The Lee County Commission race for the District 5 seat has been perhaps the most hotly contested local race in Southwest Florida with challenger Amanda Cochran coming out on top.
She joined the race against Commissioner Trish Petrosky.]
“If I were an organized person, I would have a speech ready,” Commissioner-elect Cochran told an enthusiastic crowd at the Boathouse Tiki on State Road 31 on the banks of the Caloosahatchee later Tuesday as she heard the results. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
With 100% of precincts voting, according to the Lee Supervisor of Elections, Cochran won with 54.7% of the vote.
This will be her first time in public office.
Both candidates are Republicans, so every eligible voter in Lee County could cast a ballot in the “universal primary.”
Cochran was joined at the celebration by husband, Darius, and their two sons.
Others in the crowd were Alva neighbors. George Mann, the brother of the late Commissioner Frank Mann, who held the District 5 seat, was there and the late commissioner’s wife, Mary Lee, called.
“She said she couldn’t come. She was as nervous as I was,” Cochran said.
“I am so very thankful,” she said. “To all of Buckingham. To all of Alva. To all of Lee County.”
“We kicked this off right here on the coldest night,” she recalled. “And we managed to be here on the hottest night.”
“I am very, very very proud and happy to be the new county commissioner for District 5,” she said.
Petrosky became the district commissioner when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed her in December. Former Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell died in office in October.
Petrosky had never served as a public official. She was running her first campaign. Cochran also has never been elected to public office.
Cochran ran against Greenwell in 2024. While she won big in the district, he did better in countywide results and took the office.
Greenwell had himself been appointed to the seat by DeSantis in July of 2022 when Frank Mann died in office.
Cash flowed in Lee County Commission District 5 campaigns
The campaign has certainly been the most expensive in the county.
Petrosky raised $325,010. Cochran has raised $204,995.99. She funded a large portion of her own campaign, investing $145,000 of her own money.
Petrosky was the favorite of the political class. In addition to receiving the financial support of the four other sitting commissioners she got Political Action Committee funding, receiving $1,000 checks from 50 different PACs. Her own PAC, Friends of Trish Petrosky, has received $215,000, all of it from other PACs.
What to know about Lee County Commission District 5 election
District 5 is basically northeast Lee County, north of State Road 82 and east of Ortiz and Interstate 75. It includes Alva, Olga, Buckingham and Lehigh Acres.
Cochran, a businesswoman, has been a long-time Alva resident.
Charlie Whitehead covers Lee County and Fort Myers. Reach him at cwhitehead@news-press.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cochran beats Petrosky in high profile Lee County Commission race
Reporting by Charlie Whitehead, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charlie Whitehead, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
