Upsets in Stuart and Indiantown, Martin County School Board leans harder right| Opinion

Voters in Martin County were apparently restless. In St. Lucie County, they seem pretty content.

According to unofficial results posted Tuesday night, voters ousted Stuart Mayor Merritt Matheson and Indiantown Mayor Jackie Clarke. Indiantown Vice Mayor Anthony Dowling also lost his seat on the Village Council.

All three lost to political novices. At least one of those three races has to be considered a major upset.

The results in races for two seats on the Martin County School Board were no less dramatic.

Incumbent Tony Anderson narrowly lost to newcomer Amy Pritchett. In a race to fill the seat vacated by Victoria Defenthaler, Jennifer Russell comfortably defeated Liz Bernstein.

In contrast to all the political upheaval happening to the south, the status quo reigned in most of the high-profile races in St. Lucie County.

Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin easily won re-election against three challengers, avoiding a runoff by winning more than 60% of the vote.

Debbie Hawley, Donna Mills, and Troy Ingersoll — three incumbents on the St. Lucie County School Board — also fended off challengers to win new terms.

A shocking upset: Stuart City Commission: Campbell Rich, Christopher Collins, Eula Clarke win Aug. 23 primary

Shifting political winds: Anthony Anderson loses Martin County School Board to Amy Pritchett, Jennifer Russell takes District 3

Changing the guard: Indiantown Village Council: Voters oust two of three incumbents in Aug. 23 primary

Status quo holds: Florida elections: Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin reelected to first full term

Holding serve: St. Lucie County School Board election: Incumbents Hawley, Ingersoll, Mills reelected

Matheson's loss to Christopher "Doc" Collins, a chiropractor with no previous political experience, was the most shocking result of the evening to me.

Matheson — again, unofficially — lost by 95 votes out of 3,613 votes cast for the Stuart City Commission's Group 3 seat. The mayor's position is a ceremonial one in Stuart government, with city commissioners choosing someone from within their ranks to preside over meetings and represent the city at official functions.

Matheson held that position, but he's been more than a figurehead. With a degree in environmental biology and experience as a fishing boat captain, he's been heavily involved in efforts to clean up water pollution in the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon.

As such, he represented the city's interests in key meetings with the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal officials, particularly over discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee. It remains to be seen if Collins can be as effective in representing the city's interests on water issues.

Collins may have struck a chord with voters by challenging Matheson's record on development projects. Collins accused Matheson of having "personally" approved more than 2,000 new residential units during his time on the Stuart City Commission.

Matheson was only one of five votes on the commission, but Collins may nevertheless have found a soft spot.

There's been a lot of talk in Stuart and elsewhere about "smart growth," but that term means different things to different people.

Some advocates believe smart growth involves higher-density residential development, concentrated in areas where people can, at least in theory, walk to work or shopping.

However, that approach might not have sit well with many of the people voting in Tuesday's election. It seems like voters may have decided high-density development really isn't so smart at all.

In the races for three seats on the Indiantown Village Council, voters turned away two incumbents — Mayor Jackie Clarke and Vice Mayor Anthony Dowling — in favor of newcomers Angelina Perez and Carmine Dipaolo, respectively.

Incumbent Susan Gibbs Thomas survived the bloodletting, winning another term with roughly two-thirds of the vote.

The results in Indiantown might be cause for the village's leaders to reevaluate some of their plans for the fledgling town, which incorporated less than five years ago.

Maybe residents aren't ready yet for a new village hall, or at least would like to see other more basic needs like upgrades to the water and sewer system and local roads happen first.

The Martin County School Board results were less surprising, but no less significant. Anderson lost his District 4 seat on the board to Pritchett by 337 votes out of 35,437 cast.

Anderson had been outspoken during the COVID era in lobbying his colleagues for masks and other safety precautions at the district's schools. Pritchett was endorsed by Moms for Liberty, a grassroots organization that resisted COVID restrictions, saying they imposed on parental rights.

In the race for the board's District 3 seat, Russell easily beat Bernstein with more than 56% of the vote.

Both Russell and Bernstein were political newcomers, but Russell had the endorsement of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who, like the Moms for Liberty supporters, expressed concern about school boards not paying enough attention to parental rights.

The District 3 seat had been held by Defenthaler, who chose not to seek re-election. Defenthaler, like Anderson, had been fairly outspoken — and sometimes outvoted — by the board majority on COVID-related regulations.

With Russell and Pritchett joining the board, there may be near unanimity on some of the cultural issues that have become prevalent in school districts across the state.

In contrast, the St. Lucie County School Board largely avoided heated debates on COVID and other so-called "culture war" issues. Voters returned incumbents Debbie Hawley, Donna Mills, and Troy Ingersoll to office.

Among the other St. Lucie County races, the Port St. Lucie mayor's race was most surprising to me.

Not because Shannon Martin was the top vote getter. As the only one of the four candidates seeking the post who had previous experience in elected office, she seemed likely to get the most votes.

However, Martin avoided a runoff by collecting more than 60% of the vote. In a four-candidate field, that's impressive.

It's even more so when you consider the problems Port St. Lucie has had recently with garbage service offered by Waste Pro.

Martin's opponents weren't able to make a compelling case to voters that they could have done anything that would have significantly improved garbage service.

Stephanie Morgan was also easily re-elected to the District 1 seat on the Port St. Lucie City Council, collecting more than 62% of the vote against two opponents.

Garbage might have been on many residents' minds, but their frustrations over poor service weren't enough to compel them to throw out two incumbents who claimed to be doing the best they could under difficult circumstances.

This column reflects the opinion of Blake Fontenay. Contact him via email at blake.fontenay@tcpalm.com or at 772-232-5424.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Major shift on Martin school board, mayors lose key races | Opinion