News

By Tim O’Meilia
    
In 2012, the town of Gulf Stream had two of the longest-serving elected officials in Palm Beach County. William Koch was in his 47th year as mayor when he died last year, and Vice Mayor Joan Orthwein is in her 18th as a town commissioner.
A year later, Gulf Stream has one of the least experienced commissions on the southeast Florida coast. Now, three of the five members have less than a year’s experience in office, one has 18 months and none has ever won a town election.
    Neither, for that matter, has Orthwein, who is now mayor.
    On June 14, commissioners chose resident Donna White to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Muriel “Mert” Anderson.
    “I’m not coming in with any agenda,” White said. “There will be a learning curve.”
    Join the crew on the learning curve boat. Bob Ganger and Tom Stanley were appointed last August. Garrett Dering was appointed in October 2011. The four green appointees replaced three commissioners who moved away and Koch.
    Anderson, who served eight years on the commission, sold her Place au Soleil home, resigned May 24 and moved to Vero Beach.
    Commissioners voted to replace her with White, another resident of Place au Soleil, a small enclave of Gulf Stream located across the Intracoastal Waterway on the mainland.
    “I know we don’t have (commission) districts, but I really like having someone from Place au Soleil,” said Commissioner Bob Ganger.
    “I’ve heard nothing but compliments about her,” Orthwein said.
    White, a former member of the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board, was the only resident to show interest in the unpaid job. Despite an ad on the town’s new website, no one else applied.
    She said Anderson told her she might be a good fit for the job, considering her experience as an ARPB member. White, a 10-year resident of Gulf Stream, will complete the remaining nine months of Anderson’s term.
    “It’s harder and harder to get people to volunteer for positions,” White said.