What you need to know for the 2022 city elections in Palm Beach County

From mayor to council member, state representative to referendum, hundreds of thousands of Palm Beach County residents living in the boundaries of a city have important choices to make March 8.

In all, 19 municipalities will host elections, including the largest city, West Palm Beach, and one of the smallest, Jupiter Inlet Colony. The last day to register to vote is Monday.

Because of the special State House District 88 race, four early voting locations will be available for any voter eligible to cast a ballot in March, regardless of whether they live inside the district. Early voting starts Saturday, Feb. 26, at 10 a.m., and runs to 7 p.m. every day until Sunday, March 6.

Early voting will take place at:

• Wells Recreation Community Center, 2409 Ave. H West, Riviera Beach

• Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 240 S. Military Trail, West Palm Beach

• Ezell Hester Community Center, 1901 N. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach

• Delray Beach Community Center, 50 NW First Ave., Delray Beach.

The House District 88 covers some voters in Boynton Beach, Lake Park, Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach and Lantana. Those communities will have the House District 88 race on their ballots. Republican Guarina Torres faces Democrat Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds, who won 65% of the primary race vote over a former Riviera Beach police chief.

The last day to request a ballot to be sent by mail is Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. Voters must have their driver license, Florida ID card or last four digits of their Social Security number available to make the request.

Voters can drop off their mail ballots at any of the county supervisor of elections offices. Because of a change in state election laws, the ballot dropboxes are restricted to certain hours. At the main West Palm Beach office, the hours are:

• Feb. 26, 27; March 5, 6: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• Feb. 28; March 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7: 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

• March 8: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

At the branch offices in Belle Glade, Palm Beach Gardens and Delray Beach, the dropboxes will be available from:

• Feb. 28; March 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• March 8: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The dropboxes at these locations will not be available on the weekend.

Voters should be notified if their regular election day polling place has changed. Find your precinct at votepalmbeach.gov.

Here’s a look at what will be on the ballot:

Boynton Beach

More than 51,000 eligible voters will have a say in shaping the Boynton Beach City Commission. As many as four new faces could be seated, with Vice Mayor Woodrow Hay the sole commissioner neither term-limited nor seeking re-election.

All voters will choose the new mayor, with Steven Grant out in March because of term limits. Running for the seat are Commissioner Ty Penserga, Golene Gordon, Bernard Wright and Cindy Falco-DiCorrado.

Penserga is a chemistry teacher at Suncoast High School who was born in the Philippines and raised in Boynton Beach. If elected, he would match Grant’s record of being the youngest mayor in the city’s history at 33.

Gordon is the chair of Boynton Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency who ran for mayor in 2019; Wright is a community activist in the Heart of Boynton who recently claimed in a ranting video that Penserga, who is openly gay, wants to turn the municipality into a "gay city"; and Falco-DiCorrado is a retiree who is currently representing herself in a case where she is accused of trespassing at an Einstein Bros. Bagels restaurant for not wearing a facial covering.

Commissioners Justin Katz in District 1 and Christina Romelus in District 3 will also be leaving vacancies due to term limits. Angela Cruz, who is the vice chair of the city’s CRA, motion graphic designer Gregory Hartman and Thomas Pomante are seeking the District 1 seat, while marketing firm owner Courtlandt McQuire, restaurant owner Marit Hedeen and Navy Reservist Thomas Turkin are seeking election to District 3.

The District 4 vacancy left by Penserga, who was required to resign in order to run for mayor, will be filled by the new commission.

Greenacres

Three incumbents – Districts 2, 3 and 4 – face challengers in a contest that will be decided by the city's 23,200 voters.

Incumbent Peter Noble was first elected in 1998. He faces a challenge in Nathan Galang, a 21-year-old full-time political science student at Florida Atlantic University who was endorsed by half of the City Council, including Greenacres Mayor Joel Flores.

Eight-year incumbent Judith Dugo faces Leonard A. Grant, a printing franchise owner.

Incumbent Jonathan Pearce, who has served on the council for 11 years, faces Susy Diaz Piesco, executive director for Bak Middle School of the Arts Foundation.

Haverhill

The town of Haverhill’s 1,300 voters will be asked four questions on their ballots.

Voters will decide whether to change terms as it relates to Town Council candidates and the town’s charter.

Questions 1 and 2 ask whether Town Council members should be allowed to serve three-year terms, rather than two-year terms, and if candidates should be a resident of the town one year before the first date of the qualifying period.

The third question relies on the passage of Question 1. It asks whether the town’s charter should be changed to allow for a special election to fill a vacancy if there are 18 or more months left in the vacant seat’s term, or to allow the Town Council to appoint someone to the seat if there are fewer than 18 months left in the term.

The fourth question asks whether the town should remove or clarify provisions in its charter that are “outdated, incomplete, unnecessary or conflict with state law including town powers, removal of officials, commencement of term of office, hiring of professionals and consultants, death or withdrawal of candidate before election, resolution of a tie vote and authority of town council to conduct elections.”

