NEVER TOLERATE TYRANNY!....Conservative voices from the GRASSROOTS.

Key, Bernard square off in fight for House District 84

By Andrew Abramson

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010

Albert Key feels like the ideal candidate for House District 84. He grew up in Lake Park and remembers when Northlake Boulevard was a two-lane road and the construction of a McDonald's drew the awe of neighbors.

He knows the neighborhood and doesn't like what he sees, he said. "Our district looks like crap," said Key, who is 45.

With FPL, the Port of Palm Beach, and sugar producers in the Everglades, the district should thrive, he said.

Instead, he said, "We've lost a lot of business, we have the highest unemployment rate as far as the area goes, and obviously we're not receiving the representation we should have."

Key, a retired, disabled veteran who has a real estate license, is a political newcomer. He said he knows the realities of his district that help make his opponent, incumbent Mack Bernard, a favorite in the race: "It's Democratic and it's black," Key said.

Key, a white Republican, has raised just $4,400 compared to Bernard's $61,500. Bernard, a former Delray Beach city commissioner, is seeking to solidify his spot in the House after winning the seat in a special election last year.

Key calls Bernard an absent representative who people in the district barely know. But Bernard - the only black member of Palm Beach County's state House delegation - said he's just getting settled in the House and needs time.