Former Senate President Ken Pruitt Double-Digit Winner in St. Lucie Property Appraiser Race
The man who was a significant force in state politics for 20 years -- first in the House, then in the Senate -- returned to public office Tuesday when the voters of St. Lucie County elected him their property appraiser. Former Senate President Ken Pruitt won handily. In a county with 20,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, Pruitt -- a Republican -- defeated Democrat Bill Wink by a clear 10 percentage points.
"Ken didn't win this race because of the so-called Republican wave sweeping across the country," said Port St. Lucie resident Leah Saunders. "I voted for him because he has always been good for St. Lucie County, I trust him, he's a hard worker and I know if I have to talk to my property appraiser, he will listen."
The $130,150 job went up for grabs when previous property appraiser Jeff Furst died in July.
Pruitt, 53, left office in 2009, a year before he would have term-limited out of the Senate, citing personal reasons. "I've done all I can up here in Tallahassee," he said at the time. "I've been too long and too often away from my family. It's just time."
Comments are now closed.