A city-by-city look at the 23 Palm Beach County March 19 municipal election ballots

James Coleman, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·12 min read
A voting sign pictured at Palm Springs Village Center on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018.

Palm Beach County residents living within the boundaries of a municipality have important choices to make Tuesday, March 19.

Nearly 500,000 voters in 23 local towns, cities and villages will be voting in the March 19 election. Some ballots will contain just one town council race, while others will see multiple races and ballot questions.

Here are some key dates ahead of Election Day:

Tuesday, Feb. 20: Registration and political party change deadlines

To see if your information is up to date:

  • Visit VotePalmBeach.gov

  • Call 561-656-6200

  • Make sure you have your Florida driver license, Florida ID card or the last four digits of your Social Security number available when updating your address.

The elections office uses the signatures it has on file to verify your identity on petitions, provisional ballots and vote-by-mail ballots. Signature updates can be made:

  • Online at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov. Using the online application will update your voter record with the most recent signature from your Florida driver license or Florida ID card.

  • By completing and returning a Florida voter registration application form to a voter registration agency or a Supervisor of Elections offices. Forms are available online at VotePalmBeach.gov and at any voter registration agency.

Thursday, March 7: Vote-by-mail ballot request deadlines

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed to you is 5 p.m., Thursday, March 7.

You can do this by visiting votepalmbeach.gov, calling (561) 656-6208 or in person at any of the four offices. Hours for all offices are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

  • Main Office: 240 S. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, 561-656-6200

  • North County Courthouse: 3188 PGA Blvd., Room 2401, Palm Beach Gardens, 561-624-6555

  • Southeast PBC Administrative Complex: 345 S. Congress Ave., Room 103, Delray Beach, 561-276-1226

  • West County Office Building: 2976 State Road 15, Belle Glade, 561-992-1114

Saturday, March 9-Sunday, March 17: Early voting

  • Any eligible registered voter in Palm Beach County can vote at any early-voting location.

  • Visit VotePalmBeach.gov “Early Voting” for hours, locations and wait times, or to make an appointment.

Tuesday, March 19: Election Day

  • Election Day polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

  • You must vote at the polling place that is assigned to your precinct.

  • Polling places may change. Visit VotePalmBeach.gov to confirm your polling place before you go vote.

Here's a look at who and what will be on the ballots:

Belle Glade

In Belle Glade, a city on the far west side of Palm Beach County with 16,700 residents, two out of the five city commission seats are in play.

For Seat C, Vice Mayor Joaquin Almazan will face Robert Mitchell.

For Seat D, incumbent Mary Ross Wilkerson, is being challenged by Tequella Collins.

Boca Raton

In Boca Raton, Palm Beach County's second-largest city with 97,422 people, seats C and D on the City Council are on this year's ballot.

For Seat C, candidates are incumbent Yvette Drucker and Bernard Korn. Drucker was elected to the council in 2021, while Korn ran for mayor unsuccessfully in 2018 and 2020, losing both times to current mayor Scott Singer.

For Seat D, candidates are Brian Stenberg and Andy Thomson running to replace Monica Mayotte. Stenberg lost a 2021 bid for Seat D, while Thomson served a four-year term on the council's Seat A beginning in 2018.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Who should lead Boca Raton

Delray Beach

Residents of the “Village by the Sea” will have much to consider on their ballots. Three races are up for grabs for Delray Beach’s 65,781 voters.

Ryan Boylston, Tom Carney and Shirley Ervin Johnson are all running for mayor, replacing Shelley Petrolia, who has served in that position since 2018.

For Seat 3 on the commission, Anneze Barthelemy, Juli Casale and Nicholas Coppola are on the ballot. The winner replaces Boylston, who has served on the commission since 2018 and whose vice mayor term will expire.

For Seat 1 on the commission, James R. Chard, Tennille DeCoste and Thomas Markert will compete to replace current City Commissioner Adam Frankel, whose term is expiring.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Here are the Post's picks for Delray Beach Commission

Greenacres

In the city of Greenacres, three of the five council seats are on the ballot.

Former council members Charles "Chuck" Shaw and Jonathan Pearce are competing for the mayor's seat, replacing Joel Flores, who is running for the Palm Beach County Commission.

For District 1, newcomer Edward Ayala, a U.S. Army veteran, will run against incumbent John Tharp, who is seeking his second full term in office.

