town council elections - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T20:36:33Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/town+council+electionsLantana: Moorhouse, Mason sworn in; library construction woes mounthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-moorhouse-mason-sworn-in-library-construction-woes-mount2022-03-30T15:53:19.000Z2022-03-30T15:53:19.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10249138459,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10249138459,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="661" alt="10249138459?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Judge David Fina swears Kem Mason into office on the Lantana Town Council on March 28, while Mason’s life partner, Kay Abbott, holds the Bible. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong></p>
<p>Incumbent Lynn “Doc” Moorhouse and newcomer Kem Mason claimed their seats on the Lantana Town Council during the March 28 council meeting — but it took voters two trips to the polls to get them there.<br />Runoff elections became necessary when no candidate in either contest received a majority of the vote on March 8.<br />Moorhouse, a retired dentist who has been on the council since 2004, reclaimed his Group 1 seat during the March 22 runoff with 595 votes (59.26%) compared to John Raymer’s 409 (40.74%). Raymer, a 21-year Army veteran, manager of Ace Rental Place and a political newcomer, survived a March 11 recount where he bested a third candidate, Joe Farrell, a commercial flooring distributor, by just 5 votes to make the runoff.<br />In the Group 2 runoff, Mason, a retired firefighter and the town’s volunteer Santa, pulled in 607 votes (59.05%) compared to Media Beverly’s 421 (40.95%). Beverly, a Hypoluxo Island resident, is a retired business manager and longtime council watcher. A third candidate, former council member Ed Shropshire, was eliminated after collecting the fewest votes of the three.<br />David Fina, a judge for the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida in Suwannee County and a longtime friend of Mason’s, swore in both men. <br /> “I want to thank everyone who supported me — and those who didn’t support me — for getting out and voting,” Moorhouse said. “I will do my very best to be the spokesperson for the people that live in Lantana.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Campaign flyer controversy</span><br />At the council meeting, Moorhouse came under criticism for a controversial flyer he sent out days before the runoff that depicted former Mayor Dave Stewart as “The Godfather” pulling the strings of Raymer, council member Mark Zeitler and Erik Kip, a Vietnam veteran and one of the administrators of I’m a Fan of Lantana, FL — a Facebook group quite vocal leading up to the election. <br />The flyer even put words in Stewart’s mouth, showing him saying, “I’m so mad I’m not mayor anymore.”<br />Ilona Balfour, the wife of retiring Vice Mayor Malcolm Balfour, said “the friendly little fishing village” she and her husband moved to 50 years ago had sunk to a new low with the flyer she held in her hand. She said it “was filled with accusations, innuendo and nastiness and not always the total truth.” <br />In victory, Mason said being on the council represented a natural progression to his years of volunteer work and said he hoped to be the kind of public servant the late Colin Powell encouraged people to be. “I want to thank you for your support,” he said to his followers.<br />Moorhouse and Mason collected — and spent — the most money of the six candidates, according to their campaign finance reports. As of March 18, Moorhouse raised $19,305 and spent $6,250.32. Mason raised $18,435 and spent $15,209.86.<br />Their runoff opponents didn’t even seek cash contributions. Raymer asked for prayers. Beverly turned down donations and self-financed her campaign, saying she did not want to owe anyone anything. Her team members, she said, were “boots on the ground” going door to door for votes.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Sign stealer a surprise</span><br />A large portion of Moorhouse’s and Mason’s campaign spending went to campaign signs and some of them went missing. Police investigated the disappearance of all the candidates’ signs on Lantana Road during the wee hours of Feb. 23 — but found the culprit was a landscaper who had no interest in local politics.<br />Police Chief Sean Scheller said officers tracked down the sign stealer, who drove a pickup truck, after they were able to see his license plate number on a video recording. The landscaper from west of town collected the signs, repainted them and used them to promote his business, the chief said.<br />“No charges were brought,” Scheller said. But the three candidates who filed complaints — Moorhouse, Mason and Shropshire — received a small amount of cash in compensation from the landscaper.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Library update</span><br />In other news, the council learned remodeling work on the library has yet to restart after construction halted in December, when it was discovered that the main contractor, Sierra Construction Management & Remodeling of Weston, was operating without a license.