By Steve Plunkett
Little more than a month into 2018, the political waters in Boca Raton are already roiling.
As the new year dawned, it appeared City Council incumbent Robert Weinroth would face political newcomer Monica Mayotte in the March 13 election. But Weinroth withdrew from his Seat D race and filed Jan. 11 to run for County Commission instead.
His departure drew three more candidates into the contest, including former Deputy Mayor Michael Mullaugh, who withdrew only days after qualifying. That left on the ballot Mayotte, a former chair of the city’s Green Living Advisory Board; Armand Grossman, who mounted a short-lived candidacy for Seat C in 2015; and Paul Preste, a physician who made a surprise $78 million offer to buy the city’s western golf course too late to be considered.
Also on the ballot will be Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers, first elected to the council’s Seat C in 2015, and Kim Do, an accountant and tax lawyer new to politics.
In the Nov. 6 race to succeed County Commissioner Steven Abrams, Weinroth will face Mayor Susan Haynie, who opened a campaign account in October and has filed a letter of resignation from the council effective Nov. 20.
Council member Scott Singer is running to take over the last year of Haynie’s term in March 2019, as are real estate agent Bernard Korn and developer/lobbyist Glenn Gromann.
Grossman, a retired educator, quit the 2015 council campaign after a mass mailing and website raised questions about a real estate course he ran. The state Department of Business and Professional Regulation investigated him in 2000. The matter was closed after he paid $1,500 in fines and restitution.
Preste, an internist who practices in Fort Lauderdale, said in 2016 he and his partners would build a 1,000-unit adult living facility on the municipal golf course. But under city rules, his all-cash offer could not be considered. In November, Boca Raton decided to sell the course to GL Homes for $65 million.
Meet the candidates
When: Feb. 8
Where: 6500 Building, 6500 Congress Ave.
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Sponsor: Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations
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