Related election information

Election overview: Downtown campus, council lineup, police HQ up to voters

Mayor's Race: Trio running for mayor includes two council incumbents | Mayoral candidate profiles (Nachlas, Thomson, Liebelson)

 Council Seat A: Council race features accountant, attorney and real estate broker

 Council Seat B:  Incumbent faces off against founder and supporter of Save Boca | Seat B candidate profiles (Madsen, Pearlmen, Wigder)

 Council Seat D: Ex-county mayor battles city board stalwart, Save Boca member | Seat D candidate profiles (Cellon, Sipple, Weinroth)

Candidate profiles were compiled via telephone interviews. Candidates were asked to supply personal information regarding their age, education, marital status and number of years residing in their municipalities. They were also asked to provide a brief history of their professional life and experience, if any, in holding public office. Finally, they were asked about their positions on issues facing their communities and to provide an overarching quote detailing the reasons they believe they should be elected (or reelected), along with a current photograph.

Candidate profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Boca Raton city election
Election day: March 10
Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9
Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26
The mayor and council races are citywide for three-year terms, except the Council D race, which is for an unexpired one-year term.

Also on the ballot
Voters will decide two other issues:
Whether to approve moving forward with the proposed redevelopment of the city’s downtown campus.
Whether to approve the city’s issuing bonds of up to $175 million to build a new police headquarters, relocated from downtown to a site adjacent to the Spanish River Library.

Related: Town Council election candidate profiles

Related: Mayor's race election candidate profiles

By Brian Biggane

The seemingly endless on-again, off-again struggle to build a new Town Hall for South Palm Beach will be by far the most important issue when four of the five seats on the Town Council are contested in the March 10 general election.

Bonnie Fischer, who has served on the council since 2011 and as mayor since 2015, is being opposed by Rafael Pineiro, who has recruited fellow residents Francesca Attardi and Adrian Burcet to run against incumbents Monte Berendes, Elvadianne Culbertson and Sandra Beckett.

Berendes was elected to the council in 2022, while Culbertson (April 2024) and Beckett (December 2024) were appointed to fill vacancies in unexpired terms. The three top vote-getters will join the winner of the mayor’s race and Council member Ray McMillan — whose seat isn’t up for election this year — on the council. 

The challengers all oppose the current plan to build a new Town Hall and prefer the current building be renovated to meet the town’s needs.

Pineiro has been outspoken in his criticism of the council and its many decisions regarding the Town Hall, with the town now just months away from a groundbreaking on the estimated $6.5 million construction project. He would like to void a $161,000 contract with Fort Lauderdale firm CPZ Architects and hire an engineering firm to study whether a new building is needed — or if the current one can be renovated for far less money.

“We want to be open and transparent,” Pineiro said. “What people want is an expert opinion, that ‘this is what needs to be done, this is how much it’s going to cost.’”

The SIPs detour

If the contract with CPZ were to be canceled, it wouldn’t be the first time a deal has fallen through. In October 2021, the council contracted the firm of Synalovski Romanik Saye for $63,000 to explore the options of renovating the current building or building a new one. The following October the contract was terminated after Fischer, upon returning from a meeting of building contractors, told the council a new building could be constructed using the technologically advanced Structural Integrated Panels (SIPs) process for only about $2 million.

More than two years later, in late 2024, the town put out bids specifically asking for firms with SIPs experience. Moonlight Architecture, which specializes in SIPs construction, was the choice in January 2025, but when its financial terms could not be met, the council pivoted to CPZ, which had brought a SIPs expert when it made its proposal.

This past October, CPZ representative Joe Barry told the council SIPs would not be a cheaper option than using more traditional construction and the council voted 3-2 for the latter, with Fischer and Culbertson dissenting.

“I still wanted to go with SIPs but got outvoted,” Fischer said.

‘Nobody paying attention’

As all this was transpiring, Pineiro circulated a petition among residents asking the council to put the brakes on its timeline.

“We walked around asking people, ‘Do you know about the Town Hall?’ Nobody was paying attention, and this was creeping up on us,” said Attardi, who met Pineiro while working on another petition for the council to set aside space for a dog park. “It was in the offseason, when people were gone, and we still got more than 100 signatures.”

Current council members — including those seeking election — are unanimous in their opinion that it’s too late to turn back now. They cite a report submitted by Town Manager Jamie Titcomb that the cost of a retrofit would be more than 50% of the value of the building, which under state regulations would trigger costly renovations to the existing building to meet all current codes and elevations.

“We’ve had meetings about refurbishing the building since back in 2021 and were told, ‘Don’t,’” said Berendes, now the vice mayor. “To do major renovation, that’s not fiscally responsible. You’re going to spend $200,000 on an engineering study and find out the same things we found out five or six years ago. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“This is for the future of the town, something we can be proud of,” Beckett added.

At a special council meeting in early January that attracted an unusually large crowd for a council meeting — some 40 to 50 people — seven residents addressed the council regarding the Town Hall. Five spoke in favor while two, including Pineiro, were opposed.

Building heights

Another issue that has been discussed in town and has gotten attention this election is increasing height limits on buildings on the west side of State Road A1A. The current limit is six stories and, with developers looking to move in and replace structures that are now 40 years old or older, Berendes has said the time is coming when the limits need to be raised.

“I don’t know how much longer they can exist as they are,” he said. “To guarantee we won’t raise the height? No, I won’t do that.”

That doesn’t sit well with Attardi, who moved to South Palm Beach from New Jersey in 2023 and resides in one of those six-story buildings.

“Where am I supposed to go if the developers move in?” Attardi said. “I want to keep our little town the way that it is.”

‘They’re not involved’

While Pineiro has served many years on condo HOA boards in Broward County, his two running mates have little if any experience in governing. Attardi said she has attended “a few” council meetings in recent months while Burcet said he has “popped in” to them on occasion, though all four incumbents insist they have never seen him at one.

Pineiro “has been to maybe four meetings,” Beckett said. “The other two think this is their town, but they’re not involved. They don’t come to meetings, they don’t get on boards and committees and things to get involved in their community.”

Burcet said a work schedule that demands he sleep during the day has made attending meetings difficult.

“But I’m getting information through sources and it’s clear to me nothing is getting done,” he said. “So, if we get the community on the same page we can get things done instead of just continuing to bicker at these Town Hall meetings.”

While the four incumbents up for election expressed gratitude over the large turnout at the special council meeting, there was also frustration that residents didn’t express their interest in the Town Hall project sooner. Council meetings in recent years typically attract fewer than a dozen people.

With groundbreaking approaching, the incumbent council members have a sense the time has passed to start over yet again.

“Why would we even want to consider that?” Beckett asked. 

South Palm Beach town election

Election day: March 10

Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9

Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26

Related: Election could decide fate of Town Hall construction plans

Related: Mayor's race election candidate profiles

Candidate profiles were compiled via telephone interviews. Candidates were asked to supply personal information regarding their age, education, marital status and number of years residing in their municipalities. They were also asked to provide a brief history of their professional life and experience, if any, in holding public office. Finally, they were asked about their positions on issues facing their communities and to provide an overarching quote detailing the reasons they believe they should be elected (or reelected), along with a current photograph.