<br />The town planned to transfer the job to a subcontractor, Multitech Corp., but that company has been unable to provide the necessary documents to be a viable vendor for the town, according to Town Manager Brian Raducci. <br />Raducci said staff is talking to West Construction of Lantana to finish the job. West was the second-lowest bidder when the contract was awarded in July. West bid $883,932, compared to Sierra’s $723,200.<br />Between the higher bid price, increased prices for materials and supply chain issues, the change in contractors will be costly, Raducci warned. <br />Eager to see the project completed, Mayor Robert Hagerty asked Raducci to be sure to get a timeline from any new contractor. <br />The library has been at 205 W. Ocean Ave. since the early 1990s. Before that, it was housed in the former bridge tender’s house on Ocean Avenue since 1947. The Recreation Center at 418 S. Dixie Highway is the library’s temporary home.<br />Once the renovation is complete, the Ocean Avenue library will have ADA-compliant restrooms, a centralized circulation desk, special spaces for children and teens and a community center for adult activities.<br />Joel Cortes, the assistant director of public works whose duties included overseeing vendor contracts, was placed on administrative leave in mid-January and resigned March 3. Human Resources assistant director Myila Young would not say if Cortes’ departure had anything to do with the library contract verification oversight.</p></div>South Palm Beach: Out-of-town campaigners prompt vice mayor to request council actionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-out-of-town-campaigners-prompt-vice-mayor-to-req2022-03-30T14:52:55.000Z2022-03-30T14:52:55.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10249036496,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10249036496,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10249036496?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Top vote-getter Monte Berendes follows a long-standing town tradition and is sworn into office by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley. <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Joe Capozzi</strong></p>
<p>Mayor Bonnie Fischer and council members Bill LeRoy and Monte Berendes were sworn in March 15 by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley, a former resident of South Palm Beach. <br /> Fischer was automatically re-elected when she didn’t draw an opponent for the March 8 election. <br /> Newcomer Berendes (31% of the vote) and incumbent LeRoy (29.8%) won election by finishing first and second, respectively, in a field of four candidates. <br /> Berendes replaced incumbent Mark Weissman, who finished with 21.2%, followed by newcomer Cindy Furino at 17.7%. Votes were cast by 630 of the town’s 1,347 registered voters. <br /> After the swearing-in ceremony, LeRoy was appointed vice mayor by the Town Council. Weissman did not attend the meeting, even though the agenda called for the attendance of the previous council before the ceremony.<br /> Later in the meeting, LeRoy asked the town attorney to look into creating an ordinance prohibiting non-town residents from campaigning outside the Town Hall voting precinct.<br /> On election day, LeRoy said, at least four members of the Police Benevolent Association showed up at Town Hall with plans to campaign for him and Weissman.<br /> He said they initially wore PBA shirts before pulling on Weissman campaign T-shirts. LeRoy said a PBA representative contacted him the night before about their plans to campaign on his behalf but he told them not to. <br /> “I said, ‘No, you’re not. It’s not your job,’’’ LeRoy said at the March 15 Town Council meeting. “I don’t want strangers coming in here and campaigning for me. I told them right then and there, ‘You are not supporting me. I won’t be part of this.’’’<br /> Outside Town Hall just after 7 a.m. on election day, LeRoy said a PBA representative “asked me if I wanted them to wear my shirt or their shirt. I said, ‘I don’t want you to wear either.’’’<br /> LeRoy said he asked one man wearing a Weissman shirt where he lived. “He said North Palm Beach. I said, ‘Why are you here?’ He said, ‘To support Dave.’’’ <br /> The man then corrected himself and said he meant to say Weissman, LeRoy said. <br /> Seeing that LeRoy was getting angry about their presence, LeRoy said, the man tried to calm LeRoy by pointing out that they’d campaigned in Wellington the day before.<br /> ‘‘This town should decide who runs this town, not outsiders,’’ LeRoy told the council. “I think we should have an ordinance, only for local elections: If you don’t live here, you shouldn’t be campaigning here.’’’ <br /> Town Attorney Aleksandr Boksner said he’d look into the legality of creating such an ordinance but warned the council: “We are very, very limited at the local government regarding what is constitutionally protected speech.’’<br /> In an interview after the meeting, LeRoy said he has no desire to fight the police union, which endorsed him and Weissman. “If you don’t live here, you shouldn’t be campaigning here.’’ </p></div>Lantana: Candidates weigh in on possible hotel at beachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-candidates-weigh-in-on-possible-hotel-at-beach2022-03-02T17:05:05.000Z2022-03-02T17:05:05.