FORT PIERCE — By this time next week, Fort Pierce will have decided who will fill the vacant District 2 seat on the City Commission.
After no candidate secured a majority in the November election, a special runoff election was scheduled for Jan. 13. The two candidates with the highest vote totals — Chris Dzadovsky and Jaimebeth Galinis — advanced to the runoff and will appear on the ballot.
Dzadovsky earned 40 percent of the vote, while Galinis received 31 percent. Donna Benton, the third candidate in the race, was eliminated after finishing with 29 percent.
Early voting opened Jan. 3 and runs through Jan. 10, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Renaissance Business Park on Okeechobee Road. Vote-by-mail for the runoff closed Jan. 2.
On election day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters in District 2 can cast ballots at the following locations:
- Precinct 8.1 — Midway Road Church of Christ, 3040 W. Midway Road
- Precincts 10.0 & 13.1 (combined) — Havert L. Fenn Center, 2000 Virginia Ave.
- Precincts 12.1 & 40.1 (combined) — All Generations Church (Church of God), 3212 Oleander Ave.
- Precincts 16.1 & 60.2 (combined) — Westside Church, 1717 Gulfstream Ave.
- Precinct 25.1 — Days Inn Midtown, 3224 S. U.S. Highway 1
Two precincts were consolidated because of low voter turnout as a cost-saving measure. Precinct 60.2, formerly located at St. Lucie School on Old Dixie Highway, and Precinct 12.1, previously at the Fort Pierce Masonic Lodge on Oleander Avenue, were merged, with voters now directed to cast ballots at Westside Church.
When asked last October about their visions for Fort Pierce, Dzadovsky said he wanted to rein in development, reduce density and address traffic concerns. Galinis said her priorities included public safety, better oversight of the city budget and increased transparency through public dashboards.
Dzadovsky brings experience from his time as a St. Lucie County commissioner, while Galinis has held leadership roles as a senior director at a Fortune 500 company.
The District 2 seat has been vacant since August, when former commissioner James Taylor retired. Taylor had been arrested in July on 22 charges of child exploitation.