Watson tops ticket in Fort Myers city race; faces runoff with Rhodes

Fort Myers City Councilmember Terolyn Watson topped the ticket in Tuesday's primary election for city council, receiving 666 votes for the District 3 seat to 338 for her top challenger, Chantel Rhodes.

Watson fell 1.7 percent, plus one vote, needed to put her over the 50% mark and make her primary victory decisive.

The result is Watson, with 48.3% of the vote, and Rhodes, the second-place finisher with 24.5%, will be on the ballot again in November for a one-on-one runoff for the District 3 seat in the November election. November elections nearly always bring out more voters than typical late-summer primary votes.

"I feel good about it, I feel good," Watson said during a celebration with supporters.

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"People showed up for me, I'm a little short, but there will be more people voting in the general and I'm just going out for the people," she said. "I'm born and raised in Ward 3, I am totally Ward 3, my voice is for the people."

Watson finished first by winning the battle of the mailbox.

She beat Rhodes by 322 votes among voters who cast ballots by mail in a race that she won by 328 votes. The candidates were tied in early voting and Watson's advantage in the election day balloting was a mere six votes.

Candidates Dorian Scudder and Carl White trailed the field by a substantial margin. Scudder received 234 votes, or 17%, while White received 141 votes, or 10.2%.

Watson was first elected in 2015 to fill an unexpired term and then was reelected four years ago.

Rhodes said last week that her campaign was influenced by Val Demings, who sought the Democratic nomination to oppose Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in November. Demings is a foster care social worker, former chief of Orlando police, and since 2017, a member of Congress.

"She's a role model, not because of her message, because of her story," Rhodes said. "She was a social worker, like myself and kind of going into law enforcement, that path of evolution that makes a  person want to be an elected official."

Watson spent more money than her opponent.

Campaign contributions taken in by Watson reached $37,725 as of Aug. 18, with many contributions from developers and attorneys representing developers.

Rhodes did a lot of online and social messaging campaigning and reported expenditures of $15,215.

Scudder filed his campaign expenditures on Aug. 18 and reported spending $1,040 on his campaign. White reported spending only slightly more, with $1,371.

The other candidates in the race served as spoilers, with their meager vote totals reflecting their considerable lower campaign contributions and spending but taking votes away from both of the top contenders.

As she began her campaign Chantal said, she heard a lot of people say, 'Wow I don't think I would have had the courage to put myself out there.'"

A Fort Myers High School graduate, Watson is a native of Fort Myers and been employed by the school district for more than a quarter century.

Watson is employed in the transportation department of the Lee School District and misses most meetings of the Community Redevelopment Authority and workshop sessions of the board. She also tends to run late for city council meetings because of late-running bus routes and an early 4:30 p.m. starting time set for most council sessions.

She voted against the appointment of Marty Lawing as city manager after circulation of details in a civil rights lawsuit brought against Lawing at his previous position in Guilford County, North Carolina. The judge threw the case out of court saying there was no evidence to support the allegations.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee County elections: Watson falls short of majority, run-off coming for Fort Myers council