Votes Being Counted In Teamster Race

A federally appointed overseer began tallying ballots Tuesday in the race for the Teamsters presidency, a bitterly fought contest between incumbent Ron Carey and the son of labor legend Jimmy Hoffa.

The stately campus of the National 4-H Club provided a pastoral setting for the last act of what has been a bruising battle to lead the 1.4-millionmember organization with a reputation for hard-nosed politics.

Scores of Teamsters on both sides of the fight came from across the country to serve as election observers, but there were no signs of the bad blood that nearly turned the union’s convention into a brawl.

“Everyone seems to be acting amicably and getting along fine,” said Renee Asher, spokeswoman for Carey’s campaign.

The painstaking ballot count is expected to last until Friday. Results are posted as each local union’s total is certified, and some believe a voting trend will become clear late Tuesday night or Wednesday.

Voter turnout has outpaced 1991’s poor showing, but well below 50 percent of union members have voted. As of Monday, 483,000 ballots had been returned, about 10 percent more than last time.

Most returns have come from the central region of the country, where Hoffa is thought to be strongest, and spokesman Richard Leboove said Hoffa’s supporters were “cautiously optimistic.”

But a poll taken for Carey in late November showed him leading, 55 percent to 45 percent.