STUART — Susan O’Rourke will remain on the Aug. 18 ballot with two other candidates for the District 2 Martin County Commission seat.
Martin County Circuit Judge William Roby made the ruling July 15 in a lawsuit filed by candidate Christopher Collins, which sought to have O’Rourke disqualified and removed from the ballot. The suit challenged whether O’Rourke, who formerly lived in St. Lucie County, legally had Martin County residency.
Roby cited a 2025 decision from Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal, which ruled intent to reside is subjective and domicile is where you say it is.
The lawsuit claimed that O’Rourke was still living in St. Lucie County when she filed paperwork to run for County Commission.
O’Rourke swore under oath that 413 Southeast Hibiscus Ave. in Stuart was her legal residence.
The “oath was not actually true,” Collins’ attorney Anthony Sabatini told Roby.
But O’Rourke’s attorney Richard Coates told the judge that O’Rourke started the process of moving before the oath was signed.
“You can’t do everything at once,” he said, referring the steps O’Rourke took to change her place of residence.
Collins, a former Stuart city commissioner and mayor, filed the lawsuit June 17 against O’Rourke and Martin County Supervisor of Elections Vicki Davis, alleging O’Rourke lied about where she was living when she filed paperwork to run for County Commission.
Roby heard arguments in the case for less than an hour before deciding it.
“It’s very important for Martin County residents to understand who’s telling the truth in this race and who’s not telling the truth,” O’Rourke said following the verdict. “And we just wasted a lot of people’s time, energy and money and we don’t want to bring that to Martin County Board of County Commissioners.”
O’Rourke’s response to allegations
The suit alleged O’Rourke’s home was in St. Lucie County — rather than Martin County — when she filed paperwork to qualify for a spot on the Aug. 18 ballot.
O’Rourke told TCPalm she followed the guidance of her attorney when she filed to run for office.
O’Rourke, Collins and Althea Wiley Stoudemire all filed to run for the District 2 seat, currently held by two-term Commissioner Stacey Hetherington, who is not seeking reelection. O’Rourke is a former traffic engineer and Stoudemire is an author, chef and Realtor.
What prompted the suit
Collins has said questions were raised “from many residents” about O’Rourke’s residency, prompting him to file the lawsuit.
O’Rourke lied under oath, Sabatini said last month.
O’Rourke admitted on Facebook to having a home in St. Lucie County, but has since moved to the Stuart home, she has said.
Still, that home is in County Commission District 1, so she will have to move to District 2 by the time of the election if she wants to serve as commissioner, even if elected.
Collins said he was disappointed with the verdict, but he’s glad the issue is settled.
“Here we go,” he said. “We have a race now.”
Keith Burbank is TCPalm’s watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Ruling lets County Commission candidate stay on Florida ballot
Reporting by Keith Burbank, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Keith Burbank, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
