Related: Three first-time candidates square off in commission race | City Commission election candidate profiles
By John Pacenti
The Coastal Star interviewed the three Delray Beach City Commission candidates competing against each other in the city's March 10 election. Their answers have been edited for brevity.
Q: Why are you running, and what do you think you would bring to the commission that your opponents would not?
Andrea Keiser: I really think that the commission needs more representation of the next generation of Delray residents.
Delores Rangel: I want to bring my 27 years of experience working with the commission to serving on the commission. I bring a wealth of institutional knowledge that my opponents don't possess, plus I've lived in Delray for 59 years. I have seen what works and what doesn't.
Judy Mollica: I'm running to positively influence the city that I love and be a steward to the things that are good about Delray Beach, and then help creatively and collaboratively solve things that need to be improved.
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Q: For coastal residents, what is your message to them?
Keiser: It is important to protect our beach and the quality of life for those who live there. We have earned accolades for our beaches and it is important to renourish it. … Because of the mix of private and public uses, the coast needs to be patrolled for general safety and the noise ordinance should be enforced. People choose to live on the coast to hear the ocean, not the downtown.
Rangel: Our beach is our jewel - maintaining it will always be a top priority, but we must continue to explore methods other than renourishment to preserve it. … 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.
Mollica: I would say that I am big into protecting our beaches. Obviously, that's a big calling card for Delray Beach …There's some talk about that (artificial) reefs could possibly take care of that, but there are no reefs. We call it reef restoration, or at least that's what's being spoken about. But there really hasn't been any."
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Q: City Manager Terrence Moore did not publicly bring the ICE agreement that would deputize city police officers as federal immigration agents in front of the commission. Was this a misstep?
Keiser: Should the community have input on this very important issue? The answer is always going to be a resounding ‘yes.’
Rangel: Yes, I do believe it was a misstep. The ICE agreement should have warranted a discussion at the City Commission level. On matters of such significant community impact, I believe transparency is important.
Mollica: Absolutely, so everybody else could be as outraged as I am about it, right? ... I don't think in the end, we could have done anything different, right? Because, much like the crosswalk thing, they didn't give us a choice.”
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Q: Mayor Tom Carney has criticized the Downtown Development Authority and there is a state audit. What are your thoughts on the DDA’s performance and whether there is government waste?
Keiser: You have to be accountable and responsible for the use of that (taxpayer) money and ensure it's being used in the proper way…
Rangel: I saw firsthand how the DDA transformed our downtown into the vibrant scene it is today, under the leadership of Executive Director Laura Simon. Downtown businesses are extremely satisfied with the DDA's performance. The city's audit turned up issues that the DDA is addressing. The only "waste " here is the waste of time and taxpayer money by subjecting the DDA to an additional state audit.
Mollica: It feels to me from the outside looking in that this poor agency is being bullied. And, you know, there could be a chance that it gets dissolved because there's an appetite for that anyway, in Tallahassee, to dissolve CRAs and DDAs. I think they do a lot for this city.
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Q: Gov. DeSantis wants to eliminate the property tax for homesteaded properties. What is your position and your thoughts on Tallahassee’s effect on home rule?
Keiser: 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.
Rangel: The growing trend of state preemption is shifting power away from elected officials and toward the state capitol. When the legislature preempts local control over areas like development, it limits the residents' voice as to how their community grows.
Mollica: I’m outraged by the erosion of home rule. I think that the property tax 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.
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Q: Affordable housing remains a problem in Delray Beach, Florida and the U.S. in general. What can the city be doing to address this problem?
Keiser: I want to make sure when we say affordable housing, that it's housing with dignity. … We need to have diversity of all types of housing. You need to have housing available for every level, for every resident in this city."
Rangel: City commissioners also serve on the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board and a large part of the CRA's mission is to provide affordable housing, like Carver Square and Island Cove, built in partnerships with other organizations. I am committed to identifying properties in Delray Beach to build more affordable housing and expanding initiatives to ensure that essential workers and long-term residents can continue to live here.
Mollica: There are so many ways to approach affordable housing. One of the ways that does not appear to be working is the workforce housing, where the developer gets to choose what level of workforce housing they can put in that building. It’s always the highest level, and doesn't necessarily equate with what people are making.
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Q: Do you feel the city at this stage needs to hold the line on large developments for downtown?
Keiser: I’m not sure why I have to be pro-development or anti-development. I think it really is about time and place, right? So, you know, every piece of real estate is different.
Rangel: The commission should carefully consider any proposed new large development for the downtown, because 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.
Mollica: One of the things that is disheartening to me is seeing all of the businesses disappear and townhomes going up in their place.
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