took over the running of its local affiliate for two years before Ms. Aronowitz won an election in 2005.