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10165261264,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10165261264,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10165261264?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>(l-r) Chamber president and moderator Dave Arm at the Feb. 24 forum with candidates John Raymer, Lynn Moorhouse, Joe Farrell, Media Beverly, Ed Schropshire and Kem Mason. </em><strong><em>Mary Thurwachter/The Coastal Star</em><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related stories:</strong> <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-six-candidates-square-off-in-two-races" target="_blank">Six candidates square off in two races </a><strong>|</strong> <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-town-bids-farewell-to-malcolm-balfour-after-nine-years-on" target="_blank">Town bids farewell to Malcolm Balfour after nine years on council</a></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong></p>
<p>Six candidates for two seats on Lantana’s Town Council discussed several topics — agreeing on many of them — during a forum hosted by the Lantana Chamber of Commerce at the Palm Beach Maritime Academy on Feb. 24. They showed enthusiasm for the master plan, want beach restoration, and are interested in attracting good, taxpaying businesses. <br /> But when moderator and Chamber President Dave Arm asked if any of them would be open to a public/private partnership for adding restaurants and a hotel at the public beach, the majority answered with a resounding “no.” Such a proposal has not been formally made, but rumors have swirled about it since early last year.<br /> “I don’t want a hotel at the beach,” said Lynn Moorhouse, the only incumbent running. Moorhouse, a retired dentist, said that traffic flow is already bad over the bridge and if a hotel were built at the beach, traffic “would be nuts.” <br /> Traffic was also a concern for Media Beverly, a longtime council watcher who successfully advocated to keep medical marijuana dispensaries out of town.<br /> “Hotel? No,” she said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people during this campaign in all of Lantana and I’ve asked them and it’s a resounding ‘no.’ Our beach is only 750 feet; that’s all we have. For a lot of people in this town, that’s the only recreational source they have. To put a hotel up there, even with incorporated parking, you’re still talking about traffic. To add any traffic in that corridor would not be sustainable.”<br /> Former council member Ed Shropshire, a retiree who lost his bid for reelection two years ago, said the beach is a treasure and should be treated as such. While not in favor of a hotel, he said the beach “could be utilized a little bit better, without crowding out the people.” <br /> Kem Mason, a retired firefighter and former lifeguard and surfer, was also against the idea.<br /> “No hotel, that’s one of our jewels,” he said of the beach. “I can speak for all the surf rats, and, no, no hotel.”<br /> Newcomer John Raymer, an Army veteran who manages Ace Rental Place, and Joe Farrell, a flooring distributor who has run for office before, said they would be open to looking at it. Raymer said it would be “up to the residents to decide,” and Farrell said adding a hotel could be a way to bring in new revenue.<br /> When candidates were asked about how they would bring more revenue to the town, Farrell said the town needs to “make things happen that we didn’t think about before.” He said that 10 years ago one of his neighbors suggested selling Bicentennial Park for condo development and having the town buy the Cenacle property for a waterside park. <br /> “The Cenacle property’s gone so we don’t have to worry about it,” he said. “But we have to look at ideas like that.”<br /> Beverly said the town needs to rein in some of its expenses and add businesses, “but we have to be careful, very prudent and we have to be strategical about it. There’s very limited commercial space here in Lantana.”<br /> She said code revision and zoning need to be tackled to attract business and there is grant money the town hasn’t tapped into that could help with many projects.<br /> Shropshire said he thinks the town needs to do a better job of vetting contractors. <br /> “For example, the major contractor for the library bailed because he didn’t have the correct certification.” The library will “sit there another two months before they even start again. We’re losing money like that,” Shropshire said.<br /> Mason said as someone who worked for the government as a lifeguard and firefighter for more than three decades, he has seen a lot of waste. <br /> “We need to instill in our employees not to waste. And we need to work with businesses to come to town, we cannot discourage businesses from coming to the town — they pay taxes and help support us.”<br /> Moorhouse said a lot of money would be coming in from Water Tower Commons, a retail and residential project on the site of the former A.G. Holley hospital, and from Aura Seaside, an apartment complex on the former Cenacle site.<br /> Moorhouse and Raymer said they would look to the new master plan for guidance in bringing in revenue.