Delray Beach City Commission
For Seats 1 & 3, choose Camacho, Boylston For mayor, Jim Chard the better bet
Voters need a good reason to choose an inexperienced candidate over a veteran. In the Delray Beach City Commission Seat 1 race, voters have that reason.
Adam Frankel served on the commission from 2009 until 2015. During that time, he compiled a terrible record.
Frankel voted to extend the trash-hauling contract without bidding. The next commission — over Frankel’s objections — got the contract thrown out and saved residents roughly $8 million. Frankel refused to fire a bad city manager for cause. The city finally had to pay him a $75,000 settlement.
Frankel voted in December 2012 for the Atlantic Crossing project that most residents believe is too big for the two blocks west of Veterans Park. In 2014, he voted for a deal with the developers of the Auburn Trace apartment complex despite opposition from the city’s finance office and Auburn Trace residents. The deal, which violated state law, could have cost the city $4 million.
As an attorney, Frankel also represented defendants from the drug treatment industry. Given all the problems that industry has brought Delray Beach, Frankel’s decision was bad. His explanation is worse.
“I have to pay bills,” Frankel told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. “They’re entitled to representation and I’m entitled to make a living.” The defendants had a new lawyer when they pleaded guilty to patient brokering — treatment centers paying sober homes to refer clients — but Frankel astonishingly questions whether patient brokering should be a crime.
Frankel’s opponent for the open seat is Eric Camacho, an information technology specialist with Delray Beach-based WMPH Vacations. Though he has served on no city board, Camacho regularly attends commission meetings and has volunteered at downtown events.
Camacho may lack experience, but he’s better on issues. Frankel would raid reserves to reduce taxes. Camacho would not, saying the city needs to address infrastructure and climate change demands. Frankel calls education a county and state issue. Camacho understands and embraces ideas from Delray Beach’s education board to improve city schools and attract middleclass families.
Frankel’s return would weaken the commission. The Sun Sentinel recommends Eric Camacho for Seat 1 on the Delray Beach City Commission. ----In Seat 3, incumbent Mitch Katz faces a challenge from Ryan Boylston. This race is a much tougher call than Seat 1.
Boylston, the owner of Woo Creative, has an impressive record of civic involvement. He is a past chairman of the Downtown Development Authority and serves on the education board. The city could benefit from having a downtown business owner on the commission.
As the Coastal Star reported, though, the DDA ran ads in Boylston’s monthly newspaper when he was on the board. Boylston said the board voted on the overall budget, not individual items. In 2015, Boylston challenged the supervisor of elections ruling that he lacked enough signatures to make the ballot, basically blaming the city clerk. He lost.
Boylston also defends the 25-year contract with the promoter of the annual pro tennis event, even though the commission has sued to void the contract because it was not put out for bid. He has received a $1,000 contribution from the promoter. Boylston said he believes that the city benefits from the exposure the tournament provides.
Katz has had his own issues. As we noted in the mayoral endorsement, Katz was unprofessional and inaccurate in accusing former Commissioner Jordana Jarjura of an ethics violation concerning the hiring of a city attorney. He and Shelly Petrolia ignored overwhelming community sentiment for a candidate to fill a commission vacancy a year ago, leaving the seat unfilled.
Katz also joined Petrolia in campaigning for two failed candidates in last year’s election. He voted against the iPic project despite the developer making concessions that addressed some of his questions. He opposed a tree-trimming project along the beach even though all the city’s hired experts recommended that the commission approve it.
Boylston said the commission “must be more collaborative.” That doesn’t mean universal agreement, but the commission must stop giving business owners and investors reason to bypass the city. Capital investment likes stability, and Delray Beach needs capital investment beyond condos and restaurants.
That’s why so many residents urged the commission to ignore the social media crowd and approve iPic. Delray Beach also needs to prioritize public investment — such as infrastructure to deal with climate change — over token decreases in the tax rate. Boylston said of his door-to-door campaigning, “No one has said, ‘Lower my taxes.’ ”
Boylston and Katz agree on the need for Delray Beach to enact more sober home regulations if needed. They disagree on the city attorney. Katz likes the current hybrid system — a private attorney leading three city lawyers — while Boylston wants Delray
Two city commissioners are running on March 13 to become Delray Beach’s next mayor. One has less experience on the commission, but a better temperament for the job.
Jim Chard was elected a year ago. Shelly Petrolia went on the commission in 2013. She ran as a reformer, essentially on a slate with Cary Glickstein, who became mayor the same year.
With like-minded Jordana Jarjura, Petrolia and Glickstein successfully challenged the trash-hauling contract that the previous commission had extended without bidding — and got a better deal. They forced out a bad city manager, whom the previous commission had hired. They approved a deal for the Auburn Trace apartments that brought the city about $10 million and gave residents a nicer home.
Eventually, however, Petrolia broke with Glickstein and Jarjura. She appeared to take personally votes that went against her — notably approval of the iPic project, which Glickstein and Jarjura supported.
Petrolia indulged a social media chatterer who was attacking Jarjura on a personal basis. When Commissioner Mitch Katz — from the dais — wrongly accused Jarjura of an ethics conflict, Petrolia was the only commissioner who did not tell Katz he was out of line.
A year ago, Petrolia and Katz refused to fill a three-month commission vacancy with the applicant who had widespread community support. In last year’s election, Petrolia joined Katz in campaigning against Chard and Shirley Ervin Johnson. Both won handily.
Finally, Petrolia has filed two vindictive complaints with the Palm Beach County Office of Inspector General against her commission colleagues. One concerned the iPic vote. It was dismissed. Another is what she considered the “excessive” purchase last December of lifeguard stands. The price was high — $1.16 million for eight stands. Discussion, though, showed that Delray Beach’s specifications drove much
Beach again to have a full-time city attorney.
We favor Boylston because only a more cohesive commission can allow Delray Beach to make progress on issues such as education and improve the city’s image. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Ryan Boylston for Seat 3 on the Delray of the increase from stands in other cities. Petrolia thus has morphed from constructive critic to more of a grouch.
Though a commission newbie, Chard has a strong record of civic involvement. He served on the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board and the Congress Avenue Task Force, the latter designed to spur redevelopment of that key corridor west of Interstate 95. Chard also attends meetings of the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Sober Homes Task Force.
Petrolia announced her candidacy last fall. When Glickstein later said he wouldn’t seek another term, Chard got in. Petrolia said she has “protected quality of life” and touts her experience. Chard called that “a fake argument. There are few areas (of the city) I have not been involved in.”
Petrolia noted that the city’s tax rate has come down slightly over the last five years. But, like Chard, she acknowledged that Delray Beach might need to issue a bond to complete the estimated $250 million worth of basic infrastructure projects. Chard points out, correctly, that the next commission likely will have to deal with the effects of a voter-approved increase in the homestead exemption.
Chard and Petrolia agree on other issues besides infrastructure. They support the city’s regulation of sober homes and are open to enacting more. They support the policy that reduced downtown events. They want the CRA to move faster on West Atlantic Avenue redevelopment, though Petrolia voted for the commission to take over the agency and Chard voted against.
Chard understands better that Delray Beach must increase its commercial property tax base. The city needs economic development to complement all the new residential. iPic, for example, will bring its headquarters and will offer a new amenity downtown.
As in most cities, Delray Beach’s mayor is first among equals. Still, the mayor runs the meetings and must ensure that the commission is working collectively. Chard is more suited to that job. The Sun Sentinel recommends Jim Chard for mayor of Delray Beach.
Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Elana Simms, Andy Reid and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.
Beach City Commission.
Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Elana Simms, Andy Reid and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.