Editorial: County's new commissioners must now govern, learn to meet community needs

First and foremost: Congratulations to Sara Baxter and Marci Woodward, Palm Beach County's newest commissioners. The two Republicans did what many, including The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board, considered politically unlikely, at best. Kudos on running campaigns that inspired enough voters to pull off stunning victories.

Commissioner Woodward defeated former County Mayor Robert Weinroth, a Democrat who represented the Boca Raton area in District 4. Baxter is the new commissioner for the western portion of the county in District 6, having won an open seat to replace term-limited Democrat Commissioner Melissa McKinlay. Neither Baxter nor Woodward had held elective office prior to beating better-known opponents.

Now comes the challenging part: governing. As Vice Mayor Maria Sachs put it on the day of your swearing in: "Today's the day politics ends and policy begins." All we ask is that our new commissioners learn the job and do it well to meet community needs and continue to make Palm Beach County an attractive place to live, work and play.

Evidence of Florida's 'red wave': 2 more Republicans take office on Palm Beach County Commission

Elections Recap: Republicans flip two county commission seats: Mayor Weinroth out in big upset to newcomer Woodward

FOR SUBSCRIBERS: A political shift in blue Palm Beach County? A historic reddening is taking place

The county faces a myriad of challenges, whether helping to develop more affordable housing, overseeing development or unclogging roadways. Amending zoning maps, sifting through arcane program budgets and overseeing contract and service agreements may seem mind-numbing now but can make a big difference for constituents looking to their elected leaders for answers to longstanding problems.

Take the county's need for more reasonably priced housing and the latest remedy — a $200 million bond. As candidates, both Baxter and Woodward had opposed the bond. As commissioners, it's their responsibility to enact it. High priced housing and rentals remain a problem, and the voters saw the bond as a means to address it. They will look to the commission to reach a consensus to ensure the money is spent wisely.

More: $200 million affordable housing bond wins support from Palm Beach County voters

The county budget is another short learning curve. Staff outlined a general outlook of the 2023-2024 budget shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, marking the start of a 10-month process of refining it. The new commissioners have less than a week to review their campaign promises and craft their own priorities they'd like to see in the new budget.

Reality sometimes gets in the way of a candidate's priorities.

For example, the campaign promise that law enforcement will get all it needs crashes against the hard truth of government spending. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office's current budget, $835 million, is 44% of the expenses in the general fund budget, according to county data. Since 2007, the sheriff's budget has grown by 113%, far outpacing both inflation and population growth. Any new boost to law enforcement from county coffers most likely would have to come from other departments or the reserves.

Cutting the tax rate is another appealing target for candidates. Once elected, though, every new commissioner learns that a rate cut may not be warranted, particularly when county government faces the same inflationary trends that consumers do, of rising prices for goods, services and staff pay.

There will be other issues that will challenge the new commissioners. Just this week, they commissioners faced proposals to  allow more development within and near the Agricultural Reserve, the 22,000-plus acres preserved for agriculture, water filtration and natural habitat, located west of Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.

Development remains a sticky issue for the commission and of particular concern to Baxter, whose district borders the northern edge of the Ag Reserve and includes a swath of undeveloped land west of State Road 7 and in the county's Rural Tier, which runs from State Road 7 northwest through Southern Boulevard.

The once politically blue county commission is now bipartisan purple. Baxter and Woodward, in addition to incumbent Commissioner Maria G. Marino, move the commission from a 6-1 Democratic majority to a more bipartisan 4-3 number.

No matter the political makeup of the board, however, voters want and deserve results that will make their lives better, above all. The county commission remains one of the few elected offices where political games can take a backseat to enacting good public policy. So, make it happen, team. The new commissioners have the help of their predecessors, their peers on the dais and county staff. Here's to a fast learning curve, productive leadership and equitable progress for a county with great potential.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County's new GOP commissioners must learn how to govern