For District 3, incumbent Paula Bousquet, who is vying to secure a third term in the council, is being challenged by newcomer Fule Dogic.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Who should lead Greenacres?

Highland Beach

The town of Highland Beach, home to about 4,200 people, will ask its voters to consider three referendum questions: a sanitation rehabilitation project, raising the current funding limitation to adjust for inflation, and canvassing responsibilities.

Three candidates will be running unopposed and have recorded automatic wins — Mayor Natasha C. Moore, Vice Mayor David Stern and Commissioner Judith Goldberg.

Hypoluxo

The voters of Hypoluxo, home to about 2,700 people, will choose a mayor from incumbent Michael C. Brown or Brad Doyle, who had been one of the five council members before he resigned in December to run for mayor.

Juno Beach

The five-member council headed into election season with four seats on the council up for grabs.

Seat 2, vacated by Elaine Cotronakis in December, has been changed to the mayor seat for the election cycle. Incumbent Mayor Alexander Cooke and Vice Mayor Peggy Wheeler are running for the two-year role.

Council members previously chose a mayor among themselves before the post had a dedicated seat.

Jacob Rosengarten is running unopposed for Seat 3 with a two-year term and Council Member DD Halpern is running unopposed for Seat 4 with a three-year term. Candidates Dean Anthon and Diana Davis are running against each other for Seat 5 with a one-year term.

More: Palm Beach Post Editorial Board endorses candidates for Juno Beach mayor, council

Jupiter Inlet Colony

Seats 2 and 4 are up for election in this town of about 400 people.

Incumbent Marie Rosner and Sharon Seagren are running unopposed for the two-year posts.

Lake Park

One commission seat is up for election this cycle.

Four residents — Rafael Moscoso, Anne Lynch, Hollis Langer and Michael Hensley — are competing for the one-year role.

The candidate who wins the election will serve for the one year remaining on former council member John Linden’s term. Linden left office in December over Form 6 concerns. He said he felt the form would make him more subject to security issues like identity theft because of how public his information would become.

Lake Worth Beach

There are three positions open on the commission for the coastal city of almost 37,000 residents — mayor, District 1 and District 3. The City Commission is comprised of five members who serve staggered three-year terms.

For the mayor's seat, incumbent Betty Resch will face Andy Amoroso, Alex Cull and William Joseph.

For the District 1 seat, incumbent Sarah Malega faces a challenge from Melvin Pinkney.

For the District 3 seat, incumbent Kim Stokes will be challenged by Mimi May.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Who should lead Lake Worth Beach?

Lantana

In the nearly 12,000-resident town of Lantana, there is only one seat open on the commission.

The Group 5 seat of mayor will pit incumbent Karen Lythgoe, who has served two years of a potential three-year term, against challenger Jorge Velazquez.

Loxahatchee Groves

In the 3,384-resident town of Loxahatchee Groves, two commission seats will be on the ballot.

For Seat 1, incumbent Phillis Maniglia, who has held the seat since 2008, is being challenged by Robert E. Sullivan.

For Seat 3, former council members Todd McLendon and Anita Kane will face incumbent Marianne Miles.

North Palm Beach

The five-member council currently has four of its seats filled after three members resigned in November and December to avoid having to fill out Form 6, which requires local officials to disclose exact numbers of their net worth under a new state law. Only two people — Karen Marcus and Judy Pierman — stepped up temporarily.

Four seats are up for election in March, each with two-year terms.

Incumbent Deborah Searcy is running unopposed for Seat 1. Orlando Puyol and William Luzuriagga are competing for Seat 3. Kristin Garrison is running unopposed for Seat 4. Lisa Interlandi and Ronald K. Lantz are competing for Seat 5.

Puyol previously ran for council, but lost to Darryl Aubrey in 2022.

The village will ask property owners in three areas whether they want to annex their lands into North Palm Beach.

Ocean Ridge

Voters of the Town of Ocean Ridge, an 1,800-person enclave near Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, will vote on three commission seats in the upcoming election.

Four are vying for three spots, with the top two vote-getters receiving three-year terms and the third spot receiving a two-year term.

Nicholas Arsali will challenge incumbents Geoff Pugh, David Hutchins and Ainar Dalton Aijala Jr. for the three open seats. Two seats are open because of recent resignations from interim commissioners.