Candidate profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Related election information

Election overview: Downtown campus, council lineup, police HQ up to voters

Mayor's Race: Trio running for mayor includes two council incumbents | Mayoral candidate profiles (Nachlas, Thomson, Liebelson)

 Council Seat A: Council race features accountant, attorney and real estate broker | Seat A candidate profiles (Grau, Korn, Ritchey)

Council Seat B: Seat B candidate profiles (Madsen, Pearlmen, Wigder)

Council Seat D: Ex-county mayor battles city board stalwart, Save Boca member | Council Seat D candidate profiles (Cellon, Sipple, Weinroth)

By Mary Hladky

Marc Wigder, who was elected to the City Council without opposition in 2023 after Christen Ritchey dropped out of the race, is seeking a second term.

He is a real estate lawyer who now focuses on his companies. Greenhouse Property Co. emphasizes sustainability in commercial real estate projects and GreenSmith Builders builds energy-efficient homes.

He is chair of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which was formed in 1980 to improve the downtown’s core area. In that position, he frequently makes presentations to fellow council members on his ideas for bolstering the downtown.

Wigder supports the downtown campus redevelopment now that its density has been reduced and more land is preserved as green and recreational space.

With those changes that were spurred by Save Boca, many residents he has spoken to say “they see this as something positive” and question what Save Boca “is fighting for at this point.”

But the election, he said, should be about more than this one project. “There is so much more going on in this city and so many great things going on.”

He is pushing for improvements to the city’s infrastructure, including sea wall and flood control projects, and improving traffic flow in part by using artificial intelligence to control traffic lights on roadways the city controls. He also supports bike and pedestrian safety improvements throughout the city.

He wants to acquire more land to enhance the city’s park system, and emphasizes keeping the tax rate low.

He is proud of his role in extending the life of the CRA, which would have expired in 2025 but now will continue to exist until 2043. As a result, the city will retain millions of dollars that otherwise would have gone to the county but now can be used for city projects.

Even though one of his election opponents is Save Boca founder Jon Pearlman, Wigder is “very confident” he can win reelection, because “in the last three years I have shown principled leadership” and gained valuable knowledge that will boost his ability to lead the city well.

If some Save Boca candidates win, “I am happy to work with anybody to try to get things done.”

But Wigder offers this caveat: “They have to be willing to work for something. They can’t be against everything.”

***

As the City Council moved forward last year with its plan to redevelop the downtown campus, the only opposition came from users of the campus’ recreation facilities who wanted to preserve them.

But that changed last summer with the emergence of Save Boca led by Jon Pearlman, a New York City native and Harvard grad who lives in a multimillion-dollar home in east Boca with his wife and two children.

He has an investment management firm and is the co-founder of the Mission Lean fitness app.

Seemingly overnight came a Save Boca website, vivid presence on social media, lime green and bright navy Save Boca T-shirts, yard signs and residents collecting signatures on petitions that would force the city to let residents vote on the project.

Save Boca supporters already have gotten much of what they wanted. The project has been downsized, green space and many of recreation facilities salvaged and banyan trees preserved. Residents will get a vote on March 10.

But Pearlman is far from declaring victory. As a candidate for City Council, he hopes to defeat Wigder and has recruited two of his comrades to join him in what could be a council takeover.

“As a City Council member, Jon will fight every day for the best interests of the citizens,” he said in announcing his candidacy.

“He will work to protect our parks, public land, and secure the brightest future for our city, for us, our children and all future generations of Boca Raton.”

Asked for more specifics, Pearlman was blunt. “Our goal is to win the three council seats so we have a majority to represent the citizens of Boca and not the developers,” he said.

Beyond that, he is keeping vigilant to make sure the city doesn’t pull a fast one and eliminate from the March 10 ballot the measure allowing residents to vote for or against the downtown campus redevelopment.

Although city officials strongly dispute that intention, Pearlman insists “it is a scenario they are considering. However, Save Boca will not allow that to happen.”

In late January, he did not have a campaign platform on the nuts and bolts of running a city — covering matters such as development, public safety and infrastructure — because he has been absorbed by protecting residents.

His campaign, he said, would “kick off in full force” shortly after The Coastal Star’s deadline.

***

Meredith Madsen, a Save Boca supporter but not a member, decided to run against Widger because she sees him as consistently pro-developer.

“I felt inspired to do something and I felt I could do a good job at it,” she said.

Madsen assumed she had Pearlman’s support for her candidacy. After all, she supports the group, and had a Save Boca sign in her yard and a Save Boca T-shirt.

Then Pearlman entered the Seat B race. She is not happy about it.

“I wouldn’t kiss his ring,” she said of Pearlman.

Pearlman should have run for mayor or against former City Council member Robert Weinroth, who is running for Seat D. “Jon didn’t feel brave enough,” she said.

But she is moving on. “He did what he wants to do. I am doing what I want to do.”

Madsen is the founder and CEO of Sunshine & Glitter, which makes biodegradable sunscreen and beauty products.

She opposes the downtown campus project, saying it remains too dense. Instead, she advocates for the city to rebuild the City Hall and Community Center on its own.

But if voters approve the project, she wants the city to complete a comprehensive traffic analysis to determine if it will produce too much additional traffic. If so, she would want Terra/Frisbie to reduce the number of residential units.

“I want all of our decisions to be based on traffic abatement and analysis,” she said.

Madsen will let voters decide if the city should build a $175 million police headquarters. She strongly supports first responders and agrees with building a new headquarters, but believes that the price tag is “exorbitant.”

She also wants the city to protect its green spaces and parks, manage growth responsibly and to ensure residents can vote on any project that is built on public land.

Boca Raton city election
Election day: March 10
Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9
Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26
The mayor and council races are citywide for three-year terms, except the Council D race, which is for an unexpired one-year term.

Also on the ballot
Voters will decide two other issues:
Whether to approve moving forward with the proposed redevelopment of the city’s downtown campus.
Whether to approve the city’s issuing bonds of up to $175 million to build a new police headquarters, relocated from downtown to a site adjacent to the Spanish River Library.

Related: Town Commission election candidate profiles

Voters in Gulf Stream can take part in the town’s first contested election since 2017 next month.

The Town Commission’s five incumbents are on the March 10 ballot as well as a political newcomer. The top five vote-getters will win seats.

The incumbents — Scott Morgan, Thomas Stanley, Robert Canfield, Michael Greene and Joan Orthwein — appear together in a paid ad in The Coastal Star touting “results that matter.”

Also on the ballot is newcomer Michael Glennon, who has taken an active role as a resident in commission discussions the past three years and now sits on the appointed Architectural Review and Planning Board. The incumbents all sat on the ARPB as well.

This will be the first appearance on a ballot for Canfield and Greene. Canfield, who has lived in Place Au Soleil for 10 years, was appointed to the Town Commission in January 2024.

Greene, who lives on the west side of North Ocean Boulevard, similarly was appointed to the commission in February 2024.

Commissioners will choose a mayor and vice mayor from among themselves after the election.

— Steve Plunkett

Related: Town holding first municipal election since 2017

Candidate profiles were compiled via telephone interviews. Candidates were asked to supply personal information regarding their age, education, marital status and number of years residing in their municipalities. They were also asked to provide a brief history of their professional life and experience, if any, in holding public office. Finally, they were asked about their positions on issues facing their communities and to provide an overarching quote detailing the reasons they believe they should be elected (or reelected), along with a current photograph.

