In Delray Beach, development, finances and election allegations dominate candidate forum

DELRAY BEACH — Two simultaneous election forums featuring all nine candidates — five at one and four across the city at another — were rolled out to residents Tuesday night where everything from overdevelopment, the city's water treatment plan and maintaining the integrity of local elections were discussed.

Five candidates at the Courtyard by Marriott discussion included Tom Carney and Shirley Johnson, who are running for mayor; Tom Markert, running for Seat 1; and Anneze Barthelemy and Juli Casale, vying for Seat 3. They spoke in front of a crowd of approximately 60 people.

Meanwhile, a candidates forum hosted by the Chamber of Commerce at the Arts Garage on NE 2nd Avenue featured Vice Mayor Ryan Bolston, the third mayoral candidate; Jim Chard and Tennille DeCoste, vying for Seat 1; and Nicholas Coppola, a Seat 3 candidate.

The Chamber’s forum ran from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., while the meet-and-greet at the Marriott ran from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Chamber's forum was streamed, and can be watched on the Chamber's YouTube page.

The double booking alone caused some friction in an election that promises a tense runup.

About two weeks ago, Carney sent Kae Jonsons, the Chamber’s president, an email officially informing the Chamber he’d be absent from its forum.

“The Delray Chamber of Commerce has become immersed in political favoritism and pretends that no one is supposed to notice,” Carney wrote in the email, which he shared with residents Tuesday night.

“Since the office space the Chamber uses is essentially taxpayer-subsidized, it is even more important that the Chamber be impartial,” Carney added in the email. “I regret having to make this decision, but the Chamber has given me no choice.”

Specifically, Carney pointed to the Chamber's board installation lunch, during which current vice mayor Ryan Boylston was the moderator. In his email, Carney says that Stephanie Immelman, the Chamber's president and CEO, admitted the event was Boylston's idea, making the event's intention and timing "suspect."

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When asked about the event, Immelman told the Post Boylston was selected as the moderator because he was the only person in the city who's served on all three of the city's boards — the Downtown Development Authority, the Community Redevelopment Agency and the city board.

"Most chambers do endorse candidates," Immelman said. "We specifically do not endorse candidates because we want to be able to work with whoever is in office. So it's not to be seen as an endorsement."

Immelman said that all candidates were informed about and invited to participate in the Chamber's forum on Nov. 30, 2023.

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"I personally called the candidates myself to hear from them, whether they were choosing to not participate in our candidates forum or not," Immelman said. "Everyone was gracious, and it was their choice."

Also at the Marriott was Barthelemy, running for Seat 3 against former commissioner Casale and first-time candidate Coppola. Barthelemy has been at the center of some recent controversy by claiming she has been pressured by local political activists to drop out of the race.

“When I was being pressured to leave the race, I felt like something was not right,” Barthelemy told the crowd. “So, I decided that I was going to push forward no matter who remained in the race with me, no matter who supported me, who didn’t.”

A few dozen people cheered Barthelemy after the statement.

“I will not be pressured to get out,” she said. “That is why I'm here tonight. I made it this far.”

Barthelemy’s campaign focuses on increasing affordable housing, advocating for quality education and promoting sustainable growth in the city. She’s spent 23 years in social work.

Casale, who is running against her, addressed the crowd by, first, thanking Barthelemy for staying in the race.

“I really had no intention of ever running again,” Casale said. “It’s a lot.”

Casale, who ousted incumbent Bill Bathurst in 2020, lost to Rob Long in 2023 for Seat 2.

“I ran originally because I was concerned about development,” she said. “Then, when I got in the job, I got concerned about the finances. I studied all the financial reports. I ended up asking for audits, found deficiencies and corrected them.”

If elected, Casale said she wants to focus on the city’s financial concerns.

“Our expenses are outpacing our revenues,” she said.

Growth and development a key topic for Delray Beach voters

Something all candidates seemed to agree on was addressing the city’s rapid growth.

Tom Markert, the only one of the three Seat 1 candidates at Tuesday’s meet-and-greet, briefly talked about how it could be addressed.

“I’m pro-development,” Markert said. “But we have to ask ourselves really hard questions on future development, because we can’t exacerbate the traffic and the parking problems that we have downtown.”

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Markert, a 15-year resident of the city, wants to increase safety, provide more oversight of the budget and find solutions to the city’s traffic congestion. He also brought up the city's water.

"We have a 62-year-old water treatment plant," he said. "For those of you that have tried to take a bath in a white tub, we've got to get that project done. And what I think I bring to the table is business skills."

Markert has served as president of Nielsen in Canada, CEO of Nielsen in Australia and New Zealand, and chief marketing officer at Office Depot.

Shirley Johnson, one of the three mayoral candidates, said voters must step up and decide who they want.

“We’re tired of having a group of people choosing our candidates and, therefore, sometimes even picking the people who are going to serve on our commission,” Johnson said.

Johnson served on the commission from 2017 until 2023. Her campaign focuses on addressing climate change, accelerating the upgrade of the water treatment plan and improving communications among the city.

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Development, election allegations dominate Delray Beach candidate forum