Pahokee

In the city of Pahokee, two seats are in play.

For Group 1, two candidates Monique Gordon and Everett McPherson will face incumbent Juan "Johnny" Gonzalez.

For Group 2, incumbent Sara Perez will be challenged by newcomers Tina Mitchell and Sanquetta Cowan-Williams.

Palm Beach

One council seat will be on the ballot in Palm Beach, which will hold its first municipal election in three years.

John David Corey will face Bridget Moran for the Group 3 seat being vacated by longtime council member Maggie Zeidman, who announced in October that she would not seek a fifth term.

While Corey and Moran are running their first campaigns for town council, both have served the town on volunteer boards. Corey is a member of the influential Architectural Commission, and Moran serves on the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Palm Beach Gardens

There are no council seats up for election this cycle in the city.

The city will ask property owners in five areas whether they want to annex their lands into Palm Beach Gardens.

Riviera Beach

A pair of City Council elections are on the docket in Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County's largest majority-Black city of nearly 40,000 people.

KaShamba Miller-Anderson, an assistant principal in the Palm Beach County School District, is seeking her fourth three-year term as the councilwoman for District 2. A fellow educator, Leroy Kelson IV, is challenging Miller-Anderson.

In District 4, incumbent Julia Botel, a retired educator, is in a rematch with Glen Spiritis, a former Long Island, New York, city manager whom Botel defeated in 2021. Eligibility has been an issue in both races, as it took a judicial ruling to determine that Kelson and Botel made good-faith efforts to follow state law in submitting their filing fees and qualification documents.

Riviera Beach voters also will decide whether to approve a referendum that would authorize the city to raise $115 million in bond money for infrastructure projects.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Are incumbents best fit for Riviera Beach's continued progress?

Royal Palm Beach

The 39,000 residents of Royal Palm Beach will decide to keep or elect a new mayor.

Village Mayor Fred Pinto, who is vying to secure a fifth term in the office, is being challenged by newcomer Steve Avila.

Two council members will be running unopposed and have recorded automatic wins. Jeff Hmara and Selena Samios will keep their positions for another two-year term.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Our pick for mayor of Royal Palm Beach

South Bay

There are two seats open on the city commission for this 3,400 resident community in the western part of the county sandwiched between Clewiston and Belle Glade.

For Seat 2, incumbent Joe Kyles, who has served for 20 years on the commission, faces no challengers and will serve another term.

For Seat 4, Vice Mayor Betty Bernard, the incumbent, faces a challenge from Barbara King. Bernard has served six years on the commission.

Tequesta

Two seats are up for election this year, each with two-year terms.

Jayson French, who has worked as a firefighter for the past 17 years, is running unopposed for Seat 1.

Incumbent Rick Sartory and Jessica Namath are competing for Seat 5.

Wellington

The 61,400 residents of Wellington will have much to consider on their ballots. Three of the five seats on the council will be up for grabs as longtime village mayor Anne Gerwig and two council members are termed out of office.

Vice Mayor Michael Napoleone and Bart Novack are competing to replace Gerwig, who is seeking election to the Florida House of Representatives.

Four candidates: Robert Margolis, John "Jay” Webber, Marcella Montesinos and Amanda Silvestri are running for Seat 1, which is currently held by outgoing Council member Michael Drahos.

For Seat 4 on the council, five candidates are on the ballot: Maria Antuña, Carol Coleman, Karen Morris-Clarke, Shelly Lariz Albright and Michael Partow. The winner replaces Napoleone, who is also serving his second and final council term.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Endorsements for Wellington council races

Westlake

In Westlake, Palm Beach County newest city, two council seats are up for grabs, but the contest is already over.

Council members Charlotte Leonard and Gary Werner are running unopposed to serve four-year terms.

West Palm Beach

A single City Commission election will be held in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County's largest city with nearly 120,000 residents.

Christina Lambert, a chief administrative officer for a law firm, is seeking her fourth two-year term in District 5. Matthew A. Luciano, an asset manager, is challenging Lambert.

Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: Our pick for West Palm Beach commission

Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Maya Washburn, Wayne Washington, Jodie Wagner, Valentina Palm and Jasmine Fernandez contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: City-by-city look at the 23 Palm Beach County municipal election ballots