Susan O’Rourke is running for the District 2 seat on the Martin County Commission. An engineer since 1985, O’Rourke started her own engineering firm in 1989, first in California and later in Florida after moving to Stuart in 2001. She sold her business in 2024 and has since remained active in the community. She is the mother of three adult sons, all raised in Martin County.
Why She’s Running
O’Rourke said she had continued attending city and county commission meetings after selling her business and grew increasingly frustrated with what she described as the tone of local politics and how public commenters were treated from the dais. She said she began considering a run for office after learning that incumbent Commissioner Stacey Hetherington would not seek reelection. She said it appeared the seat might go uncontested, so she decided to run herself.
O’Rourke said her background solving traffic and transportation problems as a private-sector engineer, combined with having the time and financial flexibility to serve, made this a natural fit for her.
Water Quality and Environmental Stewardship
O’Rourke said Martin County has a strong track record on water quality and land conservation, but cautioned against complacency, saying continued progress requires ongoing relationship building with state and federal partners. She pointed to gains related to Lake Okeechobee management as evidence the county’s approach has worked, and said she wants to see that effort maintained rather than assuming the work is finished.
Affordability and the Property Tax Referendum
O’Rourke said affordability, including housing and insurance costs, is one of the top concerns she hears from residents. She said if a pending property tax reform referendum passes, she would push to have a portion of related sales tax revenue returned to local control rather than administered entirely by the state, arguing that local officials are better positioned to decide how those funds should be spent. More broadly, she said decisions on business development, regulation, and housing policy all indirectly affect affordability, even when they are not framed as affordable housing measures.
Road Safety and Traffic Engineering
O’Rourke said she wants to combine engineering-level traffic studies with the practical, day-to-day observations of law enforcement officers who regularly patrol high-accident roadways, arguing that combining both perspectives could lead to more effective safety improvements. Drawing on her engineering background, she also said traffic modeling data used in long-range planning does not always reflect actual or proposed land use patterns, which she said can result in infrastructure investment in the wrong locations.
Mental Health and Homelessness
O’Rourke said mental health and homelessness come up often in conversations with residents but are rarely addressed as an ongoing county policy priority. She said she would like to see the county establish a clearer baseline understanding of the issue and maintain sustained attention on it, rather than revisiting it periodically without follow-through.
Transit and Transportation
O’Rourke said she supports bringing Brightline passenger rail service to Stuart, arguing it could reduce parking demand downtown and create opportunities to connect visitors and commuters with smaller local transit options. She said Martin County’s existing fixed-route bus service has struggled with low ridership, and that demand-responsive transit models, including partnerships with rideshare services, may offer a more cost-effective alternative in some areas. She also said she has heard some concerns from seniors about reduced transportation options, including services used by veterans, and said she would want to look further into that if elected.
A Nuanced Approach to Affordable Housing
O’Rourke, who serves on the Habitat for Humanity board and works with House of Hope’s affordable housing committee, said there is no single solution to housing affordability, since what counts as affordable varies significantly by income and household type, from nurses and teachers to service industry workers. She pointed to Martin County’s recent rule changes allowing accessory dwelling units to be rented as one example of incremental progress, and said she is considering adding one to her own property. She also pointed to manufactured and modular housing as options that can reduce construction costs compared to traditional site-built homes.
O’Rourke also raised concerns about past proposals in Stuart that would have set unusually large minimum home sizes, arguing that requirements like that work against affordability rather than supporting it.
Addressing a Residency Question
O’Rourke addressed a legal challenge raised during her campaign regarding her residency. She said she has lived in Martin County for 24 years, and that after her youngest son graduated high school, she sold her longtime family home and briefly lived at Nettles Island before deciding to move back to Stuart. She pointed to her long record of community involvement, including volunteering with Meals on Wheels, serving on the Stuart Air Show board, and working with House of Hope, as evidence of her ongoing ties to the community.
Listeners interested in Martin County’s broader water quality efforts and upcoming elections can find related coverage in TreasureCoast.com’s episodes with the Florida Oceanographic Society, United Way of Martin County, and on water issues ahead of local elections.