Candidate profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Related election information

Election overview: Downtown campus, council lineup, police HQ up to voters

Mayor's Race: Trio running for mayor includes two council incumbents | Mayoral candidate profiles (Nachlas, Thomson, Liebelson)

 Council Seat A: Council race features accountant, attorney and real estate broker | Seat A candidate profiles (Grau, Korn, Ritchey)

Council Seat B:  Incumbent faces off against founder and supporter of Save Boca 

 Council Seat D: Ex-county mayor battles city board stalwart, Save Boca member | Seat D candidate profiles (Cellon, Sipple, Weinroth)

Candidate profiles were compiled via telephone interviews. Candidates were asked to supply personal information regarding their age, education, marital status and number of years residing in their municipalities. They were also asked to provide a brief history of their professional life and experience, if any, in holding public office. Finally, they were asked about their positions on issues facing their communities and to provide an overarching quote detailing the reasons they believe they should be elected (or reelected), along with a current photograph.

Candidate profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Boca Raton city election
Election day: March 10
Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9
Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26
The mayor and council races are citywide for three-year terms, except the Council D race, which is for an unexpired one-year term.

Also on the ballot
Voters will decide two other issues:
Whether to approve moving forward with the proposed redevelopment of the city’s downtown campus.
Whether to approve the city’s issuing bonds of up to $175 million to build a new police headquarters, relocated from downtown to a site adjacent to the Spanish River Library.

Related: City Commission election candidate profiles | Commission candidate Q & A

By John Pacenti

The three candidates vying for an open seat on the Delray Beach City Commission must have a masochistic streak. Whoever wins had better bring her boxing gloves, because the group currently elected fights more than a dysfunctional family at Thanksgiving.

Voters will choose from Judy Mollica, Andrea Keiser and Delores Rangel in a March 10 election to fill the seat vacated by now State Rep. Rob Long. Commissioner Angela Burns was unopposed and has earned another three-year term.

“I think it’s anybody’s race,” former Mayor Shelly Petrolia said. “These are not known women — none of them. There is nobody out there that, you know, has run before, that everybody knows.”

Mollica represents the crowd still stung when the nonprofit running Old School Square was booted off the campus by the commission — with Petrolia as mayor — in 2021 over a lack of financial transparency. 

Rangel is positioning herself as the everyman candidate who doesn’t adhere to any one camp and knows how to get things done from her decades of seeing the commission in action as an administrative assistant. 

Keiser considered running for County Commission but decided to put her hat in the city race instead. A land use attorney who has represented developers, Keiser is polished, quick on her feet, but is still getting up to speed on the issues. 

Keiser wants to bring civility back to the commission.  “I believe that you can disagree with someone, you can even be 100% right on an issue, but to publicly humiliate people is not a desirable leadership quality and trait,” she said.

She has contributed $102,000 to her own campaign.

Andre Fladell, a longtime political player in Delray Beach, says the election is shaping up to be a contest of old-school politics versus new.

“Keiser comes extremely well-financed. I think she’ll be able to deliver a message,” Fladell said. “Judy is going to have to rely on a door-to-door game. It’s going to be a very good test of which of those two components is more effective in the cycle.”

Fladell characterized Rangel as a spoiler. “Delores knows a lot of the local inside people. That group might tend to be more with Judy Mollica,” he said. “So you would think she would pull votes.”

Petrolia is supporting Rangel, who might not be an ace at public speaking, but she knows the issues inside and out. 

“She was practically the person who got everything done when I was in office, and for every commissioner, every single thing we ran up against, she was handling. She knows how to do it,” Petrolia said.

Rangel’s problem is financing. She has reported about $2,000 in contributions.

The Coastal Star asked the candidates about issues facing the city. Here is a look at how they responded. A fuller look at their comments is available online at  TheCoastalStar.com.

Civic service

Both Keiser and Mollica can boast that they are prepared through years of serving on various boards in the public and private sectors. 

Keiser is a board member of the Delray Beach Housing Authority and was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County, among other commitments. 

Mollica — a real estate broker — currently serves on the Planning & Zoning Board and holds positions with the local Rotary Club and Mae Volen Senior Center. She is also president of Friends of Delray.

Rangel says she is all about practical experience, working with the commission. “I bring a wealth of institutional knowledge that my opponents don’t possess — plus I’ve lived in Delray for 59 years,” she said.

Coastal issues

On issues of interest to coastal residents, Keiser said, "I believe it's important to protect our beach and the quality of life for those that live there." She said the noise ordinance also needs to be enforced, saying, “People chose to live on the coast to hear the ocean, not the downtown.”

Mollica says preserving the beach is paramount, but says the endless numbers of renourishment projects are not sustainable.

Rangel says safeguarding the beach is a must, calling it “our jewel.” She also sees other issues for the barrier island. 

“There are street flooding issues and residents want better enforcement of the ‘No Wake’ zone on the Intracoastal. I will work with the Beach Property Owners Association and coastal residents to address these issues,” she said.

The DDA 

The Downtown Development Authority has been Mayor Tom Carney’s favorite punching bag. He forced the city to do an audit of the DDA and his concerns were used to justify an ongoing state audit.

Keiser said she hadn’t seen the city audit and couldn’t comment, but said there is merit to looking at the finances of entities that receive taxpayer money. “You have to be accountable and responsible for the use of that money and ensure it’s being used in the proper way,” she said.

The other candidates threw support toward the DDA, which received $2.7 million — mostly through a special property tax on downtown properties — to support and promote businesses to create a thriving downtown.

“It feels to me from the outside looking in that this poor agency is being bullied,” Mollica said. “And, you know, there could be a chance that it gets dissolved because there’s an appetite for that anyway, in Tallahassee.”

Rangel said she supports the DDA; she saw firsthand how it transformed downtown to the vibrant scene it is today. “The only ‘waste’ here is the waste of time and taxpayer money by subjecting the DDA to an additional state audit,” she said.

Development

“I’m not sure why I have to be pro-development or anti-development,” Keiser said. “I think it really is about time and place, right? So, you know, every piece of real estate is different.”

She said she yearns for the time when mom-and-pop stores dominated the downtown area. “I would like to restore that, you know, charming town, and help those small-business owners by maybe filtering them out into the arteries of the downtown.”

Rangel didn’t mince words: It was time to put a halt to current development, saying, “We all need a break.”

“The building of Atlantic Crossing has certainly taken its toll and residents are really tired of all the construction, noise and traffic from these massive projects that go on for years,” she said.

Mollica was more measured as a member of the city’s planning board, saying only that she is disheartened to see businesses disappear and be replaced by townhomes. She then turned to her services at the Volen Center and her commitment to seniors.

She reported that she raised more than $13,000 for her campaign since October — including a maximum $1,000 contribution from Neil Schiller, a prominent land-use attorney who has represented developers and property owners in front of the commission.

Home rule

Rangel appears to be ready to make the issue of protecting home rule a central theme of her campaign. 

“The League of Cities works to address the [state] preemptions, but I would like to go a step further and create a multi-city coalition,” she said. “After all, there is strength in numbers and I think a multi-city coalition to challenge the increasing number of state preemption laws that strip away local ‘home rule’ authority could be more effective.”

Mollica is “outraged” by the erosion of home rule.

“I think that the property tax [elimination] proposals sound attractive to people, but what it’s actually going to do for a municipality is going to defund our police, and it’s going to defund our fire (department). It’s going to defund any road work. It’s going to defund any beach restoration. It will defund us entirely.”

