There's a new sheriff in the Florida Keys, along with two new Monroe County commissioners.

Capt. Bob Peryam, a 27-year member of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, won a close race over retired federal agent Ken Davis. Sandra Downs, with no law enforcement experience, was a distant third.

Peryam will replace retiring Rick Roth, the county's longest serving sheriff at 18 years.

The five-person Board of County Commissioners also will have a new look. Republican Kim Wigington, a civic activist, defeated Democrat Bill Estes, a business owner, to win District 1.

Democrat Heather Carruthers, a business owner, trounced Republican Carlos Rojas, an architect, to win District 2.

Republican Sylvia Murphy kept her seat in District 5 in a landslide over Sal Gutierrez, who had no party affiliation.

''Wow. Overwhelming. I'm thrilled with the outcome,'' said Carruthers, an instrumental member of FIRM -- Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe -- that brought lower wind storm insurance rates to the Keys. ``I think we have a real chance to do some good work in Monroe County.''

The shake-up on the commission began in the primary, when voters ousted incumbent Dixie Spehar and longtime commissioner and former mayor Sonny McCoy.

''I'm really excited in the new direction the county is taking,'' Wigington said. ``We're going to reset our priorities.''

A record 81 percent of the Keys 50,149 registered voters turned out to cast ballots. Voting was a breeze Tuesday around the island chain, with more than 50 percent of ballots already cast through early voting or mail-in ballots.

''I predicted 80 percent and people looked at me kind of funny and it's even greater than that,'' Monroe County Elections Supervisor Harry L. Sawyer Jr. said.

``It's a phenomenal, record-breaking turnout for Monroe County. We'll be at the top of the state for turnout, too.''

Sawyer won his own reelection bid, defeating Henry L. Woods Jr.

For Monroe County state attorney, Democrat Dennis Ward unseated two-time incumbent Mark Kohl, a Republican.

Incumbent Monroe County Schools Superintendent Randy Acevedo, a Democrat, easily held off Republican challenger Fred Colvard.

The race for Monroe County circuit court judge is still undecided. Tegan Slaton and Mary Vanden Brook were separated by only five votes, with just provisional and touch-screen ballots left to be counted. The winner replaces retiring Sandra Taylor.

In the race for Monroe County property appraiser, Ervin A. Higgs defeated Chris Sante.

The winners of the county Mosquito Control Board are incumbents Joan Lord-Papy and Bill Shaw. Lord-Papy defeated Andy Williams, who is currently in the Monroe County Detention Center on drug charges.

TraumaStar, the county-run air ambulance service, got a boost from voters in a nonbinding referendum. Fifty-five percent of voters supported an increase in property taxes to cover the approximate $1.8 million it costs to operate after collecting user fees from insurance companies and noncounty victims.

The Board of County Commissioners, with input from public meetings, ultimately will decide TraumaStar's fate.

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