Kaminski wins La Porte runoff by five votes

Dottie Kaminski beat Rick Guzman in Saturday's close runoff race for La Porte's At Large Position B council seat.

Unofficial results from the city show Kaminski earning 704 votes, while Guzman took 699. Kaminski also was in the lead after the initial four-candidate election for the seat in May, taking 677 votes to Guzman's 463.

Kaminski did not return calls for comment on Monday afternoon. Guzman didn't say whether or not he'd stay involved in city politics.

"I've got two full-time jobs, so I'm just going to keep on working my work," says Guzman, who works as a safety manager for a contract company and teaches courses at Lee College. "No regrets on my part."

Despite his narrow loss, Guzman says he's simply pleased to see that 1,411 people voted in the runoff.

"I just want to say thanks to La Porte voters for getting out and exercising the opportunity to vote," Guzman says. "It's a great town we live in."