Keiser both-sided the issue.

“I think lowering costs for our families and our residents is always a priority. However, there’s also the other side, where people are scared that it’s going to detrimentally impact our essential services if we cut that much revenue,” she said. 

Delray Beach city election

Election day: March 10

Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9

Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26

Related election information

Election overview: Downtown campus, council lineup, police HQ up to voters

Mayor's Race: Trio running for mayor includes two council incumbents | Mayoral candidate profiles (Nachlas, Thomson, Liebelson)

Council Seat A: Council race features accountant, attorney and real estate broker | Seat A candidate profiles (Grau, Korn, Ritchey)

 Council Seat B:  Incumbent faces off against founder and supporter of Save Boca | Seat B candidate profiles (Madsen, Pearlmen, Wigder)

 Council Seat D: Seat D candidate profiles (Cellon, Sipple, Weinroth)

By Mary Hladky

Former Boca Raton City Council member Robert Weinroth is seeking a return to his former job, saying what he brings to the table is the experience he gained as both a council member and county commissioner.

He won a special election to the council in 2014 and then a three-year term without opposition in 2015. In 2018, he was elected to the Palm Beach County Commission and became county mayor.

After Weinroth lost re-election in 2022, he filed to run for the Palm Beach County School Board, but withdrew from that race and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024 in the Republican primary.

“I feel coming back to the City Council, especially now, with talk of redeveloping the downtown campus and Mizner Park, there is a lot of opportunity to help guide our city for the next 100 years,” he said of his candidacy.

Weinroth, a downtown resident, agrees with current council members that a new City Hall and Community Center are needed and that “it is important to focus on those needs.”

Now that the redevelopment plan has been downsized, Weinroth said it is “much closer” to what he thinks is needed, but “it is not completely at a point where I would say it is ready for prime time.”

He is supportive of enhancing Memorial Park on the west side of the downtown campus and transforming it into a true commemoration of those who served in the armed forces.

The project became controversial, he said, because the “City Council didn’t bring the residents into the conversation early enough.” Save Boca came into being because “residents felt they were not part of the original plans.”

While he is not endorsing Save Boca’s contention that the city should back away from a public-private partnership with Terra/Frisbie, he does agree that the city has the financial strength to finance a new City Hall and Community Center on its own.

One of his main priorities is building more workforce housing so that people have access to affordable places to live. “Workforce housing is important to me,” he said.
He also supports “balanced” growth that maintains Boca’s character, strengthening police, fire and emergency services and improving transportation infrastructure.

***

Larry Cellon has a formidable record of service to the city as a member of the Community Appearance Board for 27 years and the Planning and Zoning Board for 10 years.

He gained expertise in development and construction as a former partner with JMW Construction.

He is a founding member of Workshop 344+, formed by a group of influential residents who want to improve a five-block section of East Palmetto Park Road.

Frustrated because that effort hasn’t gained traction with city officials, he resigned from the planning board so he could run for a City Council seat.

While the city does many things very well, “the rub comes from development,” he said. “That is creating all the strife. I am uniquely positioned with my knowledge and experience in development to help guide the city forward in a reasonable and sustainable manner.”

Although he is not a member of Save Boca, he agrees with that group that the city does not need a developer partner to rebuild the City Hall and Community Center and make other improvements to the west side of the government campus.

The city already is willing to pay $175 million for a new police station, and will ask voters to approve financing it with a 30-year, tax-exempt general obligation bond in the March 10 election, he noted. Residents will pay for it through a tax increase.

And the city has purchased for $17.4 million a building that will house many City Hall functions, with a much smaller City Hall to be built on the government campus.

And yet the city is asking voters to approve spending $201 million up front for improvements to the west side of the government campus. It will take many years for the city to recoup that money from payments it will get from Terra/Frisbie for land it is leasing from the city on the campus’ east side, he said.

Taken together, Cellon argues that this makes no sense.

Cellon’s priorities are for the city to offer free wi-fi in the downtown, which he said other cities have done at minimal cost. He wants to install artificial reefs in Red Reef Park to protect the shoreline and to create a snorkel trail there.

He also wants the turtle rehabilitation program at Gumbo Limbo to be reinstated and the gift shop reopened. And like some of the other candidates, he wants to use artificial intelligence to control traffic lights and improve traffic flow.

***

Save Boca member Stacy Sipple is a clinical oncology pharmacist who believes the current City Council is not listening to residents’ concerns about overdevelopment, increased traffic and reduction in open spaces.

“I have had enough,” she states in campaign literature, “and… I know I am in no way the minority.”

While not anti-development, she said, “I am pro-common sense.”

She agrees a new City Hall and Community Center are needed, but opposes the public-private partnership with Terra/Frisbie and the 99-year land lease.

“Who knows what is going to happen in 99 years,” she said. “That is a long time to sign a lease over to somebody.”

Rather, she would have the city improve the city’s downtown campus land on its own. “The area needs to be fixed up,” she said. “I think we can do it better on the city’s money. … Then we control the land.”

She wants more transparency and better communication with residents when development projects come before the city for approval. “A lot of residents are finding out after the fact that (a project) is already approved,” she said.

Traffic congestion is another problem that needs to be addressed, she said. “People are avoiding going downtown because of the traffic and the parking situation with having to pay at meters,” she said.

Sipple also thinks one city priority should be getting sustainable workforce housing. “A few CEOs can afford to live in this area, but the worker bees can’t afford to live here,” she said.

Sipple says in her campaign literature that she is not a politician, but is a “resident’s voice.”

“I am running to restore trust, preserve what makes Boca special, and ensure our community has a seat at THEIR table.” 

Boca Raton city election
Election day: March 10
Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9
Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26
The mayor and council races are citywide for three-year terms, except the Council D race, which is for an unexpired one-year term.

Also on the ballot
Voters will decide two other issues:
Whether to approve moving forward with the proposed redevelopment of the city’s downtown campus.
Whether to approve the city’s issuing bonds of up to $175 million to build a new police headquarters, relocated from downtown to a site adjacent to the Spanish River Library.

Related: Three first-time candidates square off in commission race |Commission candidate Q & A

Candidate profiles were compiled via telephone interviews. Candidates were asked to supply personal information regarding their age, education, marital status and number of years residing in their municipalities. They were also asked to provide a brief history of their professional life and experience, if any, in holding public office. Finally, they were asked about their positions on issues facing their communities and to provide an overarching quote detailing the reasons they believe they should be elected (or reelected), along with a current photograph.

Delray Beach city election

Election day: March 10

Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9

Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26

Related election information

Election overview: Downtown campus, council lineup, police HQ up to voters

Mayor's Race: Trio running for mayor includes two council incumbents | Mayoral candidate profiles (Nachlas, Thomson, Liebelson)

 Council Seat A: Council race features accountant, attorney and real estate broker | Seat A candidate profiles (Grau, Korn, Ritchey)

 Council Seat B: Incumbent faces off against founder and supporter of Save Boca | Seat B candidate profiles (Madsen, Pearlmen, Wigder)

 Council Seat D: Ex-county mayor battles city board stalwart, Save Boca member 

Candidate profiles were compiled via telephone interviews. Candidates were asked to supply personal information regarding their age, education, marital status and number of years residing in their municipalities. They were also asked to provide a brief history of their professional life and experience, if any, in holding public office. Finally, they were asked about their positions on issues facing their communities and to provide an overarching quote detailing the reasons they believe they should be elected (or reelected), along with a current photograph.

