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.”
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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.
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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.
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