Cochran unseats DeSantis appointee
Petrosky loses universal primary for County Commission Seat 5
Amanda Cochran ousted Lee County District 5 Commissioner Trish Petrosky in a universal primary between the two Alva Republicans on Tuesday in a race seen as a referendum on development in Lee County.
Cochran received 55% of the vote, compared to 45% for Petrosky. Petrosky was an appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Cochran received 64,815 votes compared to 53,618 votes for Petrosky. All voters in the county, regardless of party, were able to vote in the election due to there being no Democratic Party challengers for the seat.
The two Alva Republicans engaged in a hard-fought primary which centered around whether voters believed Lee County has been developing too rapidly or whether voters wanted to see further controls. Cochran had positioned herself as more concerned about the impact of development projects as Petrosky took a more moderate position.
“Growth management was the paramount issue,” Cochran said. “Growth management issue speaks to the water quality issue, speaks to the infrastructure issues, speaks to the affordability issue, speaks to the quality of like issues,” Cochran said.
Cochran said Tuesday’s vote was about “growth management” and transparency on the Lee County Board of County Commissioners. “There has been a distance” regarding transparency on the board, Cochran said. “That is the root of all of this.”
Cochran said she was proud of her “grassroots campaign” which she said was about “earning trust” from voters.
“It was a community effort and I am grateful for every single person who helped in this effort,” Cochran said. Cochran credited the community for working “really hard for citizen representation.”
Petrosky was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in December to fill the seat of the late Commissioner Mike Greenwell. A former Realtor, Petrosky had worked as an executive assistant at Evangelical Christian School before her appointment by DeSantis.
Cochran, who manages a realty company, had previously challenged Greenwell for his seat unsuccessfully in 2024, while winning in her own district.
District 5 covers Alva, Buckingham, Lehigh Acres, Olga, and the outermost northeastern section of Fort Myers. The seat is elected by voters countywide though commissioners represent the district in which they run.
With no Democratic challenger, Cochran will effectively have won the District 5 race and will be seated in November.
All election results are unofficial until certified.