<br /> In a related matter, candidates learned that all campaign signs on Lantana Road had been removed in the middle of the night on Feb. 23. Police Chief Sean Scheller reported that a video captured by a camera outside of Arm’s gym showed a nondescript man putting signs in a pickup truck.<br /> Scheller said the rightful owners of the signs, the candidates, had not filed any police reports yet, but several said they planned to do so.<br /> The election is March 8.</p></div>Lantana: Six candidates square off in two raceshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-six-candidates-square-off-in-two-races2022-03-02T16:45:53.000Z2022-03-02T16:45:53.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related stories: </strong><a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-candidates-weigh-in-on-possible-hotel-at-beach?edited=1" target="_blank">Candidates weigh in on possible hotel at beach </a><strong>|</strong> <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-town-bids-farewell-to-malcolm-balfour-after-nine-years-on" target="_blank">Town bids farewell to Malcolm Balfour after nine years on council</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p><em>Lantana will hold a general election March 8 for Town Council members in Group 1 and Group 2. Both are for three-year terms. Council members get paid $600 per month, plus a $200 expense allowance. There are no term limits. To win, a candidate needs to get 50% of the vote plus one. If necessary, a run-off election will be March 22, using the same times and precincts as the general election. Town Clerk Kathleen Dominguez confirmed that this election will have no ballot questions or amendments for voters.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Steven J. Smith</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10165232101,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10165232101,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10165232101?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="505" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10165232880,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10165232880,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10165232880?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="509" /></a></em></p></div>South Palm Beach: Council race turns bittersweet with charge of stolen campaign candyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-council-race-turns-bittersweet-with-charge-of-st2022-03-02T16:33:03.000Z2022-03-02T16:33:03.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong>Related Story:</strong> <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-four-candidates-compete-for-two-seatshttp://" target="_blank">Four candidates compete for two seats </a></span><span style="font-size:10pt;">|<a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/videos/dune-deck-lobby-video" target="_blank">Video</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Incumbent helps himself to opponent’s stash of chocolates</span></p>
<p><strong>By Joe Capozzi</strong></p>
<p>The pile of free chocolate bars would have been an enticing sight for most anyone passing through the lobby of the Dune Deck condominium in South Palm Beach that afternoon.<br /> For one resident, Town Councilman Mark Weissman, the candy was particularly irresistible — and not because of a sweet tooth for Hershey’s, Krackel and Mr. Goodbar.<br /> Each bite-size bar came with a custom-made red, white and blue wrapper with the words “Vote Cindy Furino” on one side and “A Vote For Me Is A Vote For Loyalty, Honesty and Integrity” on the other. <br /> Furino, who also lives at the Dune Deck, is Weissman’s opponent in the March 8 election, which begins to explain the sequence of events that sent Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies to the Dune Deck lobby on the afternoon of Feb. 4 to investigate, of all things, the alleged theft of a bowl of candy.<br /> Some residents said it was just the latest example of problems under Weissman’s watch that prompted condo residents to vote on Feb. 25 to remove him from the board.<br /> “This is petty behavior for someone who has fiduciary responsibility for the town’s budget,” said Jane Ruby, one of 65 condo owners. “It is grossly unbecoming to someone who wants to maintain his position as an elected official.”<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10165250477,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10165250477,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10165250477?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="96" /></a>The recall vote was to be reviewed by the board on March 3, but it might not be necessary because Weissman, at a special meeting on March 1, resigned as condo board president.<br /> Weissman told <em>The Coastal Star</em> he stepped down because of “constant harassment” from Furino and about five other residents who have objected to condo repairs that he says are necessary for the structural integrity of the building.<br /> Weissman said his opponents have also accused him of financial mismanagement, which he dismissed by saying he and board members “don’t touch money” because the condo’s management company handles the finances.