Candidate profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Boca Raton city election
Election day: March 10
Last day to register to vote: Feb. 9
Last day to request mail-in ballot: Feb. 26
The mayor and council races are citywide for three-year terms, except the Council D race, which is for an unexpired one-year term.

Also on the ballot
Voters will decide two other issues:
Whether to approve moving forward with the proposed redevelopment of the city’s downtown campus.
Whether to approve the city’s issuing bonds of up to $175 million to build a new police headquarters, relocated from downtown to a site adjacent to the Spanish River Library.

Shoppers stroll the newly built Mizner Park in 1991. The park celebrated its 35th birthday Jan. 11. Photo provided by Boca Raton Historical Society

Related: Arts festival celebrates 20th season of show business and more

By Mary Hladky

Residents jam city meetings to protest. The subject consumes hours of debate. Recriminations fly. City leaders are faced with controversial votes.

Does this sound like today’s furor over the planned redevelopment of Boca Raton’s downtown campus? Yes, but it also describes the creation of Mizner Park.

Mizner Park celebrated its 35th birthday on Jan. 11. City leaders say no one can imagine life in Boca Raton without it.

“This is 1988 revisited,” architect Derek Vander Ploeg said of the downtown campus saga. “It is almost exactly the same.”

“It was controversial,” said attorney Wendy Larsen, who was one of a group of five key people who got Mizner Park off the ground. “It was the first new thing that happened downtown. Anytime you are doing a first, it is bound to be hard.”

Asked how complicated the task was, she said, “On a scale of 1 to 10, it was probably a 10.”

Mizner Park was what Larsen described as “really the first of its kind in Florida” — a combination of residential, office, retail and restaurants.

It was to replace the dilapidated Boca Raton Mall and its frequently flooded parking lots that residents had no use for.

That’s generally what developers Terra and Frisbie Group and city officials have in mind for the 31.7-acre downtown campus, although that project as now envisioned would also have a hotel and city buildings.

In both cases, the central idea was to create a popular destination.

Asked about the parallels between opposition then and now, Larsen said, “There is always a group out there who is against progress. Whether or not it is the current design of the downtown campus, something has to be done. I hope it is soon. We have needed a new City Hall for 20 years.”

Deputy City Manager Jorge Camejo headed up the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency when the Mizner Park concept came into being.

“In the early 1980s, there was absolutely no reason to want to be in downtown Boca Raton,” he said in a July episode of Boca Raton Untold, a video series created in partnership with Lynn University’s College of Communication and Design.

“The idea behind Mizner Park was to create a catalyst that would be a great public space and also spur investment throughout the balance of the downtown,” he said.

After the Town Center mall opened in 1980, “something had to be done to save the downtown. The commerce was now going west,” he said. “With Mizner Park, we changed that significantly.”

Its design was inspired by the Piazza Navona in Rome, and that was one of the reasons it was controversial.

The buildings faced a central space with their backs to Federal Highway.

“Back then, that was blasphemous,” Camejo said. “People were outraged.”

At the time, there were almost no residential units in the downtown, but many people panned the idea of including them in Mizner Park. They were proved wrong.

“When we opened Phase 1 in 1990, there were 136 residential units available …” Camejo said. “They went like hotcakes. It was occupied almost instantly.”

Now, Mizner Park is looking bedraggled and could use a refresh. That might be coming.

Brookfield Properties, Mizner Park’s owner, put the property up for sale a year ago, and negotiations with a suitor are underway. 

Reconstruction of the Delray Beach Pavilion is ongoing as the iconic structure needed a complete rebuild because the wrong fasteners were used to hold it together when it was last refurbished in 2013. As a result, it began falling apart when salt air corroded the fasteners. Officials expect the $817,400 project to wrap up in March. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

Alderwoman Holly Reitnauer may not be leaving the Briny Breezes dais in March after all.

Reitnauer, who was appointed in December 2024 to replace Kathy Gross in Seat 2, did not file papers in November to run for election in March.

But things have changed, she now says, and she would like to remain on the Town Council.

“I have given it a lot of thought, and my health situation has improved. So therefore I would like to remain in my seat, helping to move Briny forward,” she wrote in a letter to the council received Jan. 13.

She is the first person to officially express interest in filling the position.

Alderman Jeff Duncan was the only one of three incumbents in November to file qualifying papers for the March 10 election. Reitnauer — who is married to Alderman Bill Birch — and Mayor Ted Gross, Kathy’s husband, did not.

That meant Duncan was automatically elected to his Seat 4 position for a second two-year term and that there would be no election in Briny Breezes. Duncan originally was appointed as an alderman in December 2023 when no one filed to run for then-Council President Christina Adams’ seat.

According to the town’s charter, the council will appoint someone to fill Mayor Seat 6 and Reitnauer’s seat in March.

Gross in December said he was not seeking another term, citing his dissatisfaction with Briny’s weak-mayor form of government, the effect of the state’s Sunshine Law on his personal relationships and his desire to spend more time supporting people affected by sex trafficking and abuse. 

Festival of the Arts Boca crowd totals are more than 15,000 annually at Mizner Park, organizers say. Photo provided

Related:  Downtown campus controversy reminds some of Mizner Park’s birth

By Michael Cook 

Fresh acts and returning favorites are set to hit the stage at Festival of the Arts Boca, which kicks off Feb. 27 for its 20th season. 

From a ballet performance to a screening of Jurassic Park accompanied by a live orchestra, the annual cultural arts festival will run daily through March 8 at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, with a keynote performance or talk each evening. More than 15,000 people attend the festival each year to experience the culture that fills the air. 

“Culture is part of life. If you don’t participate in culture, then you’re not really living,” said festival co-founder Wendy Larsen, who launched the event in 2007 with the late Charlie Siemon. Both were visionaries of Mizner Park, helping create a “heart for the downtown.”

Larsen said Festival of the Arts Boca began with a simple vision to turn the city into a “cultural capital,” showcasing world-class performances ranging from classical musicians and ballet dancers to educational talks by authors. 

Artists such as violinist Itzhak Perlman have performed at Festival of the Arts Boca. Photo provided

While there are no returning acts from the first festival, Larsen reflected on the inaugural event in 2007, recalling violinist Itzhak Perlman performing with the Russian National Orchestra. Since then, she said the festival has continued to grow with its core focus on the performing arts.

Looking back at the festival’s early days, Joanna Marie Kaye, who has served as executive director since 2014, said it primarily featured classical musicians. She said the festival has branched out over the years, offering contemporary art forms and “pure exhilaration” experiences, such as film screenings with an orchestra playing the score.

Kaye said this year’s most anticipated performances are those of Postmodern Jukebox, which will do live covers of modern hits with a vintage twist on opening night, Feb. 27, and of Broadway singer Patti LuPone, who will close out the festival on March 8. 

The festival is not just about performances but includes educational outreach, exposing students to festival artists through master classes and open rehearsals, Kaye said. “In order for the arts to thrive, we need to encourage the next generation to participate and be part of that,” she added.

Another effort is an annual virtual music competition for students. It is open to musicians aged 18 or younger who reside in Broward County or Palm Beach County. In 2021, the festival went fully virtual due to the pandemic. That same year, Kaye said, the festival launched the competition as an educational incentive after students lacked performance opportunities. 

