A late-night dispute over campaign signs in Port St. Lucie has escalated into a police investigation involving the husband of the sitting mayor, just as early voting opens in one of the city's most closely watched elections in years. Mayoral candidate Steve Giordano says he and his campaign manager were out planting signs overnight when he saw a man yank one from the ground and toss it aside, triggering a profanity-laced confrontation that Giordano captured on his cell phone.
Giordano accused the man of removing a campaign sign without permission, and police say the man shown in the video appears to be Lieutenant Aaron Martin of the Port St. Lucie Police Department, who is married to incumbent Mayor Shannon Martin, according to CBS12 News. The confrontation centered on accusations about installing campaign signs without property owners' permission, a dispute that touches on Florida's specific rules for political signage. Under state law, campaign signs cannot be placed on state, county, or municipal road rights-of-way and may only go up on private property with the owner's express consent, according to Florida Statute 106.1435.
The flip side of that law carries its own teeth. Removing or taking someone else's campaign sign without authorization can be prosecuted as petit theft under Florida Statute 812.014, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail for property valued under $100, or a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail if the property is worth between $100 and $750, per state statute guidance.
Police Say Investigation Is Active on Two Fronts
The Port St. Lucie Police Department confirmed it is investigating two separate reports involving political campaign signs this month. Detectives have begun interviewing people involved in the reported incidents, are speaking with witnesses, and are working to verify statements provided to investigators, the station's report notes. Police say they documented the scenes and collected available evidence from the incidents, and that detectives are now reviewing that physical evidence as the case moves forward.
Department officials say they will review all available facts and evidence before reaching any determination, and that no additional information will be released while the investigations remain ongoing. The station reports that it is still waiting on additional comment from Mayor Martin herself regarding the confrontation involving her husband.
A Campaign Already Defined by Sharp Elbows
The timing could hardly be more charged. Port St. Lucie's nonpartisan mayoral primary is set for August 18, with early voting opening the day after the confrontation was reported, according to Ballotpedia. Martin, Giordano, and a third candidate, Eric Strazzeri, are all on the ballot for a seat overseeing the sixth-most populous city in Florida, home to more than 250,000 residents on the Treasure Coast.
Martin has built a substantial financial edge heading into the vote. Campaign finance filings with the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections show she has raised over $113,000 for her reelection bid, compared with roughly $27,000 for Giordano and more than $7,300 for Strazzeri. Martin first joined the Port St. Lucie City Council in 2010, served as vice mayor from 2016 to 2021, then won the mayor's seat in a 2021 special election after former mayor Gregory Oravec resigned, before winning a full term in 2022.
Giordano, a lifelong Port St. Lucie resident, former law enforcement officer, and realtor, is campaigning on charter reform, increased fiscal oversight, and creating a citizen oversight committee, according to Florida Politics. Local political commentary has also resurfaced an earlier incident involving Lt. Martin, who reportedly received supervisory counseling after an accidental firearm discharge inside police headquarters in March 2022 — a detail that has already become fodder for campaign rhetoric about administrative oversight.
Questions About Impartiality Loom Over the Probe
The involvement of a sitting police lieutenant married to the incumbent mayor raises obvious questions about how impartially the department can investigate its own. In Florida, criminal investigations touching on law enforcement personnel or a city executive's relatives are frequently handed off to the State Attorney's Office for the 19th Judicial Circuit or an outside agency specifically to avoid conflicts of interest during departmental review. It remains unclear whether that step will be taken here, and police have not said whether Lt. Martin faces any charges or discipline as the investigation continues.
Port St. Lucie operates under a council-manager government, meaning the mayor is one of five council members with equal voting power, while a city manager appointed by the council runs day-to-day operations. Mayor Martin was previously quoted defending fiscal safeguards for taxpayers during last year's stadium funding vote, a reminder of the scrutiny already surrounding her administration heading into this election. For now, the sign dispute remains an open case, with detectives still working to sort out exactly what happened in the dark on a Port St. Lucie street corner.
