Election 2024: Wellington, Royal Palm, Greenacres to elect mayors in busy March balloting

The western communities of Palm Beach County will have a busy spring election season.

The region's three largest communities — the villages of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach as well as the city of Greenacres — all will have races for mayor in the March 19 election.

There will be council seats on the ballot in Wellington, Greenacres and Loxahatchee Groves, too. Royal Palm Beach and Westlake will see council members run without opposition.

Polling places across the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day, when Florida's presidential primary elections also will occur.

For more information about the March 19 vote, contact the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office at (561) 276-1226 or at votepalmbeach.gov.

Wellington

Three of the five seats on the Wellington Village Council will change next year as longtime village mayor Anne Gerwig and two council members are termed out of office.

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

Napoleone, an attorney with the firm Day Pitney LLP, has served two consecutive terms on the village council since winning election in 2015. Novack, who unsuccessfully ran against councilman John McGovern in 2018, is an electrician and a Brooklyn, New York, native who moved with his family to Wellington in 2002.

Four contenders are running for Seat 1, currently held by Councilman Michael Drahos, who is serving his second and final term.

Former Mayor Robert Margolis is aiming for a return to the council. He was first elected as councilman in 2003 and later as mayor in 2012. Margolis works as the development director for the Young Singers of the Palm Beach, a youth music program.

John "Jay” Webber, the chair of the village’s Education Committee, has lived in Wellington for 15 years and is a partner in the law firm Billing, Cochran, Mauro, Lyles and Ramsey. It is his first bid for elected office.

Marcella Montesinos also is making her first run for office. She is the director of the Honors College at Palm Beach State College and has also served as an advisor to the village’s Boys & Girls Club.

Amanda Silvestri owns an insurance agency with her husband and serves in the School Advisory Council at Wellington Landings Middle School. Last year, Silvestri unsuccessfully ran for a school board district seat.

Four candidates are competing for Seat 4, held by Napoleone, who is also serving his second and last term.

Maria Antuña, a first-time candidate, is the CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She has served on the village’s architectural review board and is part of the Wellington Rotary Club.

Carol Coleman, an equestrian, is pursuing her second run for the village council. She has served on Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee and chairs the village’s Planning, Zoning, and Adjustment Board. Coleman has also led the Wellington Garden Club.

Karen Morris-Clarke ran unsuccessfully last year for Seat 2. Morris-Clarke is a real estate agent for Keller Williams Realty Wellington and has lived in the village for over 22 years.

Shelly Lariz Albright, a Florida native with Hispanic roots, is also pursuing her first run for office. Lariz Albright works at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church as the youth programming director and is a consultant to nonprofits.

Also new to village elections is Michael Partow. His professional background includes pharmaceuticals, engineering and construction, according to his campaign website.

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Royal Palm Beach

Three of the five seats on the Royal Palm Beach Village Council go up for election next year, but only the mayor’s seat will be contested.

Village Mayor Fred Pinto is seeking a fifth term in the office. Pinto is a technology and business consultant and the agency development manager for the health-services company Colonial Life.

Challenging Pinto is Steve Avila, the chief academic officer of Ivypedia, a college admissions company. He interned for County Commissioner Sarah Baxter’s office.

With no opponents to challenge their reelection bids, incumbent council members Jeff Hmara and Selena Samios will keep their positions for another two-year term.

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Greenacres

Three of the five seats on the Greenacres City Council will be on the ballot.

Former council members Charles "Chuck" Shaw and Johnathan Pearce are vying for the mayor’s seat. The incumbent, Joel Flores, is running for the Palm Beach County Commission.

Shaw, who worked 57 years for the School District of Palm Beach County, had previously served on the city's board for 18 years as a councilman and deputy mayor.

Pearce, the president and CEO of MD Holdings, was first elected to the council in 2010 and served for two consecutive terms.

For District 1, incumbent John Tharp will face Edward Ayala, a U.S. Army veteran.

Tharp, who is seeking his second full term in office, was appointed to the council in 2017 and elected in 2020.

Incumbent Paula Bousquet, who is the comptroller for Temple Beth Tikvah on Jog Road, is being challenged for District 5 by newcomer Fule Dogic.

Bousquet, a New Jersey native, was first elected to the council in 2011 and later reelected in 2020. She is seeking her third term in office.

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Loxahatchee Groves

In the Village of Loxahatchee Groves, two seats are in play.

In Seat 1, incumbent Phillis Maniglia, a local real estate broker, is being challenged by Robert E. Sullivan. Maniglia has held the seat since 2018 and is vying to secure her third term.

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

McLendon works in the computer and air conditioning industries and raises exotic birds. Kane is the executive director for 1 Education Place in Wellington and previously served as the chair of the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District.

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Westlake

Two of the five seats on the Westlake City Council are up for grabs, but the contest is already over.

Councilwoman Charlotte Leonard received no opposition to serve a second term in Seat 3.

Gary Werner, who was appointed last year to replace councilman John Paul O’Conner, will serve his first full term in Seat 3 starting next year.

Palm Springs

No elections are scheduled until 2025 when the village mayor and two council seats will be on the ballot.

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Wellington, Royal Palm, Greenacres set to elect mayors in March