Palm Beach Post Editorial Board endorsement: Deandre Poole for port commissioner, District 5 Democratic primary
The Palm Beach Post endorses Deandre Poole for the Group 5 seat on the Port of Palm Beach District 5 commission seat.
Born and raised in West Palm Beach's historic Pleasant City neighborhood, Poole is a senior instructor in communications and multimedia studies at Florida Atlantic University. He's a thoughtful man who has held various positions of public responsibility and who holds the port's continued economic growth as his top priority for the commission seat.
He has served as president of the FAU faculty union for four years, and as board secretary for Scholastic Achievement Foundation of Palm Beach County. He previously was vice chair of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party; chaired the City of West Palm Beach's Criminal Justice Advisory Committee; and the Coalition for Black Student Achievement of Palm Beach County and the Academic Advisory Committee of the county's school district.
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The 4th-busiest of 14 Florida seaports, the Port of Palm Beach has long served as an economic engine for the county and South Florida, as an entry point with rail and road connections for building materials and other crucial supplies, as a cruise port and as a grocery supplier and lifeline to The Bahamas and Caribbean islands. Its five commissioners and executive director work to improve port efficiency, build its economic potential and to support thousands of jobs directly and indirectly as commerce expands.
Poole says he would help seek opportunities to expand port business, to keep its harbor properly dredged, to create local jobs and build relations with Riviera Beach, where the port is located. He would support creation of an inland port to ease transshipments, if a private developer spearheaded such a move.
"The key to expanding Port business is to first insure the inlet is maintained at its full operational draft all year long," he said. "The Port should be able to double its rail container capacity with the right infrastructure and facilities in place to support such an increase."
In the Aug. 23 Democratic primary, Poole faces lawyer Varisa Dass, a former prosecutor and former assistant public defender; and Michael Joseph Whalen. (Whalen did not respond to an interview request.) Dass, also a pro-growth candidate for port commission, serves on West Palm Beach's Downtown Development Authority and said she would hold on to that position if elected.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Roderick Oliver Clarke in the November general election. Clarke did not have a primary challenger.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Elections 2022: Post endorses Poole for port commissioner, District 5
