By DAPHNE DURET
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
STUART — At the end of his first contested race for public office in 14 years, incumbent Stuart commissioner Jeff Krauskopf coasted to another term Tuesday with a victory over political newcomer Jeff Callahan.
Krauskopf, 59, won more than 67 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s contest, according to unofficial elections results. Callahan, a 41-year-old Martin County lifeguard who had hoped to bring a fresh voice to the commission, received about 32 percent of the 1,047 ballots cast.

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FORT PIERCE — Questions about how to revitalize the local economy, the future of Fort Pierce Utilities Authority are among chief concerns for voters entering Tuesday’s Fort Pierce City Commission elections for District 1 and District 2.

In District 1, R. “Duke” Nelson is hoping to return to the City Commission by defeating incumbent Rufus Alexander. In District 2, incumbent Christine Coke faces three challengers: Curtis Boyd, Tom Perona and Rick Reed. District 1 primarily includes citizens west of U.S. 1 and north of Delaware Avenue as well as those along northern Okeechobee Road. District 2 primarily includes citizens south of Delaware Avenue along with those east of U.S. 1 as well as those south of Okeechobee Road.

Unemployment was at 15.3 percent in the county in September, according to the state’s Agency for Workforce Innovation. High unemployment combined with foreclosure rates have led voters to search for elected officials to come up with smart solutions to fix the problems while managing a budget diminished by a 17.4 percent decline in local property values.
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STUART — From development approvals to spending on roads to airport management, Lee Weberman and Sarah Heard disagreed on just about every controversial issue that arose during the six years they served together on the Martin County Commission.

But there is one thing Heard and Weberman agree on: If no one else enters the Aug. 24, 2010, Republican primary in Commission District 4, voters will have a clear choice between two candidates with dramatically different views.

Weberman, who represented District 3 from 2000 until his defeat in the 2008 election, set the stage for a 10-month long debate on Monday by filing his statement of candidacy in the Republican primary in District 4 with the Supervisor of Elections. Heard, who first won office in 2002, officially started her campaign for a third four-year term in March.

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Jeffrey Callahan

Jeffrey Krauskopf

STUART — For more than a decade, Jeff Krauskopf has held his office as a Stuart city commissioner without opposition.

Martin County lifeguard Jeff Callahan has lived in Stuart for only six of those years, but his growing displeasure with dwindling jobs and the lack of affordable housing has led the 41-year-old political newcomer to believe Krauskopf’s time ought to be up.

“They’ve been there so long that many residents are feeling that they just don’t get it,” Callahan says of long-serving commissioners like Krauskopf.

While Callahan says a lack of fresh faces has caused the commission to became predictable and complacent, Krauskopf touts his tenure in office as the factor that makes him the better choice.

The two face off in the city’s Nov. 3 election. Early voting will be held Oct. 26-31 at the Martin County Supervisor of Elections Office, 135 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

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