Highland Beach

The town of Highland Beach will ask its nearly 3,900 voters to consider five questions on the ballot, all related to changing the charter. The ballots are double-sided.

The first asks if the town should require voters to approve measures that “transfer control, abolish, merge with or sell the services of fire rescue, police or water.”

The second question asks if the funding limit increase to meet growing demand for town services like the water treatment plant, library, police and fire rescue should change from the current limit of $350,000 to 5% of the town’s annual budget. For example, using the 2021 budget, that would mean the limit would be slightly more than $484,000.

Question 3 asks whether the town manager and finance director should be authorized to “sign checks and pay lawful debts, or, if either is absent, allowing one town commissioner this authority if either town manager or finance director are absent, or two commissioners if both are absent."

The fourth question addresses term limits, asking to approve or deny a change that says “no person may serve more than three consecutive full terms in any one office, nor serve more than 12 consecutive years as a town elected official.”

The fifth question asks whether the mayor’s and commissioners’ salaries may be determined by ordinance but shouldn’t increase by more than 5% a year.

Juno Beach

The 3,100 voters of Juno Beach will choose their new representative for Seat 5 on the Town Council.

Vice Mayor Jim Lyons, who was first elected to the council in 1987, is retiring. Two candidates have stepped up to fill the seat: John Callahan, a 66-year-old civil engineer and former Juno Beach Town Council member, and Alexander Cooke, a 44-year-old investment adviser.

Jupiter

With Mayor Todd Wodraska not seeking re-election, nearly 45,000 voters will be asked who should be the new face of the town.

More: 2022 elections: Who will be Jupiter's new mayor? Why is Tequesta's election canceled? What to know

Three candidates have thrown their names into the ring, including two sitting council members. Jim Kuretski, a 66-year-old project manager at Florida Power & Light who has served on the Town Council since 2001, is running in addition to Ilan Kaufer, a 40-year-old environmental project manager who has been in office since 2012. Patrick Gallagher, a 59-year-old former Martin County firefighter, is also seeking election to the seat.

For the District 1 race, two candidates are on the ballot. Cheryl Schneider is a 60-year-old retiree and co-founder of the Jupiter Inlet Foundation. Barbara Richardson is also running.

The District 2 race has drawn five contenders:

• Ben Klug, a 42-year-old glazier who served as an interim council member for one year.

• Robert Kupyers, a 41-year-old senior director of enterprise sales for a market research firm.

• Linda McDermott, a 69-year-old budget manager for the city of West Palm Beach.

• Malise Sundstrom, a 38-year-old mother with a master’s degree in development management who serves as an alternate on the planning and zoning commission.

• Gloria Tucker, a 54-year-old hair stylist.

Jupiter Inlet Colony

The town’s fewer than 400 voters will decide among three candidates to fill the Group 4 seat on the commission.

Cynthia B. Keim, who won the Group 2 seat in 2020, faces real estate agent Marie Rosner and Stephen Pollard.

Lake Clarke Shores

Voters in Lake Clarke Shores will decide two Town Council elections for Group 3 and Group 4.

For Group 3, Vice Mayor Robert M.W. Shaloub, who was first elected to the council in 1992, faces Timothy B. Daughtry, who previously served as vice chair of the town’s code enforcement board.

For Group 4, Christina Daughtry faces Robert Gonzalez. Albert Pavon, who was appointed to the seat in 2019, is not seeking election.

There are more than 2,700 eligible voters in the town.

Lake Park

Four seats on the Lake Park Town Commission are up for election. The 5,000 voters in the town will cast just one vote for their top candidate, and the four who receive the most votes will win the seats.

More: 2022 elections: Races set in North Palm, Lake Park while Palm Beach Gardens cancels election

Four incumbents are seeking re-election and two additional candidates are vying for a spot. The incumbents include small business owner Erin Flaherty; land planning consultant and Vice Mayor Kimberly Glas-Castro; John Linden, who is retired from the automotive industry; and Roger Michaud, a supervisor with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office.

Mary Beth Taylor, a retired Palm Beach County teacher, and Judith Thomas, chair of the town’s planning and zoning board, are also seeking election.

Lake Worth Beach

The double-sided ballot for Lake Worth Beach’s 17,700 voters will include one City Commission race and four questions.

The District 4 seat held by Herman Robinson, who is not seeking re-election, has drawn three candidates: attorney and environmentalist Reinaldo Diaz; business owner Craig Frost; and refugee resettlement caseworker Daniel Morgan. Whoever is elected will constitute the final piece of a completely transformed City Commission.

More: In diversity-rich Lake Worth Beach, Hispanic candidates running for city commission

The first question tackles term limits, asking voters whether a city elected official should only be allowed to serve a maximum of 12 consecutive years and bar anyone serving as mayor or commissioner for more than two consecutive full terms. Question 2 asks whether a candidate who qualifies for a run-off election can concede within 48 hours of the election results, ridding the need of an extra election and allowing the other candidate to be duly elected.

More: The single-member district issue: Why Lake Worth Beach is proposing big election changes

The third question asks whether commissioner districts should be single-member districts, meaning voters cast votes for mayor and the commissioner of the district they live in. The fourth question asks whether there should be a deadline to fill commission vacancies.