The competition has focused on a different instrument each year, with this year’s focus on piano. In 2025, it focused on winds and brass, and the first-place winner was Thomas “Aidan” Gardner, a freshman at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music who submitted a video of himself playing the flute.

As part of winning first place, Gardner this year will perform part of the “A Rhapsodic Evening with Conrad Tao” festival show on March 6. He will join the featured pianist, Tao, who has performed at the festival since 2008, when he was 13.

Gardner said Festival of the Arts Boca exposed him to the music industry and allowed him to network. He said sharing his art with an audience is a form of expression, and he is looking forward to performing with a live orchestra.

“Music has been a way for me to really put myself out there, to let that extroverted side that has kind of been buried shine. There’s something rewarding about it, even just playing with other musicians,” Gardner said.

Festival of the Arts Boca schedule
Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.: Postmodern Jukebox Returns!
Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.: ‘Jurassic Park’ with Live Orchestra
March 1, 7 p.m.: From Swan Lake to the Stones: A Night at the Ballet
March 2, 7 p.m.: Doris Kearns Goodwin: The Enduring Significance of the American Revolution
March 3, 7 p.m.: Walter Mosley: The Only True Race is the Human Race
March 4, 7 p.m.: Arthur Caplan: In Defense of Science
March 5, 7 p.m.: Dr. Danielle Gilbert: Life Lessons from Hostage Negotiation
March 6, 7:30 p.m.: A Rhapsodic Evening with Conrad Tao
March 7, 7:30 p.m.: A Third Time for Three concert
March 8, 7 p.m.: Patti LuPone: Matters of the Heart concert
Location: Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
For more information or tickets: Visit festivalboca.org

Town officials make pitch to legislators — Lantana Town Council members and Town Manager Brian Raducci made a short visit to Tallahassee on Jan. 13-14 for Palm Beach County Day at the state capitol.

Raducci said the outing provided local leaders a chance to observe the legislative process in person, meet with lobbyists, and network with other municipalities and organizations that attended the event.

Lantana lawmakers met with Sen. Mack Bernard and Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman and discussed gaining their support to fund the town’s 2026-27 requests for $4.57 million worth of state appropriation, which include:

• Rehabilitation for four lift stations; 

• Improvements for the water treatment plant instrumentation and controls; 

• Improvements to the North Fourth Street gravity sewer and drainage; 

• ADA walkway improvements at Maddock Park; 

• Renovation of the Police Department’s emergency operation center.

Raducci says that while these requests have been submitted, grants to fund them are not guaranteed.

Bonefish Cove habitat restoration update — Work continues at Bonefish Cove, a project that’s creating a chain of two mangrove islands and oyster reefs in the central Lake Worth Lagoon.

Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management has given the latest update on the habitat restoration project. The location is just north of Hypoluxo Island. 

ERM reports that no additional work has been completed in the north island since December. 

The contractor still needs to complete the finishing touches on the final portion of the rock wave break structure around the island and is assessing the success of the red mangroves planted a month ago, according to the report.

For the south island, the contractor continues delivering, stockpiling and grading sand to form the oyster reefs and a submerged sea grass shelf. Seven of the 10 oyster reefs are complete in the north portion of this section.

In coming weeks, the contractor will continue building additional oyster reefs and shaping the intertidal island.

Barge traffic during weekdays has been reauthorized, with barges permitted to travel from Peanut Island to Bonefish Cove from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, in addition to weekends and holidays.

Working hours at the Bonefish Cove project site are from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. 

For more information, go online to discover.pbc.gov/erm/Pages/Lake-Worth-Lagoon.aspx

Tree City designation — For the 35th consecutive year, Lantana has been recognized as a Tree City USA community by the Arbor Day Foundation.

The recognition honors the town’s long-standing commitment to urban forestry, environmental stewardship and community pride.

An Arbor Day celebration, which will include a tree planting, will be held in April. The time, date and location have yet to be announced.

— Mary Thurwachter

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney has turned over communications between himself and Mary McCarty, a former city and county commissioner still heavily involved in local politics.

The Coastal Star requested text messages, emails and other communications through a public records request after reports that McCarty was directing Carney from the gallery of the commission chambers during meetings.

The messages turned over do not show communications during a meeting, but they do show McCarty advising the mayor on controversial issues. The messages are also not under McCarty’s name — but a pseudonym that the mayor says is a long-standing joke between them.

A commissioner who sits right next to the mayor on the dais, though, said he has seen messages come into the mayor’s phone with McCarty’s given name during commission meetings. McCarty told the newspaper in December that her gesturing during meetings is due to frustration with commissioners’ lack of decorum.

City Attorney Lynn Gelin said the messages turned over completely fulfill the public records request made by the newspaper.

Carney told The Coastal Star that no one person has special access to him, and he speaks to any number of concerned citizens about issues.

“I have an open-door policy, I talk to a lot of people about all sorts of issues,” Carney said. “I reach out to people for ideas. People call me. I take the calls.”

He said McCarty appears as “Martin Davis” on his phone — the fiery former head of Paramount studios — as a joke between them.

“She’s been listed in my phone that way for 20 years. Why should I change it?” the mayor said. 

The communications — emails and texts — were turned over seven weeks after the public records request was made on Dec. 8. One of the delays, according to Gelin, was due to the mayor's catching the flu in the first week of January.

“I would hope that you would show grace to someone who is dealing with a particularly harsh strain of the flu,” Gelin said when asked about the delay.

The requested text messages were provided to The Coastal Star as a series of screen shots cut-and-pasted into a document. 

On one thread, McCarty was upset that the city had decided to sue the state over erasing its LGBTQ Pride rainbow intersection.

“There are X cities in Florida that are not subjecting their taxpayers to this. Why are we? This commission should not be used as a political pawn to advance a social agenda,” McCarty wrote on Sept. 10.

Carney had unsuccessfully opposed the city's joining the lawsuit at a commission meeting the day before her text. Carney then convened a special meeting of the commission — his email to the city manager for the special meeting was sent prior to his receiving McCarty’s text message — where he successfully urged the commission to reverse its decision to be part of the litigation. He called for the unscheduled meeting specifically for that purpose.

McCarty also had strong opinions for the mayor in August on a controversial renovation proposal for a historic home at 46 Marine Way in the Marina Historic District.

“Just tell them to redesign and be done with it,” McCarty told Carney on Aug. 18.

And indeed, that is what Carney suggested at the Aug. 19 meeting. The commission ended up rejecting the variances that would allow the home to be elevated by 14 feet, among other things. McCarty, in the text thread, referred to the city’s Historic Preservation Board, which supported the variances, as “corrupted.”

In another text thread, on Dec. 7, McCarty appeared to try to influence who would be the designated vice mayor after Rob Long left the commission to run for the state house. She told Carney to make a motion to make Commissioner Angela Burns vice mayor. "That was my plan," Carney texted her back, though he never made the motion at the next day's commission meeting and the vice mayor position was never filled.

Commissioner Tom Markert told The Coastal Star in December that he saw Carney’s phone and that the mayor was texting with McCarty under her given name at a meeting “in the last two months.” He also was informed that the text messages turned over to the newspaper were under the “Martin Davis” moniker.

“Yes, that is just lovely,” Markert said with a laugh.

