West Palm Beach election: Cathleen Ward wins District 1 seat, will succeed outgoing Kelly Shoaf
Cathleen Ward thanked supporters and promised to get to work Wednesday after voters in West Palm Beach's Northend chose her to succeed outgoing District 1 city commissioner Kelly Shoaf.
"I'm thankful to the voters for their support," said Ward, a 32-year old attorney making her first run for public office. "I'm ready to get to work and use my neighborhood and business experience to serve District 1 and all the residents of West Palm Beach."
With some mail-in ballots still left uncounted, unofficial results from Tuesday's municipal elections show that Ward handily defeated Martina Tate-Walker, a 73-year old pastor who has now made unsuccessful bids for the District 1 commission seat in each of the past four elections.
As of Wednesday morning, Ward had 6,031 votes – 71.7% of the ballots counted in the race – compared to Tate-Walker's 2,378 votes, which was 28.3% of the ballots counted.
District 1 stretches from Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard in the south to the city's northern border.
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Ward had the backing of much of the city's development and business class and raised far more money than Walker.
She had served on the city's Planning Board after Shoaf suggested the move as a way for her to get more involved in government.
Ward serves as chairwoman of the Northend Coalition of Neighborhoods, which works to improve public safety and other quality of life concerns, and as a board member of the Neighborhood Renaissance, which works to create more affordable housing.
Shoaf, a first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2020, decided against running for a third term citing the demands of her work in the construction and renovation business.
Ward campaigned on job creation, the construction of more affordable housing, improving public safety and protecting the city's water supply.
Some residents of the Northend have complained about crime in their part of the city, though overall trends show crime has been reduced.
Still, Ward said she'd like to see the city continue making progress in adding more police officers to its force.
The city and the union representing Police Department employees agreed last year to a new contract that provided the employees with large pay increases.
Ward has said she believes the raises were a necessary step in the right direction that will eventually mean more police – and an improvement in public safety.
Water was an issue for many in the city last summer when an algal toxin contamination forced some of the city's water customers to use bottled water for a week.
The city is seeking to mix in more groundwater from the lake water that serve as its primary sources of water to lessen the chances of future contaminations.
Even as West Palm Beach looks to bolster the safety of its drinking water, it has experienced a building boom, one that has brought new development across different parts of the city, including to the Northend.
"This is an important time in West Palm Beach's history, and I'm looking forward to helping shape our city's future," Ward said.
wwashington@pbpost.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach election: Cathleen Ward handily wins Northend race
