County commission race: County mayor faces GOP challenger for District 4 seat
A political newcomer, Marcia Woodward, a Republican, is looking to unseat Democrat Robert Weinroth, the current mayor of the Palm Beach County Commission. The two are competing for the right to represent District 4, a district that includes much of Boca Raton and Delray Beach. It also extends north along the coast to Lantana.
Voters do not elect the mayor of the commission. Members will make that choice during a reorganization meeting.
Woodward, a homemaker who helps run her husband’s industrial coating business, has never sought elected office. She said on her website that county policies enacted during the COVID shutdown prompted her to challenge Weinroth.
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District 4 county commission candidate: Robert Weinroth
Age and residence: Weinroth, 70, lives in Boca Raton.
Platform: Weinroth supports the $200 million affordable housing bond issue.
He notes that even with the thousands of new housing units constructed in the past decade, the supply of affordable workforce housing is about 100,000 units short of demand. He sees the issue as an impediment to the relocation of companies into the county, because their employees cannot find affordable housing.
Approval of the bond issue, according to Weinroth, will help address the issue but notes that the forces of supply and demand will ultimately prevail.
He questions the decision to preserve large swaths of land (most notably in the Ag Reserve) that has resulted in construction of larger “estate” homes, unaffordable to residents earning less than six figures.
He wants to develop plans that would result in redevelopment along commercial areas (especially along Congress, Military, Federal and Dixie). Likewise, areas adjacent to transportation nodes (e.g., Tri-Rail and Brightline) offer opportunities for transportation-oriented development, he said.
Professional history: From 2000 to 2016, Weinroth served as president and general counsel to Freedom Medical Services. He was a council member in Boca Raton from 2014 to 2018 and was elected to the County Commission in 2018.
Education: Obtained a B.A. degree from Northeastern University and a law degree from New England School of Law.
Social media presence: Weinroth uses both Facebook and Instagram.
Criminal history: None.
Notable media coverage: Weinroth has often voted to support development proposals that were put before the commission. “We cannot build a wall to stop the migration of residents from the Northeast,” he said. “Density is not a dirty road.”
Specifically, he has voted to support GL Homes mega-developments in the Ag Reserve, including its request to use rights of ways along Lake Worth Drainage District as preserve parcels, a decision that allowed the developer to increase the number of homes in its developments. Weinroth also has voted on measures that would allow the homebuilder build in the Ag Reserve on preserved land in exchange for giving a sizable parcel of land to the county in the Acreage area.
Weinroth told The Post editorial board that he is “on the fence” as to whether he will support the proposal when it reappears before the commission in May. It all depends on how the proposal is structured, he said.
He coined the words “snob zoning” at a commission meeting when discussing how low-density land-use regulations have kept workforce housing out of the Ag Reserve.
Endorsements: Weinroth has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, and the Fraternal Order of Police. He noted that he has not solicited endorsements from elected officials, contending that “their opinion has little, if any, weight with voters.”
Finances: Campaign finance reports as of Sept. 23 show Weinroth raised $355,506 and spent $161,431. Some of the contributors, especially those donating the maximum $1,000, are lawyers and land use planners who regularly appear before the commission.
District 4 county commission candidate: Marci Woodward
Age and residence: Woodward, 45, lives in Boca Raton.
Platform: She questions whether code enforcement is being used as a weapon against business owners and whether they are victims of frivolous complaints, especially as it relates to landscape businesses.
She pledges to make every effort to trim county budgets. The millage rate went down .2% but spending increased by more than 13%, she said, arguing that there was not enough of an effort to lower spending.
She said she would not support GL Homes land swap based on overwhelming public opposition.
She also does not support the $200 million bond issue, noting that funds already dedicated to build affordable housing have not yet been spent. She said she would make it a priority to address the housing issue for people who are already residents as opposed to those looking to migrate from the Northeast into the county.
Professional history: She works with her husband in operating an industrial coating business.
Education: B.A degree from University of South Carolina.
Social media presence: Woodward is on Facebook.
Criminal history: None.
Notable media coverage: She appeared at a County Commission meeting this year to urge that the commission take steps to preserve “election integrity.” But she has not sought extensive media coverage and as of Oct. 10 had not completed the questionnaire sent to her to participate in editorial board meetings at the Palm Beach Post.
Endorsements: Former County Commissioner Ron Howard has endorsed her. She said she has not sought establishment endorsements, preferring instead “citizen” endorsements that can be found on her web site, savepbc.com.
Finances: As of Sept. 23, Woodward raised $46,277 and spent $21,843.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: County election: Mayor will have GOP challenger for District 4 seat
