School Board member is sworn in despite concerns
Alexandria Ayala started a tenure as the first Hispanic woman to serve on the Palm Beach County School Board on Tuesday, but the historic day was shrouded by questions about whether she lives in the district shewas elected to serve.
As she was sworn in by Judge Ashley Zuckerman, Ayala pledged she was “duly qualified to hold office.” She recognized her family, partner Rob Long, voters and supporters, the Hispanic community.
“We’ve made history together,” Ayala, who was born in Puerto Rico, said of her Aug. 18 election. ““This victory is shared by every single member of our community.”
Missing was any mention of a controversy over a Delray Beach home purchase that raised questions about whether she is allowed to represent District2, an area in central county that includes Palm
Springs and portions of LakeWorth andWestPalm Beach.
If Florida Gov. Ron De San tis were to take action in response to complaints, hewould have the ability to suspend her and appoint a replacement. The Senate would have to uphold any suspension to make it permanent. DeSantis’office did not respond to requests for commentTuesday.
The issue surrounds a $515,000 house Ayala bought in July with Long, chairmanof thePalmBeach Soil andWater Conservation District. The purchase came a few weeks after Ayala qualified to run for the District2seat, using the address of thePalmSprings
homeownedby hermother, KellyMontalvo.
The federally backed mortgage says the house in Delray Beach must be her primary residence for at least a year. But state law says to be a School Board member, her primary residencemustbe inthe district where shewas elected.
Ayala said her partner needed a co-signer for the 3,000-square-foot house, but he lives there alone, while she lives with her motherin the 1,000-squarefoot house in Palm Springs. She said she’s taking steps to remove herself from the home purchase.
“The legal paperwork has been filed withmy title company and will be filed with the Property Appraiser as required. I amno longer an owner of the property,” she saidMonday night.
She said this had already beenherplan, “as I intend to continue living inmyhome in Palm Springs where my residence inthedistrict that electedmeto servehasbeen firmly established.”
However, experts say the problem isn’t whether her name is on the house, but whethershe lives there, and she can’tmeet the terms of the mortgage as long as she lives with her mother.
She said she is working with the lender, PennyMac Loan Services, to get the name taken off the mortgage. While she said Long needed her to co-sign initially, “we’re past that now. There’s enough invested in the house. Iwas just helping him get to that point.”
She said she also is looking to buy her own homein District 2.
Her residency status has raised doubts fromRichard Giorgio, a political consultant who represented one of her opponents, Virginia Savietto, intheAugust election.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to buy the argument that she is going to spend the next four years living in her mother’s house, while her partner spends four years by himself in Delray Beach in a half-million dollar home,” Giorgio said. “That’s an absurd argument.”
Theissue could be investigated by the state Ethics Commission if someone files a formal complaint, said Bob Jarvis, a constitutional law professor with Nova Southeastern University in Davie.
“Thefact thathermother has a house in the district
and that she sometimes sleeps there is not enough,” he said Friday. “We really need to know where she lives ona day-to-day basis.”
He said unless her lender provides a letter saying that she doesn’t have to live there, she’s violating the terms of her mortgage if she continues to live with her mother.
“I think she’s in a really tough spot,” Jarvis said. “I don’t see her being able to give a satisfactory answer to all of these questions.”
Ayala is one of the youngest members to serve on the School Board in recent years. She’s also the first Hispanic elected to the post. Former Gov. Jeb Bush appointedEd Garcia, who is Hispanic, in 2002 to briefly fill a vacancy, but he quit before he could be elected.