By Mary Hladky
Deputy Mayor Fran Nachlas and City Council member Andy Thomson are facing off to become Boca Raton’s next mayor in 2026, replacing Scott Singer, who is prevented by term limits from seeking reelection.
Former Council member Robert Weinroth filed on April 25 to run for Thomson’s Seat D. Weinroth won a special election to the council in 2014 and then a three-year term without opposition in 2015. He was elected to the Palm Beach County Commission in 2018 and became county mayor.
After he lost reelection in 2022, he filed to run for the Palm Beach County School Board, but withdrew from the race and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024 in the Republican primary,
Andy Thomson
Thomson, who filed to run on April 2, was first elected to office in a 2018 special election and was reelected with no opposition in 2020.
He resigned from the nonpartisan council in 2022 to pursue an unsuccessful candidacy as a Democrat for the Florida House District 91 seat now held by Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Boca Raton. He reclaimed his council seat last year, capturing 62.5% of the vote to defeat opponent Brian Stenberg.
Thomson’s three-year council term ends in 2027, but Florida law requires him to resign before the candidate qualifying period this November for the city election the following March, though the resignation can be effective as of March 31, 2026, when he or someone else would take office.
Thomson, a Georgia Tech graduate and former football player, earned his law degree from the University of Miami and practices business law at Baritz Colman Richan & Harris in Boca Raton.
“I enjoyed immensely the opportunity to be on the City Council for over five years,” he said. “I have shown myself to be a rational decision-maker and someone who has the future of Boca in mind. What I want most of all is to move the city in the right direction.”
Fran Nachlas
Nachlas, a retired surgical nurse and University of Florida graduate who became deputy mayor on March 31, filed to run for mayor on April 29.
She first won election to the council in November 2022 when no other candidate filed to run for Thomson’s open seat. She would have had to wait until March 2023 to assume office, but because Thomson had already been forced to vacate the seat, the remaining council members saw no reason to wait and appointed her to the position effective Dec. 1, 2022.
“Innovation and common-sense decisions are the hallmarks of my public service, and we are going to keep Boca safe, secure, resident-focused, and an economic powerhouse under my administration,” she wrote on her campaign website.
“Keeping our local economy energized, making City Hall even more efficient, and making smart choices to address traffic and infrastructure needs will be key responsibilities for
Boca Raton’s next mayor. I’m not afraid to shake things up to get things done.”
Other races
Marc Wigder, who was first elected to the City Council in 2023, filed to retain his Seat B for another three-year term on April 28. He is the founder and managing principal of the real estate company Greenhouse Property Co.
As of late May, Wigder, who also serves as chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency, faced no opposition.
Christen Ritchey filed on May 5 to run for Nachlas’ Seat A. A city Planning and Zoning Board member, she briefly sought a council seat in 2022, challenging Wigder. But she withdrew from the race to focus on her two children and her law firm, now named Johnson Ritchey Family Law. She threw her support behind Wigder.
Perennial candidate Bernard Korn, a real estate broker who has never won an election, filed to run for mayor on April 1 and for Nachlas’ Seat A on May 1.
In his unsuccessful run against incumbent Yvette Drucker last year, he garnered his strongest showing ever, capturing 23% of the vote.
Drucker, who is prevented by term limits from seeking another City Council term, has joined the 2026 contest to succeed term-limited state Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton. Berman has endorsed Drucker.
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