FORT PIERCE–Fort Pierce city voters will select two commissioners, representing District 1 and District 2, from among candidates who soon must file paperwork to run.
The four-year Fort Pierce City Commission terms of incumbents Arnold Gaines, from District 1, seat 5, and Michael Broderick, District 2, seat 4, expire later this year. Both are expected to seek re-election.
Election scheduling will be dependent upon how many hopefuls declare their intentions to run for each of the open positions.
All candidates for the two seats must officially declare their intention to run by filing with the Fort Pierce City Clerk’s office between noon on June 8 until noon, June 12. Information on the forms that need to be completed is available by contacting the clerk’s office, on the third floor of Fort Pierce City Hall, 100 N. U.S. Highway 1.
In addition to candidate forms, a $25 filing fee and a $381.60 election assessment fee must be paid, or an affidavit of financial hardship signed.
The city charter does provide for running as a write-in candidate without paying the fees. However, even write-in contenders must indicate their intentions to run by the June 12 deadline.
All qualified candidates must be registered voters and have been a resident of their respective city voting districts for at least two years prior to election day.
Gaines, a Fort Pierce attorney, was first elected to the commission in 2021 to fill the remainder of an existing term, following the resignation and death of long-time District 1 commissioner Rufus Alexander. Gaines then successfully ran for re-election in November 2022, for a four-year term.
Broderick beat out James Clasby in November 2022, for a four-year term, succeeding long-time District 2 Commissioner Tom Perona, who did not run for re-election. Broderick has a real estate company in Fort Pierce.
Under the Fort Pierce City Charter, if only one candidate files to run for an open seat, that person automatically fills the position for the next four years when the current term expires.
If there are two certified candidates for a seat, the selection will go to voters in that district on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
If three or more people file to run for one or both of the open seats, then the city will have a primary election on Aug. 18. If one of those candidates for a seat garners at least 50 percent of the votes cast, they automatically win the position.
If no candidate wins a majority in the primary, then the two candidates with the highest vote totals will advance to the Nov. 3 general election where the winner takes the seat.
Early voting for an Aug. 18 primary will occur Aug. 8-15 and general election early voting ahead of Nov. 3 happens Oct. 19-Nov. 1.
For more information on the upcoming city election process, contact Fort Pierce City Clerk Linda Cox at 772-467-3065 or lcox@cityoffortpierce.com.