PACs enter Juno Beach election

Critical mailers, video target town candidates

JUNO BEACH – At least four political action committees have inserted themselves into the March 19 Juno Beach Town Council races and are a force driving a small-town election that normally would be decided by about 600 voters.

Three have blitzed residents with mailers accusing two candidates of various offenses, including favoring developers at a time when two sizable residential projects — Pulte Homes’ townhomes and Caretta condominiums at Donald Ross Road and U.S. 1 — are in the works. A fourth PAC has produced a video disparaging one candidate.

Juno Beach has about 3,800 residents and about 3,000 registered voters. Typically, only about 20% of voters cast ballots in local elections. Persuading just 100 people out of the 600 or so who usually vote could mean victory.

Little is known about three of the

PACs, which are headquartered in parts of Florida hundreds of miles from Juno Beach. The people listed as leading them declined multiple requests for comment. How much money each has spent on the Juno Beach election is unclear.

The fourth is run by a former candidate for the Palm Beach Gardens City Council who told The Palm Beach Post that his PAC became involved to support longtime council member Peggy Wheeler’s bid to become mayor. Wheeler, a Realtor and a public notary, said she does not know the man and did not ask for his help.

Wheeler is running against incumbent Alexander Cooke for mayor and many of the mailers have targeted Cooke, who is the CEO of a wealth management company. Others have taken aim at attorney Diana Davis, who is vying with first-time candidate Dean Anthon for Seat 5.

Wheeler and Anthon, who has worked in private equity and venture capital, say they have no idea who is driving the attacks on Cooke and Davis