As the August elections approach on the Treasure Coast, a heated political clash has erupted in Stuart involving missing campaign signs, hunting trail cameras, and Apple AirTags. The controversy highlights the escalating tensions among candidates vying for local office in Martin County.
Chris “Doc” Collins, a former Mayor of Stuart currently running for Martin County Commission Seat Two, took matters into his own hands after noticing his campaign signs were repeatedly disappearing along local roadways. To catch the alleged culprit, Collins employed modern tracking technology by attaching Apple AirTags to his signs and setting up a hunting trail camera.
A Martin County Commission candidate used Apple AirTags and a trail camera to track missing campaign signs, leading to a late-night discovery and a heated confrontation between local political figures just days before the August election.
In a video posted to Facebook, Collins identified the man in the 3:58 a.m. trail camera footage as Jim Gallegos. Collins alleged that Gallegos was caught taking one of his signs and claimed he is a campaign advisor to Merritt Matheson, another local political candidate. However, Matheson later firmly denied that Gallegos serves as his campaign advisor.
When confronted about the incident, Gallegos strongly defended his actions. He stated he was simply fulfilling a property owner’s request to clear the area. According to Gallegos, he removed approximately 30 signs belonging to various candidates—not just those for Collins—because the property owner did not want the political advertisements displayed on their land.
The situation escalated further when Derreck Ogden, a candidate for Stuart City Commissioner, confronted Gallegos on camera. During the exchange, Ogden urged the return of the signs to ensure a clean and fair election process, stating that his campaign is focused on holding people accountable.
Key takeaways from this Treasure Coast political dispute include:
- Technological Tracking: The use of AirTags and trail cameras introduces a new level of surveillance to local political races.
- Disputed Affiliations: Accusations of coordinated campaign sabotage were met with swift denials from other candidates.
- Property Rights: The accused defended the removal of dozens of signs as a direct mandate from a private property owner.
With the election just days away, this localized drama has brought unexpected attention to the Martin County Commission and Stuart City Commissioner races, keeping voters and candidates on high alert across the region.
