Port St. Lucie City Council election: Haugh, Pickett in Nov. 3 runoff for District 2 seat

David Pickett has spent over $17,000 to win a Port St. Lucie City Council seat, almost 17 times more than John Haugh, his opponent in the Nov. 3 runoff election.

Pickett has a website; ads on Facebook and local media, including the Spanish-language newspaper La Voz; and promotional pens, T-shirts, car magnets, direct mailers, silkscreen tablecloths and even logoed face masks.

He's paid over $7,000 for political consulting from St. Lucie West-based Solutions Partnership, a two-woman team that includes former Mayor Pat Christensen. 

It may have given Pickett his Aug. 18 primary advantage over Haugh, who has spent only $1,400. Pickett won nearly 45% of the votes cast, just under the 50% he needed to win the three-candidate race, and led Haugh by over 4,700 votes. Haugh won 29%.

"It's frustrating that I can't seem to keep (the fundraising) up with his, especially when people can't keep their jobs in these trying times," Haugh told TCPalm Sept. 18. "I've had a grassroots approach — I'm knocking on doors, posting on social media, talking to people." 

With what funds Haugh has raised, however, he said he ordered 100 new yards signs, 500 door-hangers and is looking into local advertising. 

David Pickett

Pickett, a warehouse and transportation manager for Borden Dairy in Riviera Beach, is a political newcomer and city resident since 1992.

Economic growth is one of his highest priorities, he said, adding he sees Southern Grove as a hub for economic success with an influx of small, local businesses.

"I see Port St. Lucie as a thriving city in a couple years, even more so than it is now," he said of Florida's seventh-largest city, with an estimated 202,000 residents, according to 2019 census data. 

"What made you move here?" is Pickett's favorite question to ask residents while campaigning, he told TCPalm in July. The affordable cost of living is the most common answer, he said, and he wants to keep it that way. 

"The economy is weighing heavily on everyone's mind right now," Pickett said. "Port St. Lucie has been fortunate. We've enjoyed seeing our property values go up, but property value is going to start declining, and we need to start making preparations now." 

The infrastructure is in need of improvement too, Pickett said, but he wants to build up the city in the most environmentally sound way possible. 

Pickett said his experience working with government contracts on a daily basis has prepared him to serve on the City Council. 

The Indiana native has a master’s degree in critical incident management and has been a local Little League volunteer, coach and mentor, according to his campaign profile.

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Retired from the Army in 2015 after serving two combat tours in the Middle East, Pickett said respect, loyalty, duty, honor and courage are the values he holds close to his heart. 

If elected, Pickett said he hopes to keep Port St. Lucie "big on opportunity, small on crime, and always moving forward positively," his campaign profile says. 

John Haugh 

John Haugh, an account manager at Premier Lab Supply, is a Maryland native who has been visiting Port St. Lucie since the mid-1980s and made the move in 2004, he said.

He hopes to clean waterways by working with the city's environmental board and he wants to remind the city the importance of wearing a mask amid the pandemic. 

"It's important to err on the side of caution, and Florida is a hot-bed for COVID activity," he said in a July interview with TCPalm. 

Regarding the coronavirus pandemic, Haugh said he has a nonpartisan position.

"I don't want people's health to be influenced by political decisions," he said. "We cannot shut down the city, but at the same time we have to take people's health seriously and protect our elderly population."

Haugh's running for office to address the needs of the still-growing city, which turns 60 in April. 

"My platform is to continue to lower the tax rate, balance the budget and expand the infrastructure. Keep Port St. Lucie a safe place to live and raise a family. Support local business and continue to look for opportunities to lure large corporations," he wrote in his profile on the elections supervisor's website.

Another infrastructure solution he suggested is more streetlights throughout the city. 

Haugh unsuccessfully ran for council in 2010, despite having TCPalm's endorsement. 

Port St. Lucie elections

As of Sept. 4, Pickett had collected nearly $24,000 to spend on his campaign, including $19,700 of his own money. Haugh had collected $3,525 in cash and $810 in in-kind contributions.

The Nov. 3 winner will succeed one-term incumbent John Carvelli, who did not seek reelection to the District 2 seat.

The seat represents northwest Port St. Lucie, bordered by Midway Road on the north, Gatlin Boulevard on the south, Florida's turnpike on the east and extends into the undeveloped western environs.

City Council members are paid $34,362 annually and are elected to four-year terms, which begin when they're sworn in the third Monday in November.

For more news, follow Max Chesnes on Twitter by clicking here. 

Max Chesnes is a TCPalm reporter covering health, welfare and social justice on the Treasure Coast. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com and give him a call at 772-978-2224.

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