<br /> Ruby, Furino and others also accused Weissman of harassing residents and questioned his temperament. At the March 1 meeting, a deputy intervened when a shouting match ensued between Weissman and a board member seated next to him who claimed Weissman called him a curse word.<br /> The candy caper was the last straw.<br /> At 12:15 p.m. Feb. 4, not long after Furino set the candy in a bowl by the security guard’s desk on her way to lunch, Weissman entered the lobby and helped himself to not just one or two pieces but all of it. <br /> With both hands, Weissman emptied the bowl, deposited its contents into his pockets and walked toward the elevator. He paused, turned around and returned to fetch the clear plastic bowl, according to video of the incident reviewed by two deputies.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10165250101,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10165250101,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10165250101?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="98" /></a>When Furino returned from lunch two hours later, she asked the doorman why the candy bowl was missing. The doorman said Weissman took it, according to the PBSO report. <br /> Furino called the cops. <br /> Reports of theft or vandalism of campaign signs are not uncommon before elections. But stolen campaign candy? <br /> Deputies showed up at the Dune Deck and, before reviewing security video, asked Weissman what happened. <br /> Weissman told them “he was aware of the bowl’s removal but would not state if he was involved in it,’’ a report said. <br /> But in an interview, he admitted he took the bowl of chocolate. He said he did so because the lobby is supposed to be a political-free zone where campaign literature, whether on a pamphlet, a mailer or candy wrapper, is prohibited. <br /> “We don’t allow politicking in the building. I’m the president. I removed them from the front desk,’’ said Weissman, who said he’d even removed his own campaign mailers from the lobby bulletin board, presumably posted by residents checking their mail. <br /> If that’s the case, Furino said, he should have removed the candy-filled bowl and taken it to her condo. “But he stole it. He put it in his pockets, and he has a big sweet tooth so we know he ate it,’’ she said.<br /> Although Weissman confessed to having an occasional sweet tooth, he denied stealing or eating Furino’s candy. He said he put the campaign chocolates and bowl in the lobby’s kitchen where Furino kept a backup supply of her campaign candy.<br /> “She had the whole kitchen tied up with bowls full of candy that she wanted the doorman, at the condominium owners’ expense, to continue replenishing for her,’’ he said. <br /> After a brief investigation, Sgt. Mark Garrison and Deputy David Hul declined to press charges. The incident was classified “a civil issue since the candy and bowl had been left in a common area with no instruction,’’ a PBSO report said. <br /> “Even though social convention would normally limit a person to one or a few pieces,’’ Hul wrote in his report, “we made it clear there was nothing to stop one person from taking the whole bowl.’’<br /> Furino said she spent $600 on the candy, which she placed in plastic bowls in at least three other condo lobbies in South Palm Beach without incident.<br /> While she was shocked to learn from the Dune Deck’s doorman that Weissman took the candy, more upsetting, she said, was PBSO’s decision not to charge Weissman with a crime. <br /> “They basically just blew me off, like I was being ridiculous because he took my candy,’’ she said. “It’s not petty. It just shows his character.’’<br /> Weissman, a former state representative and former Parkland city commissioner, laughed when told about Furino’s response. <br /> “I’ve served in public office for 20 years,’’ he said. “I’ll survive with my character.’’</p>
<p> </p></div>South Palm Beach: Four candidates compete for two seatshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-four-candidates-compete-for-two-seats2022-03-02T16:27:54.000Z2022-03-02T16:27:54.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related story:</strong> <a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/south-palm-beach-council-race-turns-bittersweet-with-charge-of-st" target="_blank">Council race turns bittersweet with charge of stolen campaign candy</a>|<a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/videos/dune-deck-lobby-video" target="_blank">Video</a></p>
<p><em>Four candidates are vying for two at-large seats on the Town Council, each with a four-year term. There are no term limits. The top two vote getters will each win a seat. Council members make $3,000 a year. Town Clerk Yude Davenport said the election will have no ballot questions or amendments for voters.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>— Steven J. Smith</em></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10165220887,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10165220887,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10165220887?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></p></div>Lantana: One incumbent among six candidates for two council seatshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-one-incumbent-among-six-candidates-for-two-council-seats2021-12-01T17:07:30.000Z2021-12-01T17:07:30.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong></p>