Lantana

Lantana’s 7,000 voters will decide two races for Town Council. Each race for Group 1 and Group 2 has three candidates.

First, Group 1 will see incumbent Lynn J. Moorhouse, who was first elected in 2004, challenged by Joseph Farrell, an alternate on the town’s planning commission, and John Raymer, a manager at Ace Rental Place.

The race for Group 2 includes retired firefighter Kem Mason, former council member Edward P. Shropshire and Media O. Beverly. Sitting Vice Mayor Malcolm Balfour is not seeking re-election.

Loxahatchee Groves

Two races will be decided and three questions answered by the 2,300 voters in Loxahatchee Groves.

Two challengers have emerged to face the sitting Town Council members of Seat 2 and Seat 4. Incumbent Laura J. Danowski will run against former council member Todd McLendon, and Mayor Robert Shorr will be challenged by structural inspector Paul T. Coleman II.

The first question asks whether qualifying deadlines should be established by ordinance. The second question proposes that only the mayor need be required to sign ordinances, rather than all council members. Question 3 asks whether the town should do away with its elections canvassing board in favor of the board overseen by the county supervisor of elections.

North Palm Beach

Three incumbents face three challengers in North Palm Beach’s Village Council elections. More than 10,500 voters are eligible to vote.

Vice Mayor Deborah Searcy, a faculty member in the management department at Florida Atlantic University, faces retired financial adviser Robert Silvani in the Group 1 race.

For Group 3, retired Exxon executive and Mayor Darryl Aubrey faces professional engineer and Christian preschool owner Orlando Puyol.

Council President Pro Tem Mark Mullinix, an automotive business owner, faces residential Realtor Shawn Woods in Group 5.

Pahokee

Months of tension and drama at Pahokee City Hall may come to a head as Mayor Keith Babb faces a challenge from Vice Mayor Regina Bohlen.

The city attorney and interim city manager were dramatically removed from their posts, and the new city attorney, Gary Brandenburg, sparred with Babb and had support in Bohlen. Brandenburg died Wednesday.

Two other commissioner seats are up for election.

Clara “Tasha” Murvin, who was first elected in 2016, faces former Pahokee City Commissioner Henry Crawford Jr. in the Group 1 race.

As one-term commissioner Juan Gonzalez is not seeking re-election to Group 2, life coach Derrick Boldin and Muck City Boxing owner Nelson Lopez Jr. are seeking election to the vacant seat.

More than 2,800 voters in Pahokee are eligible to cast a ballot.

Riviera Beach

Four incumbents first elected to the Riviera Beach City Council in 2019 are seeking re-election to the mayoral and three City Council seats. More than 24,600 voters will decide.

Mayor Ronnie Felder faces former council member Billie E. Brooks and businesswoman Shandra Michelle Stringer.

In District 1, incumbent Tradrick McCoy faces former police officer Roderick James.

In District 3, Shirley Lanier faces two challengers in former council member Cedrick Thomas and Marvelous Washington, who has previously sought the office.

In District 5, Douglas Lawson is running against Darlene Cruz, who previously ran for the office, and William “Allen” Wyly, a math teacher.

Royal Palm Beach

Just one Village Council race will be decided by Royal Palm Beach voters, where more than 27,500 are eligible.

The Group 1 seat is currently held by council member Jeff Hmara, who was first elected in 2012 and faces a challenge in Julie Highsmith. She owned a home health care company before converting to a career in elementary education and is currently the PTO president at H.L. Johnson Elementary School.

South Palm Beach

The 1,300 voters of South Palm Beach will cast their choice for no more than two candidates for Town Council.

The terms of two sitting council members, Mark Weissman and C.W. “Bill” LeRoy, expire in March. They will seek re-election against Monte Berendes and Cindy Furino.

Wellington

Two incumbents are seeking re-election in the village of Wellington’s March election.

More: Election 2022: Two Wellington, one Royal Palm Beach council members to face opponents

Tanya Siskind, who was appointed to the Village Council in 2016, then elected in 2018, faces challenges from real estate agent Karen Morris-Clarke and Tony Nelson, a member of one of the village's first Black families whose granddaughter was targeted in a racist encounter that went viral in 2020. If elected, Nelson would be the village’s first Black elected official.

Vice Mayor John T. McGovern, in office since 2015, is running against Johnny H. Meier, who owns My Community Pharmacy.

Just over 43,000 voters are eligible to cast a ballot in the village.

West Palm Beach

One City Commission race will be decided by voters of West Palm Beach, where just shy of 70,000 voters are eligible.

Two candidates have emerged to fill the District 1 seat, currently held by Commissioner Kelly Shoaf. Pastor and perennial candidate Martina Tate Walker faces attorney Cathleen Ward. Shoaf is not seeking re-election.

Palm Beach Post reporters Katherine Kokal, Jorge Milian and Wayne Washington contributed to this report.

@mannahhorse

hmorse@pbpost.com

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: City-by-city municipal election candidates, races in Palm Beach County