{"id":268363,"date":"2026-05-12T18:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/268363\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T18:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:57:08","slug":"heather-moraitis-files-to-run-for-former-fort-lauderdale-commission-seat-after-surprise-resignation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/268363\/","title":{"rendered":"Heather Moraitis files to run for former Fort Lauderdale Commission seat after surprise resignation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fort Lauderdale native Heather Moraitis<\/a>, who served on the City Commission from November 2018 through mid-2022, is running to retake her old District 1 seat after the surprise resignation of its current occupant.<\/p>\n

Moraitis announced her candidacy for the seat this week.<\/p>\n

If she wins in November, she\u2019ll complete the remaining two years of Commissioner John Herbst\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

Herbst informed<\/a> the city this month of his pending resignation, effective Nov. 2.<\/p>\n

Moraitis \u2014 who left office<\/a> early in April 2022, two years into a four-year term she won in 2020, citing a desire to spend more time with family \u2014 filed paperwork to run to replace him less than a week later.<\/p>\n

\u201cFort Lauderdale is my home \u2014 I was born here, raised my family here, and I am deeply invested in its future,\u201d Moraitis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my time on the Commission, we got things done. I want to continue that work and make sure District 1 has a strong, experienced voice fighting for our neighborhoods, our safety, and our quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A press note from Moraitis\u2019 campaign touted among her economic and community-development accomplishments securing the Inter Miami MLS stadium and Florida Panthers arena, renovating the International Swimming Hall of Fame, delivering two new YMCAs, approving the Fort Pickleball facility, and the Bayview Drive and Galt Ocean Drive streetscape improvement projects.<\/p>\n

Her community involvement has included service with the Broward League of Cities and Florida League of Cities, where she served as Vice Chair of the organization\u2019s Federal Action Strike Team.<\/p>\n

She has also been honored with the Governor\u2019s Points of Light and Education Commissioner\u2019s Business Recognition awards.<\/p>\n

Moraitis \u2014 a Republican and the wife of former state Rep. George Moraitis, who is now running<\/a> for Florida\u2019s 25th Congressional District \u2014 said she\u2019s running on a platform focused on issues that matter most to District 1 residents. That includes cutting taxes and government waste, supporting responsible development, investing in infrastructure to support smart growth while preserving the city\u2019s character and livability, and adding more park spaces.<\/p>\n

City records show she filed to run for District 1<\/a>, an oddly shaped area covering Fort Lauderdale\u2019s northeast and northwest sections, on May 6, five days after Herbst confirmed plans to step down.<\/p>\n

She wrote on Facebook<\/a> that day, \u201cI am so excited to announce that I filed to run for Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner District 1! \u2026 As the only District 1 candidate with a proven track record of strong leadership, I look forward to working hard to earn your support and vote in November.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, Moraitis faces one opponent: Democrat John Rodstrom, a business litigation lawyer in private practice who serves on the Executive Committee of the Salvation Army Board of Advisors and is a former member of the Fort Lauderdale Budget Advisory Committee.<\/p>\n

The race is technically nonpartisan, though party affiliation often influences races.<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale\u2019s General Election is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fort Lauderdale native Heather Moraitis, who served on the City Commission from November 2018 through mid-2022, is running…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[15823,506,8184,249,68260,115253,115254,115255,251,250,115256,62396,107763],"class_list":["post-268363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-broward","tag-broward-county","tag-election-2026","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-city-commission","tag-fort-lauderdale-city-commission-district-1","tag-fort-lauderdale-commission","tag-fort-lauderdale-commission-district-1","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-heather-moraitis","tag-john-herbst","tag-john-rodstrom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}