Duhart, Gaines and Sessions running to fill Fort Pierce City Commission District 1 vacancy

Olivia McKelvey, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·4 min read

FORT PIERCE — For the first time in nearly 20 years, one of the City Commission District 1 seats will be held by someone other than the late Rufus Alexander.

Tuesday's special election has attracted two political newcomers, Henry Duhart and Arnold Gaines, and a former District 1 commissioner, Reggie Sessions, first elected in 1994.

The winner will fill the vacancy created when Alexander died July 28.

Gaines, 53, and Sessions, 56, are lawyers, while Duhart, 27, is an outreach coordinator for Solar Energy Loan Fund.

Gaines was arrested on a domestic child abuse charge in the early 1990s in Broward County. He was later acquitted by a jury. The incident, he has said, was an accident and his innocence was proven in court.

Fort Pierce City Commission map. District 1 is green and District 2 is purple.
Fort Pierce City Commission map. District 1 is green and District 2 is purple.

Duhart ran unsuccessfully for the District 1 seat in 2018 and in the 2020 St. Lucie County Commission District 5 race. If elected he would be the youngest person on the commission by 19 years.

Creating trade programs, addressing homelessness and promoting homeownership are actions he would prioritize if elected, he said.

Gaines and Sessions share some similar stances on key issues in District 1, the northern portion of the city, such as infrastructure improvements and more code-enforcement regulation. For his part, Sessions has a more aggressive approach to improving the the Police Department.

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Each candidate's monetary and in-kind campaign contributions as of Tuesday are as follows:

  • Duhart: $1,210

  • Gaines: $16,055

  • Sessions: $5,050

Henry Duhart, Arnold Gaines and Reggie Sessions are running for the Fort Pierce City Commission District 1 seat. Election Day is Dec. 7.
Henry Duhart, Arnold Gaines and Reggie Sessions are running for the Fort Pierce City Commission District 1 seat. Election Day is Dec. 7.

Here's where the candidates stand on some local issues:

Police relations

More than one year ago, protesters nationwide took a stance, demanding racial justice and equality in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Fort Pierce was no exception, with peaceful protests occurring as early as May 31.

Both Duhart and Sessions believe the Police Department has retention issues, and said they would support pay increases for officers.

Enhanced recruitment efforts — such as partnering with Fort Pierce high schools to gauge youth career interests and attract more local officers — is a strategy Duhart said he would pursue in office.

Community policing is a strategy the Police Department needs to improve, according to Duhart and Sessions.

Gaines said he's unsure if the Police Department has a retention issue, but like his opponents would work to increase police presence in the community, particularly at youth sporting events.

Economic development

There are numerous, multimillion-dollar projects underway in Fort Pierce such as King's Landing, Fisherman's Wharf and the WaveGarden slated for Midway Road.

As the city of roughly 47,000 is growing in terms of population and development, ensuring companies coming here will hire local workers is something important to all three candidates. Each has a different vision on how to do so.

Duhart: Partner with Indian River State College to create trade-certification programs and then funnel those workers into high-paying local jobs or apprenticeships. Duhart wants to increase the District 1 certified workforce to at least 60% by the end of 2022.

Gaines: Enter into agreements with future developers requiring that they hire a certain amount of local employees.

Sessions: Help potential workers pass drug screenings by using city funds to support more rehabilitation centers, and also push for expanding hours of operations of the public transit system so more employees can get to work easily.

Infrastructure

All three candidates point to infrastructure improvements needed throughout District 1.

Duhart wants to give residents resources that promote a safer community. If elected, he said, he would push for partnerships with nonprofits and home-security companies such as Ring to get 400-500 home security systems to distribute to District 1 residents.

For Gaines, spending money from the $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill on repaving or improving District 1 roads such as 15th Street and Avenues M and O are top priorities, he said.

If elected, Sessions said, he would ensure city codes are properly enforced, especially to improve "abandoned, dilapidated properties" and allow construction of new homes.

Voting details

The special election is required to fill the vacancy created when Alexander resigned for health reasons. The winner of the nonpartisan race will serve the remainder of his term, until November.

The City Commission is comprised of two districts with two elected representatives per district.

Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

To win the election on Tuesday, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. Otherwise, the top two finishers will advance to a general election on Feb. 8.

For more information, visit https://www.slcelections.com/ELECTION-INFORMATION/Where-do-I-vote

Olivia McKelvey is TCPalm's watchdog reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach her at olivia.mckelvey@tcpalm.com, 772-521-4380 and on Twitter @olivia_mckelvey.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Duhart, Gaines, Sessions running for Fort Pierce City Commission seat