Republican Goodson routs Smith, Feltner beats write-in candidate in County Commission races
The Brevard County Commission will have two new members later this month, as Tom Goodson won the District 2 seat and Rob Feltner won the District 4 seat in Tuesday's election.
Both are Republicans, and their election wins keep the County Commission all-Republican for at least the next two years. There were no Democratic candidates for either seat.
Goodson defeated no-party-affiliation candidate Dontavious Smith, with Goodson getting 73.13% of the vote and Smith getting 26.87%.
"I’m deeply grateful to the voters for electing me to serve on the County Commission," Goodson said. "I love Brevard County and the opportunity it provides for our citizens to reach for the stars. I look forward to getting to work and tackling the important issues facing Brevard families."
Goodson is a business owner, a former Florida House of Representatives member and former Canaveral Port Authority commissioner.
Smith operates a clothing line business, along with being an author. He also operates a foundation that offers students the opportunity to tour the different universities and learn about Florida government at the capital.
Feltner's only general election opponent was write-in candidate Joseph Aiello, whose name did not appear on the ballot. Feltner received 92.13% of the vote.
Feltner is a political consultant. He previously worked at the Brevard County Property Appraiser's Office as the director of governmental affairs and public relations.
Campaign: Tom Goodson, Dontavious Smith square off in general to decide County Commission District 2
GOP primary victory: Former State Rep. Tom Goodson wins Brevard County District 2 Republican primary
Both Goodson and Feltner had to get through four-candidate Republican primaries in August before reaching the general election. They won the primaries by large margins.
Goodson received 41.76% of the vote in the GOP primary, compared with 23.85% for Dave Netterstrom, 21.65% for Christopher Hattaway and 12.74% for Joey Cholewa.
In the District 4 Republican primary, Feltner received 55.05% of the vote. Other candidates were Sandra Sullivan (22.59%), David Armstrong (19.32%) and Margaret Mary Steciuk (3.03%).
The District 2 seat has been vacant since the April 1 resignation of then-Commissioner Bryan Lober, who said he resigned because of the death of his grandmother.
But the resignation also came at a time when questions were raised about spending practices in Lober's County Commission office.
An anonymous email was sent to members of the County Commission, detailing the amount he had spent on his purchasing card, a type of corporate credit card.
Lober has denied any wrongdoing.
The Brevard County Clerk of Courts Office is in the midst of an audit of spending by all five County Commission district offices.
District 2 includes Avon by the Sea, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Kennedy Space Center, Port Canaveral and Snug Harbor, as well as most of Merritt Island, and portions of Cocoa, Rockledge and Patrick Space Force Base.
In District 4, Feltner succeeds Curt Smith, who could not seek reelection this year because of term limits. Smith is completing his second four-year term.
Aiello, a Republican, has said he was not campaigning to be District 4’s next commissioner, but filed his candidacy as a write-in candidate only to close the Republican primary, so that only Republicans in the district could cast their vote in the primary. Without a write-in candidate, the primary would have been open to Democrats, no-party-affiliation voters and members of minor political parties.
District 4 includes all or part of Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne, Palm Shores, Rockledge and Satellite Beach, as well as sections of unincorporated Brevard, including Suntree and Viera.
The term of office for a county commissioner is four years, and the position pays $58,145.36 a year.
Ralph Chapoco is government and politics watchdog reporter. You can reach Chapoco at rchapoco@floridatoday.com and follow him on Twitter @rchapoco.
Tyler Vazquez is the North Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-917-7491 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez
Support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Republicans Goodson, Feltner easily wins County Commission races
