On Feb. 2, the city of Fort Pierce officially welcomed its new city commissioner, finally making the board whole again after a months-long streak of being down one member. Chris Dzadovsky steps into the role after snagging the victory from opponent Jamie Beth Galinis on the Jan. 13 runoff election.
Dzadovsky brings with him over a decade of experience as a county commissioner, before being dethroned by Commissioner James Clasby in 2024.
The District 2 seat was left vacant after the former seat holder, James Taylor, was arrested in July of last year on child exploitation charges, resulting in his title being stripped away by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Joining us now is Dzadovsky to answer a few questions.
Chris, first of all, congratulations on the victory, and on that note, how are you feeling now that you're officially sworn in?
While this race was very close, I think our message was heard loud and clear, and to all parties and interested people in making Fort Pierce a better place.
You're right in saying that the election was a close call, coming down to a nail-biting 31 votes. So to the listeners out there who may have voted for your opponent, what do you say to them?
I represent all of the people of Fort Pierce, regardless of whether they supported me or my opponent. My position has been one Fort Pierce. My position has been that Fort Pierce is not about R's and D's, it's about doing what's right for our community.
Now, your break from public service was quite short-lived, so what keeps drawing you back to this line of work?
I had no intention of coming back until this one, with the circumstances surrounding it, the crisis mode in which the city was finding itself, and I felt that I had the knowledge, the experience, and the ability to help turn things around sooner than later.
Given that experience you do have, though, what's one lesson that you've really taken with you as you step into this new role?
The recession was a huge obstacle for services and the wants and the needs of the community. So that experience, from that standpoint, and especially having the budget cut as badly as it was, helped me to be able to provide policies and activities that were better suited for county government, which will bode well for the city.
And speaking on challenges like the recession, what might be some of the potential hurdles on the horizon for the Sunrise City?
There's always a cyclical scenario for revenue streams in local government and personal budgets. In the case of the state trying to do something abstract and try to remove property taxes from the state of Florida, it's noble, but I think that its damages will be much greater than the benefits.
I guess on the flip side of that, what are some of the things that you really have your sights set on in terms of getting things done?
Well, the planning and development and the building department is going to be a major focus from a policy standpoint. The city of Fort Pierce has had challenges with people and investors who wanted to come here and build businesses, to create jobs, and to add a tax base. But the ability for those same investors to see a final outcome is uncertain.
So my goal is to actually create a certainty in which we manage the characteristics of Fort Pierce and keeping those viable as opposed to just having rough shot and just overdevelopment and things that just aren't the character of Fort Pierce.
As far as your first week goes, what have been some of those first steps that you've taken towards reaching those goals?
Well, I've already jumped in. I had provided the city manager with probably 12 white papers with my positions on everything from the comprehensive plan, the future budget, strategic plans, planning and zoning development areas, the trash train that FEC is bringing trash from Miami to Fort Pierce for distribution, all of those things for which I've already begun writing papers with my positions and thought processes of how policy can be changed to better those ultimate outcomes for those who would come here.
And at best, and for the citizens of Fort Pierce to know that their quality of life will be maintained.
Looking ahead, what do you think you look forward to most in your time with the city?
The interaction with the community again. I always strived on listening to our citizens.
We don't always agree in the final outcome, but I can always learn a lot. And I'm open to learning. I'm open to different opinions and ideas. And I think that makes for better government. So I'm looking forward to that. And I'm also looking forward to the collaboration with my other commissioners and the mayor. City staff is going to be an important integral part of our success. And so those relationship buildings are what I also look forward to.
Finally, Chris, what's one message you want to leave with our listeners?
Fort Pierce is one. Fort Pierce means that we represent all the citizens and visitors of Fort Pierce and that I personally will do my best to make it a better community, more successful, and more reliable for quality of life.
Well, Chris, that's all the questions I have for you. Thank you so much for your time and your answers.