<p>Six candidates are vying for two positions on the Lantana Town Council in the March 8 election. The candidate with the most votes for each seat wins.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Group 1</span><br /> Incumbent Lynn Moorhouse is seeking re-election. The 78-year-old retired dentist holds the Group 1 seat.<br /> An outspoken advocate for developing the downtown business district, Moorhouse has been in office since 2004. His opponents are Joseph Farrell, a flooring distributor and a member of Lantana’s planning and zoning commission, and John Raymer, the manager at Ace Rental Place in Lantana.<br /> Farrell, 58, withdrew his candidacy for mayor last year due to family obligations. He also made an unsuccessful run against Malcolm Balfour in 2013.<br /> “Lantana has been stagnating since 2007,” Farrell said. “Facilities and maintenance have fallen to new lows.<br />“Now is the time to replace incumbents that sat by and let Lantana slide into mediocrity.” Raymer, 51, is retired from the U.S. Army after 21 years.<br /> “What prompted me to run is I noticed a communication breakdown in the town,” Raymer said. That breakdown, he said, is the town’s biggest issue. He noticed it last year when Sea Pines, where he lives, had flooding problems and after the first town meeting to address the issue, he heard nothing more about it, he said.<br /> “A lot of people don’t go on the internet and don’t find their information that way,” he said.<br /> “We don’t need politicians,” he said. “We need people that are willing to work for people and that’s my job. I want to work for the people to make sure they understand what’s going on in the community and the decisions that are going to be made.”<br /> His biggest strength, Raymer said, is his ability to look at all sides of issues “with an open mind and not to be persuaded by any one party’s ideology.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Group 2</span><br /> Malcolm Balfour, who holds the Group 2 seat, is not running again. He is 83 and has served on the council since 2013. <br /> Three people are pursuing the Group 2 position: Media Beverly, Kem Mason and former council member Edward P. Shropshire.<br /> Beverly, 69, is a retired business manager with a Florida real estate broker’s license. Her skills include accounting, insurance, property management, litigation and research, she said. <br /> Beverly is running to continue her efforts “toward preserving Lantana’s small-town, fishing village character while improving the quality of life for all residents. We can accomplish that goal with proper, thoughtful planning and well-regulated development, while ensuring the fiscal health of Lantana by encouraging the addition of revenue-producing, family-friendly businesses for everyone to enjoy.”<br /> She said being a good listener who cares about the needs of others is among her strengths.<br /> “Identifying what residents want, research to educate myself and others, and tenacity are key to making informed, sound decisions which affect current and future generations of Lantanians,” she said. <br /> Regarding the town’s biggest issue, Beverly said: “Town Council voted to reintroduce an ordinance lifting the ban, and allowing medical marijuana dispensaries inside our town, which I oppose, because sales are tax-exempt and provide no revenue to our town. Council members should, instead, focus on creating a realistic, sustainable Master Plan and work toward restoring Lantana to the desirable, hospitable community it once was.”<br /> Mason, 63, is a retired captain with Palm Beach Fire Rescue who serves on the town’s planning commission and the education council and Citizens On Patrol.<br /> He has worked in public service all his adult life as a lifeguard and firefighter.<br /> “When I retired, I was still a public servant as a volunteer for Lantana and I want to continue that process. This is the next evolution after volunteering.<br /> “It’s in my nature to work with the community and to help it be a better place for everybody,” Mason said.<br /> His strengths, he said, are innovative thinking, a proactive as opposed to reactive attitude, and his knowledge of government behind the scenes from his years of work.<br /> “One of my strongest suits is that I listen to people and am open-minded,” Mason said. <br /> Residential and business redevelopment is the town’s biggest issue today, he said.<br /> “There are a lot of empty storefronts. Lantana needs to be thinking toward the future of what are we going to do for sea level rise, where are we going to get our water from?”<br /> Shropshire, 69, served on the council for one three-year term (2017-2020) but was defeated in his bid for re-election last year.<br /> He is retired from Cemex building materials company, where he worked for 34 years.<br /> “I am running so as to help chart Lantana’s course for the future,” he says. <br /> One of his strengths, he said, is his “ability to present and communicate well-researched and locally focused ideas.”<br />Lantana’s biggest issue today is to preserve its small-town culture as the town continues to grow, Shropshire said. </p></div>