INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Candidate Tim Zorc has won the Republican Primary for the District 3 County Commission seat, prevailing over fellow Republican candidate Bea Gardner. Zorc will face Anthony Donadio in November.
Zorc took 11,090 votes – or 61 percent – to Gardner’s 7,015 votes – or 39 percent.
The shape of the race for the District 3 County Commission seat hung in the balance last fall and winter as opinion shifted back and forth as to whether sitting Commissioner Gary Wheeler would run again.
Wheeler is one of the most experienced and entrenched politicians in Indian River County and as long as he was a potential candidate no one stepped up to oppose him.
The moment he announced his decision not to run in March, Tim Zorc, 51, a one-time homebuilder and current construction consultant, tossed his hat in the ring.
Zorc, who is married with four children, said he wanted to run the county more like a business and bring more jobs to the area.
He had the race to himself for about two months. In May Architect Anthony Donadio, 59, filed to run as an unaffiliated candidate. That meant the race would be decided in November, but Zorc still had no Republican rival.
Two months later, Bea Gardener, 72, a retired businesswoman known for her politically-oriented radio show and blog, filed as the second Republican, necessitating a primary contest.
“I couldn’t believe no one was going to challenge this Zorc guy,” says Gardner, who ran for the District 3 seat against Wheeler four years ago. “I didn’t even know who he was at the time.”
Gardner promised hard work, common sense and an open door policy if elected.
Both Zorc and Gardner proved to be effective speakers at candidate forums and other events, showing a talent for brief clear authentic-sounding position statements. Donadio proved be more cerebral and somewhat less comfortable on the stump.
Now that Zorc has prevailed in primary the race will continue for 2 1/2 more months as a contest between Donadio and the official Republican candidate.
Fundraising in the race was light during the primary season. At the end of the last pre-primary reporting period on Aug. 9, Donadio led the money contest with $22,275 in contributions, followed by Zorc, who took in $14,304, and Gardner who collected $8,546.
Between them so far the candidates have raised $45,225, much less than the $129,000 that poured into the race in 2008.
It remains to be seen how much money the remaining two candidates will raise and spend between now and November.
