For the first time since the late 1970s, a Port St. Lucie mayor will return to office without facing the voters. A councilwoman, too, will retain her seat without opposition.
Mayor Gregory Oravec and Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan will face no challengers in their bid to return to the Port St. Lucie City Council dais.
Morgan was elected in 2016 to serve the remainder of Councilwoman Linda Bartz’s term.
Bartz had resigned from the council to launch a successful run for the County Commission.
“I slept so good Friday night,” Morgan said of learning no one had filed to run against her.
She said that she doesn’t like to assume anything or take anything for granted, but feels that her being unopposed sends a message that “I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”
In the less than two years Morgan has served on the council, she has been part of an effort to bring back both the Budget Advisory Committee and the Public Art Advisory Committee. Morgan said, with another four years to serve, she’ll continue to push to reduce the city’s debt – a matter other members of Council continue to support. “What I hear from the public,” Morgan said, “is we are being fiscally responsible, we’re doing the best we can, and we get along.”
Vice Mayor Shannon Martin, however, was not as fortunate as her fellow council members. She will face two challengers in the August Primary.
Residents Fritz Alexandre and Andriana C. Riera have filed for the seat. If none of the three receives a majority of the vote, then the top two vote-getters will face off in the November General Election.
While council members represent different districts within the city and must reside in the district which they serve, they are elected city-wide in a nonpartisan election.
Two seats will be decided on the St. Lucie County Commission Board, including that of board Chair Frannie Hutchinson and appointed Commissioner Anthony Bonna.
Bonna, a Republican, will face three other Republicans in the August Primary. The winner of that challenge will then face Democrat Sean Mitchell in the November.
Hutchinson has one challenger, a Democrat, Helen Henderson. The election will be determined in November.
The School Board, too, has three seats up for election – all of which will be decided in the August Primary.
Incumbents Deborah Hawley, Donna Mills and Troy Ingersoll each have one challenger – just as they did before the qualifying period started earlier this month.
Those challengers are, respectively, Steven Allen, Mark Young, and Felicia Bruce.
For more information about the municipal and county elections, contact the government’s respective official.
In Port St. Lucie, that would the City Clerk’s Office, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 772-871-5157; www.cityofpsl.com/government/departments/city-clerk.
For County Commission and School Board, contact the Supervisor of Elections Office, 772-462-1500; www.slcelections.com.