FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — Tuesday marks the final day of the special runoff election for the Fort Pierce District 2 city commissioner seat. The race extended into the new year after none of the candidates won the first election.

Early voting ran Jan. 3-10 at Renaissance Business Park, and today is voters’ last chance to cast their ballot. Polls close at 7 p.m.

Residents will now choose between Chris Dzadovsky, who served as a St. Lucie County Commissioner for 16 years, and Jaimebeth Galinis, a senior director at BD, a Fortune 500 medical device company. Dzadovsky took around 40% of the vote during the first election, with Galinis winning around 31% of the vote.

We asked both candidates how they would improve the economic development in Fort Pierce. Here’s how they responded:

“I understand how these developers work. They want to be able to make a profit. That’s understandable. Development is coming, but it’s going to be appropriate for Fort Pierce. Fort Pierce is a 125-year-old city, and it has character. It has character that needs to be retained,” Dzadovsky said.

“So, for me, I’m going to be trying to hold on to that character, hold on to those larger lot sizes. And like I said before, bringing that economic development to the west, that King’s Highway Corridor,” Galinis responded.

The election follows the arrest of James Taylor in July of 2025 for allegedly having sexual communications with a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat. He resigned from his commission seat shortly after. Fort Pierce District 2 has only had one representative since his resignation in August.

One voter says they want the next candidate to bring transparency to the commissioner seat.

“Our city has had this huge cloud over it for years. We’ve had a lot of issues with the commissioners, and as you know, about. We’ve had issues with the police department. We’ve got issues with the building department. We’ve got just the police, a lot of issues of dishonesty,” said Fort Pierce resident John Jacobs.

Another told CBS12 News the commissioners have to remember who they work for.

“I think you have to listen to the people. I mean, they’re elected to represent us. And I think in terms of the issues, you look at what the people need, what we need as a society, what the local community needs,” Tom Armstrong said as he left the Westside Church polling location.

Voting takes place on Tuesday until 7 pm. You can find a list of polling locations on the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections website.

Also on Tuesday, voters in Palm Beach County are heading to the polls for a special election for state House District 87, which has been vacant since August when Rep. Mike Caruso was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for Palm Beach County.

Check back later for the results of this election on CBS12 after polls close and the votes are tabulated.