By John Pacenti
Delray Beach voters handed Mayor Shelly Petrolia a major defeat on March 14 — and she wasn’t even on the ballot.
They rejected the City Commission candidates Petrolia supported in favor of two who promised to return Delray Beach to an old way of doing business, eschewing controversial decisions and trumpeting civility.
Those who showed up to vote also approved $120 million in two bond measures, which are slated to pay for a potential new police station, for renovations of existing fire stations and for park improvements.
About 15% of the city’s registered voters — a little more than 6,900 — cast ballots.
“I feel very disappointed that the city had a very weak turnout at the polls. I think it might have been a different situation had people actually come out to vote,” Petrolia said.
Businessman Rob Long defeated one-term Commissioner Juli Casale for the District 2 seat 3,654 to 3,271 — 53% to 47% — a margin of 383 votes.
Angela Burns, a former teacher and community organizer, defeated former Commissioner Angie Gray for the District 4 seat. Burns beat Gray 3,513 to 3,300 — 52% to 48% — a 213-vote margin.
She takes the seat vacated by Commissioner Shirley Johnson, who could not run again because of term limits. Johnson often voted with Casale and Petrolia on key issues.
Seeking ‘common ground’
The election may leave Petrolia playing Don Quixote against a stacked commission.
Long said the election was a repudiation of Petrolia, who once called for his removal from the Planning and Zoning Board when he criticized the city’s water quality. “I think this election was a referendum on the mayor’s leadership style and the decisions that have been made over the last couple of years,” he said.
“That being said, I hope the mayor and I can find common ground and work together to serve our residents at the end of the day. That’s all that matters.”
A 13-year resident of Delray Beach, Long serves as the chairman of the Palm Beach Soil & Water Conservation District.
Casale was a political neophyte in 2020 who came to office after fighting a development in her Sabal Lakes neighborhood.
“The residents are either far more pro-development than I thought or far more apathetic than I thought,” Casale said in a text message the day after the election. “Either way the result is the same.”
Burns campaigned as the only non-politician running, saying that the people’s voices weren’t being heard at City Hall. “Our community has spoken loud and clear and it’s proof our message resonates,” Burns said.
Gray stayed positive after her loss. “We ran an excellent race and I am proud of my team who gave us lots of love and support,” Gray said. “Angela won by a small margin and I congratulate her on running an excellent campaign.”
Winning connections
Burns and Long hired the same political consultant and at public forums agreed on nearly every issue.
Both talked about bringing civility back to the City Commission after recent years brought a water quality scandal, an ousted city manager and the removal of the longtime nonprofit that ran Old School Square — Old School Square Center for the Arts, Inc.
But their victories may bode something else as both have said they want to return the running of Old School Square to the ousted nonprofit and wrest control of the Community Redevelopment Agency from the commission — decisions that won’t come easy.
The old commission voted in February to hand over the reins of the city cultural center to the Downtown Development Authority and in its last act voted March 28 to remove the commission’s ability to end the contract without cause until September 2024.
The commission also took over an independent CRA in 2018 after it said the CRA ignored the needs of businesses west of Swinton Avenue, instead supporting more affluent areas. Commissioners now hold five of the seven seats on the CRA’s governing board.
“My goal is to bring unity to the city to start more or less a healing process to bring civility and professionalism back to the dais,” Long told The Coastal Star.
He acknowledged that the election was close and the city remains divided. His victory will be seen by his opponents as a win for developers because he sat on the Planning and Zoning Board that green-lighted many of the new high-end developments that are under construction or in the pipeline.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in January that a lawyer representing developers funneled business to Long’s grassroots outreach business, Door 2 Door Strategies. Long voted on one project in question based on the advice of an assistant city attorney who said he didn’t have a conflict of interest.
The Long-Burns quinella was also a win for Commissioner Ryan Boylston, who is said to be angling for Petrolia’s job. He supported Long and Burns, deriding the “toxicity” of the commission and said, “I for one want the ‘Delray Way’ back.”
Certainly, Delray Beach’s old guard will be happy — five former mayors supported Long.
Police and fire unions will also be happy. Casale had pivoted recently to calling for an audit of the Fire Rescue Department and investigating overtime abuses in the Police Department.
Both police and fire unions endorsed Long and Burns. Long said at public forums that it was critical to have good collaborative relationships with first responders.
The day before the election, the state Legislature’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee unanimously approved a request by Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman (R-Highland Beach) for the auditor general to examine what Delray Beach has charged Highland Beach for fire service the last six years.
The city and town are fighting over what is owed and the audit underlined what Long and Burns characterized as continued chaos.
Team Petrolia’s upending of the applecart the last three years did produce drama.
The firing of the nonprofit running Old School Square for lack of accountability and mismanagement occurred at a commission meeting where it wasn’t even on the agenda.
The bloc continued what have become regular upheavals in the city manager’s office when it fired manager George Gretsas.
Both the nonprofit and Gretsas have sued the city.
The city also agreed in November 2021 to pay $1 million to the Florida Department of Health for water safety violations — the foremost being that reclaimed water was making its way into the drinking water system.
The water issues went back more than a decade but became public only in the past few years.
Two bond issues approved
In decisions that almost certainly have more long-lasting implications, voters overwhelmingly approved a $100 million public safety bond and a $20 million parks bond. Both bonds received support from more than 60% of voters.
City spokeswoman Gina Carter said the parks bond, which passed 4,120 to 2,438, will bring much-needed improvements.
She said the public safety bond, approved 4,055 to 2,597, “will allow our police and fire departments to grow. It will enable state-of-the-art technology and hurricane hardening to be central to our public safety infrastructure.”
She said it will also provide a dedicated home for emergency operations during hurricanes and other disasters.
At a forum on the bonds in February, the city said $80 million would be allocated either for building a new police headquarters or a major renovation of the existing structure. The rest would go to help renovate aging fire stations.
The $20 million for parks will include improvements to Catherine Strong Park, such as covered basketball courts, a covered practice field, walking trails and improvements to restrooms and lighting.
The general obligation bonds will be paid for by revenue from property taxes.
The estimated cost over 30 years to a resident with a home having $1 million in taxable assessed value would be $428 for the first year of the public safety bond. That amount would decrease to $360 annually when the city retires two previous bonds next February.
The parks and recreation bond is a separate cost. The 30-year estimated cost will be an additional $88 annually for a home with a $1 million taxable assessed value.
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