Carney disputed the allegation. “It’s frustrating to have Commissioner Markert say he sees me texting someone whose name never appears in my phone. Therefore, it would be impossible for him to see me texting Mary McCarty,” he said.

He said the only person he texts during meetings is his wife.

A few emails were also turned over. In one, dated Sept. 25, McCarty — a fellow Republican — advised the mayor: “Understand you have a democratic, hostile board, so when you get all of the info, see if it is something that will be acceptable.” 

Correction and clarification: An earlier online version (and the February 2026 print version) of this story incorrectly reported Mayor Carney’s stance on Deputy Vice Mayor Angela Burns being promoted to vice mayor. Although in a text message reply to McCarty he wrote “That was my plan” to nominate Burns for the position, no motion was ever made. The vice mayor position has been left unfilled.

Carney has provided additional information regarding his calling a second special meeting to deal with the Pride intersection. He provided an email showing he requested the special meeting prior to McCarty texting him in opposition to the commission’s prior action.

By Rich Pollack

The clearing of an almost-acre lot bordering the Intracoastal Waterway has once again sparked concerns of nearby residents who wonder what the future holds for one of the last vacant parcels in Highland Beach.

Late last year, residents of nearby condominiums noticed that trees — mostly federally protected mangroves on the 0.8-acre parcel in the middle of town owned by Miami-based Golden City Highland Beach LLC — had been taken down.

That sparked a flood of calls to town officials who, after doing some ground work, discovered that the property owner had obtained permits from the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear the land.

No approvals from the town were required to clear the property, Town Manager Marshall Labadie said.

“The town was preempted from stopping clearing of the land,” he said.

What happens next to the property, on the west side of State Road A1A south of the Toscana community, most likely will require the town to sign off.

“He has no authorization from the town to develop the property,” Labadie said. “He can’t just fill it and he can’t just put in a sea wall without permits.”

The clearing of the land without a permit, while permissible, is unusual, according to the town manager.

“Traditionally you get all the permits first before your clear the land,” Labadie said.

What will become of the parcel is still up in the air, but the developer appears to have proposed a nine-unit townhome community to the state in his request to take down mangroves, Labadie said.

That is a significant reduction from the 38-unit multi-family community proposed to the federal government in 2019.

That same year, leaders of Golden City and the town butted heads over clearing the parcel of trees that had fallen during Hurricane Irma in 2017.

It wasn’t the clearing of the downed trees that caused a problem, according to town officials, but what followed.

“He took it a step further and cleared the land and began filling it without permits,” Labadie said.

Lawyers for the developer argued at the time that no permit was needed because the town knew what was being done with downed trees and had no problem with the removal of trees and the addition of fill.

In the end, work on filling the property stopped.

Labadie said the town has not received any requests for permits on the Golden City property since the most recent clearing work began.

Ted Hoskinson of Delray Beach keeps busy with programs that educate Palm Beach County children and reward teachers through his Roots and Wings nonprofit, which is based in Boca Raton. Tim Stepien/Coastal Star

Ted Hoskinson started out as a teacher but ended up creating his living, first by making a business around balloons and then by owning and operating Party ’N Paper, a card and gift store chain in Washington, D.C. After retiring — and following the death of his wife, Anne, in 2016 — he turned his attention back to education and founded a literacy intervention program and teacher recognition nonprofit, Roots and Wings. 

This year, Roots and Wings marks its 10th anniversary with a Feb. 24 fundraising event, “Roots and Wings Goes to Hollywood,” which celebrates filmmaking. 

Hoskinson, 78, of coastal Delray Beach, expects to host 180 guests and raise $100,000. In 2024, funding and donations brought in $1.3 million to cover costs of about $750,000, and the organization continues to grow. 

Roots and Wings’ two programs are implemented in 20 Title 1 public elementary schools in Palm Beach County. The nonprofit’s teacher appreciation program is called Above and Beyond Awards, and this year Hoskinson foresees that 200 teachers and staff will receive awards. They will each receive a check for $200, gift cards and gifts from local businesses, and a framed certificate.

Roots and Wings’ Project Uplift program provides after-school instruction to 1,500 children needing help with reading. 

“We have two ceremonies a year where we honor students’ progress,” Hoskinson explained. “At midyear, if they have already met their growth goal for the year, they receive a free bike and helmet courtesy of Boca West Children’s Foundation.

“The second ceremony is at the end of the year. We give certificates and we give Olympic-style medals for reaching their growth goals and stretch goals.

“We gave away 272 bikes last year, 900 certificates for making gains on their test scores, and 1,200 medals,” he said. “Many got both medals for growth goals and stretch goals. We also gave away 711 T-shirts for perfect attendance.”

Hoskinson hopes to expand the program to additional schools and, in time, he hopes to give out college scholarships.

More about the upcoming February event at Good Night John Boy in Delray Beach: “We are featuring 20 movies and we’re asking people to dress as their favorite character from one of those movies and we’re giving away prizes.” 

Also, Hoskinson said, “All of our 20 schools will make different centerpieces. Each school had to pick one of the movies. Our judges will vote on the centerpieces and we’ll give prizes to the schools for the three best centerpieces.”

                      — Christine Davis

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you? 

A. I grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Sheridan School for grades 2 and 3 and then St. Albans School for Boys for grades 4-12. I then attended Tulane University in New Orleans where I graduated with a BA in history. 

Washington was a wonderful place to grow up, as it had small-town, old-town charm. St. Albans was an incredible school with great teachers and competitive students. That school environment taught me that I was not the smartest guy by far in the class, and that  I had to work hard if I wanted     to be successful.

Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?

A. I was lucky to become the senior class president at Tulane. I graduated in 1969 and I began a teaching career in New Orleans at a small private school called Metairie Park Country Day. I taught second grade. I loved the kids and they taught me as much as I taught them. They were inquisitive and kind and caring to one another. I was like their surrogate father since most of them were asleep by the time their fathers arrived at home. 

I got a call from St. Albans in early April of that year, asking me to return and teach fourth grade there. I loved Washington and St. Albans so I said yes. Teachers don’t make a lot of money (my salary was $8,500 that first year), so I started a business to help me survive financially. It was a college marketing company. After a couple of years, I started a balloon delivery and decorating business. I taught for 15 years, but the school eventually had me establish their Summer Programs Office when they saw my business abilities. 

That change in position at the school took me away from the students and the teaching that I loved. I decided to leave to pursue my business interests. The business ventures became successful, and I ultimately sold them to retire and spend time playing tennis in Florida and traveling. 

When my wife passed away in 2016, I established with two friends a charity called Roots and Wings which my wife, Anne, had named. It has grown from a small charity to one that is in 20 Title 1 public elementary schools, honoring teachers and staff chosen by their peers … and providing funding to help teach literacy skills to more than 1,500 students. I am most proud of being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by President Biden in 2022 and the Catalyst Award by the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation in 2025.

Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?

A. Follow what you love and are passionate about.

Q. How did you and Anne choose to make your home in Delray Beach?

A. Two good friends who were also avid tennis players had a place in Delray. There were only a few places to play tennis in the winter in D.C., so most of us either played squash or paddle tennis. I loved paddle but playing tennis outdoors in the winter was wonderful. And there were direct flights from D.C. to either Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale. We started coming and spending weekends until we decided to buy a condo.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Delray Beach?

A. The relaxed atmosphere and its small-town charm. Great restaurants and a wide variety of choices. Tennis and the beach.

