Royal Palm Beach swears in council, selects vice mayor
ROYAL PALM BEACH — Royal Palm Beach’s council will remain the same for at least another year, after two members were re-elected last week and one was elected unopposed.
The trio — Mayor Fred Pinto and council members Selena Smith and Jeff Hmara — were sworn in before Thursday’s council meeting.
Pinto thanked his wife Donielle — who blew him a kiss from the audience — and his son, and said he’s excited to get back to work after a grueling race against former councilwoman Martha Webster for the mayor’s seat.
“We have been able to keep things on track and keep the village going in the right direction,” he said.
Smith said the election was an emotional experience. She thanked voters for “the opportunity again to serve the village.”
After being re-elected unopposed, Hmara joked his campaign was “tiring, but it worked out well . ... I look forward to working for and with everybody in Royal Palm Beach.”
Smith was appointed to be the village’s new vice mayor, taking over the role from Councilman Richard Valun- tas. The position changes hands each year in a rotation based on group. Valuntas, in the Group 2 seat, handed over the reins to Smith, in the Group 3 seat.
But Smith initially tried to defer to allow the position to go to Councilwoman Jan Rodusky, who in the Group 4 seat would have to wait another year. Rodusky is up for re-election next March.
Their fellow council members declined to support the move. “I like the process,” Hmara said. “It’s worked for us in the past, and if that’s OK, I would like to keep the process in place.”