Q. What book are you reading now?

A. Passion Isn’t Enough, by David Rhode. 

Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?

A. I love good jazz … and Frank Sinatra … and the oldies. 

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?

A. “When you seek happiness for yourself it will always elude you. When you seek happiness for others you will find it yourself.” 

Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?

A. Charlie Spicer, the fourth grade “master-teacher” at St. Albans, who taught me what to teach so that I could teach it my way … and Steve Potts, a true man of integrity, who showed me what that word really meant. 

Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?

A. Robert De Niro.

If You Go   

What: Roots and Wings Goes to Hollywood

Where: Good Night John Boy, 33 SE Third Ave., Delray Beach

When: 6:30-9:30 p.m. Feb. 24

Admission: Tickets are $150 (barstool seating), $250 (general seating at a table) and $300 (VIP seating by dance floor).

Info: 561-516-1957 or sherry@rootsandwingsinc.org

Tickets: secure.qgiv.com/event/rootsandwings or rootsandwingsinc.org/event/roots-and-wings-goes-hollywood-10th-anniversary-gala

Plans call for the 119-year-old Andrews House (bottom left in foreground) to be moved, restored and converted into a cafe, rather than be demolished, as part of the second phase of The Villages mixed-use project that will rise beside it. Rendering provided

By Michael Cook

A Miami-based developer once planned to tear down the historic Andrews House in Boynton Beach. After local preservationists stepped in, the developer changed course and now plans to restore the faded yellow, two-story house as a cafe. 

Developer Edgewater Capital Investments still plans to demolish all other buildings on the land it owns surrounding the city’s oldest residence to make way for a mixed-use development along East Ocean Avenue downtown. Some affected business owners are beginning to plan to relocate ahead of construction, with the development expected to rise within a two-year horizon.

“Everything except for the Andrews House will be demolished,” said Manny Mato, principal of Edgewater Capital Investments, referring to the south parcel of land it bought in 2022 on Ocean Avenue. Across the street on the north parcel, the same developer is currently constructing The Villages at East Ocean, an eight-story residential and commercial complex expected to open in 2027.

Mato said the property where the Andrews House sits will be part of Phase Two of The Villages project. He described the plan for residential units and retail space as a smaller and more affordable version of the main project. The timeline for the south parcel depends on city approvals, but Mato hopes construction will break ground and be completed within the next few years.

What’s there now

On the south side of Ocean Avenue, west of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks, there is life in the aging, mostly single-story buildings: from two homes and warehouses to retail. Businesses line the avenue, from East Ocean Cafe and The Blossom Shoppe Florist to the Original Barber Shop. Some will be asked to join the new development, Mato said.

One of the businesses is ArtSea Living, an art and pottery studio. Owner Barbi Lentz said the business had been in that storefront for about five years, which was intended to be a temporary spot. She is now in the process of packing up shop.

ArtSea Living is relocating across the train tracks east to the 500 Ocean apartment and retail complex. The studio is set to open in late February with upgraded ground-floor retail space. The studio, which originally opened in 2003, has moved several times locally due to similar issues, and Lentz mentioned that operating in a mixed-use space gives her business a sense of security.

Donald Karney of Broward Properties Inc., which manages the buildings on The Villages’ southern parcel and other properties for the same developer, said each tenant would have at least six months to vacate once the project receives final city approval. 

“We’re not in the business to bum-rush people out or be ogres or unreasonable,” Karney said, indicating that his company would accommodate everyone as best it can. He said the same process used at the start of the main project is being followed, with about five buildings knocked down in that portion.

Kevin Fischer, Boynton Beach’s division director of planning and zoning, said that tenants now in the commercial buildings on site will go through a process with the property owner to terminate their leases to allow for demolition.

Warehouse shop objects 

Mato made clear that the businesses will have the option to rent space in the new retail area once it is completed. However, he said that warehouse businesses, such as local painters, carpenters, and machinists, might not be the best fit for a storefront setting.

On a warehouse-lined road on the lot leading to the Andrews House, one of the warehouse shops is Ibis Painting, a painting contracting business. The owner, Alissa Beerthuis, has occupied the garage-like space for about 11 years. 

For the past several years, Beerthuis said, there had been a lingering rumor that the buildings might be torn down, so the news did not come as a complete surprise. She said that if she is forced to move, she will be left “high and dry,” since any available workspace elsewhere likely would cost twice as much. 

“I understand that these aren’t the prettiest of businesses, but they’re essential for the community,” said Beerthuis. As for the Andrews House, she said that the aging house is not the most “attractive” and will not blend well with newly constructed buildings.

Edgewater Capital Investments obtained a demolition permit for the Andrews House in November 2024, but after residents raised concerns, the developer agreed to halt the demolition. “The Andrews House itself is not historic from a legal sense,” Mato said. “It’s not a designated historic property, so we could demolish it tomorrow if we wanted to.”

Yet, after conversations with city officials, Mato and his team decided to preserve the house. It was a gesture of “goodwill” for the community and a project that makes sense for the company, he said, so that “everyone wins.” As for the restoration of the house itself, which was built in 1907, Mato said site approval will dictate the exact plan to comply with building codes.

Fischer stated that if the Andrews House is restored, a commercial kitchen or cafe could be permitted within the house, as such uses are allowed in the city’s zoning district.

The game plan is to refurbish the exterior and return it to its previous state, Mato said, while the interior will depend on factors that may change, including the cafe’s layout. He added that the inspiration comes from across the train tracks, where the historic Ruth Jones Cottage — a relocated 1920s home —  has been restored and is now Nicholson Muir, a gourmet butcher shop and restaurant.

Mato said the Ocean Avenue corridor has the potential to match other successful downtowns in surrounding cities, thanks to its proximity to the beach and other attractions. He added that the larger mixed-use project — and the ongoing collaboration with the Community Redevelopment Agency and the city — will play a role in shaping that vision.

A ‘historic street’

Janet DeVries Naughton, a past president of the Boynton Beach Historical Society, said that since the city is attempting to rebuild downtown as a destination, the house will serve as an asset and an “anchor” for the city’s history. She said visitors can enjoy coffee while learning from this type of historical attraction.

“But the fact is that there are only a few of these that exist. And in order for people to learn about the past, they need to be able to see and feel history,” Naughton said, referencing the vernacular frame of the home.

Naughton painted a picture of Ocean Avenue as a “historic street,” saying there will be modern growth paired with reminders of the past, such as the 1927 high school, now the Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, and the 1913 Boynton School, now the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum.

While Mato has decided not to wreck the Andrews House, and to give it a second life right along Ocean Avenue, that’s not quite the outcome some preservationists desired.

The Save Andrews House Committee, formed after the building’s near destruction, prefers using funds to relocate the house next to another nearby historic structure, the CRA-owned 1919 Oscar Magnuson House on the north side of Ocean Avenue.

The current Boynton Beach Historical Society president, Barbara Ready, said she was taken aback when the developer had simply wanted the house removed from his property to create more space for development. 

Ready added that if the adaptive reuse architecture is not executed well, it could compromise the house’s historic value and original layout, including features such as the existing Dade County pine wood.

“We were pretty disappointed that he didn’t want to just give it to us. We figured that, being in our custody, it would be a lot safer,” she said. “But who knows where it’s going to be 20 years from now, when this developer moves on.”