Council Election Results
Congratulations to David Levy for winning another 3 years on the City Council. Congratulations also to James D’Loughy for running a good campaign and making the race unusually competitive. The voters have spoken (although only 11% of them did so), and it was good that they had a choice in this race.
From the graph below, you will see that David Levy maintains a strong base of support in Ballen Isles and PGA National, while Mr. D’Loughy picked up support in Frenchman’s Reserve and Creek, coming within 6 votes there.
Click on the map segment for detailed results for that precinct or refer to the table below.
| Precinct | Registered | Cast | Levy | D’Loughy | % Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1186 | 1459 | 153 | 67 | 86 | 10 |
| 1188 | 787 | 47 | 17 | 30 | 6 |
| 1190 | 2358 | 215 | 81 | 134 | 9 |
| 1192 | 1438 | 97 | 56 | 41 | 7 |
| 1194 | 1875 | 482 | 244 | 238 | 26 |
| 1238 | 1541 | 222 | 131 | 91 | 14 |
| 1240 | 2484 | 236 | 154 | 82 | 10 |
| 1242 | 2491 | 322 | 204 | 118 | 13 |
| 1244 | 1502 | 183 | 122 | 61 | 12 |
| 1246 | 2140 | 133 | 59 | 74 | 6 |
| 1248 | 1491 | 210 | 106 | 104 | 14 |
| 1250 | 70 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 19 |
| 1252 | 2272 | 726 | 573 | 153 | 32 |
| 1254 | 442 | 59 | 46 | 13 | 13 |
| 1260 | 1298 | 126 | 49 | 77 | 10 |
| 1264 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1266 | 563 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| 1268 | 302 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| 1270 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1272 | 1898 | 183 | 75 | 108 | 10 |
| 1274 | 1602 | 163 | 63 | 100 | 10 |
| 1280 | 436 | 30 | 13 | 17 | 7 |
| 1284 | 2268 | 119 | 101 | 17 | 5 |
| 1288 | 38 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 18 |
| 1290 | 2143 | 151 | 84 | 67 | 7 |
| 1292 | 61 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 15 |
| 1296 | 727 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 2 |
| 1306 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1310 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1324 | 1304 | 40 | 22 | 18 | 3 |
| 1326 | 588 | 52 | 25 | 27 | 9 |
| 1340 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1352 | 2067 | 125 | 69 | 56 | 6 |
| 1360 | 932 | 72 | 19 | 53 | 8 |
| 1372 | 149 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| TOTALS | 149 | 4217 | 2423 | 1793 | 10.9 |
Grassroots Groups Host Council Candidate Forum
On February 28, PBG Watch, along with the South Florida 912 and the Palm Beach County Tea Party, Taxpayer Action Board and the Palm Beach Gardens Residents Coalition hosted a candidate forum for City Council election, featuring former Mayor David Levy and challenger attorney James D’Loughy.. Moderated by Daniel Martell, CEO of the PBC Economic Council, the candidates were asked a set of questions about current issues facing our city, some of which proved to offer a real choice between the candidates. Present for the forum (and keeping them honest) was former Councilman and now County Commissioner Hal Valeche, and Councilman and former Mayor Eric Jablin.
The meeting was kicked off by the leaders of the sponsoring groups, including Shannon Armstrong, leader of South Florida 912, Michael Riordan, President of Palm Beach County Tea Party, Kevin Easton, President of Palm Beach Gardens Resident’s Coalition, and Fred and Iris Scheibl, co-founders of the Taxpayer Action Board (TAB) and PBG Watch. Timekeeping duties were performed by Barbara Grossman.
Below you will find a summary of the event, with the questions that were asked, and a link to a video of that section of the forum.
| Forum Questions | |
|---|---|
| Introductions: |  |
| Opening Statement:
James D’Loughy: Business attorney, bring business sense to the council David Levy: Environmental consultant, very accessible, will help solve people’s problems |
|
| Question 1, Budget and Spending: With property valuations bottoming out, there was less pressure this year on programs and tax rates. Assuming we see increasing valuations in future years, how can we prevent the explosion of spending that occurred during the last period of rising property values? What can you say to the employees who want raises and the special interests that want more funding for their programs?
James D’Loughy: We can prevent it by having some businessmen on the council who know about saving for a rainy day, not overcommitting to our employees and having to break deals with them after the fact. Believes in performance based raises, not across the board, to incent improvement. Across the board increases is socialism. You have to work with special interests but should make sure it benefits the taxpayer. David Levy: Started on the council in 2004 at the start of the real estate boom, weren’t spending like crazy – put 4-20M in the reserve fund, cut expenses by $9M during the recession by making govt more efficient, don’t expect to hire any more staff, nor expand the services we already have. Employees should occasionally get a cost of living adjustment because of inflation. Support 2% proposed raise since we cut back on staff and they are working harder than ever. |
|
| Question 2, Economic Development: Attracting businesses and jobs to the city can be approached in a number of ways. One is to provide tax incentives and outright payouts for infrastructure development like the county did with Scripps. Another is to subsidize private business directly. Another way is to make the city attractive as a place to create or expand a business by reducing the tax burden and simplifying the permitting process. What is your preferred approach to economic development?
James D’Loughy:Attract business by making this an attractive place to live and people will come. Keep density low and minimize traffic, call on retired top executives in the area like Jack Welch to attract companies from around the world, work with the BDB and Enterprise Florida, build businesses not more homes. David Levy:Proud of simplifying permitting – can now get one in 3 days, most business-friendly thing you can do, why so many business people supporting me. |
|
| Question 3, Environment: The city has many beautiful parks and green space that add to our quality of life, and areas that are environmentally sensitive have been protected. When the economy improves and more land is developed (specifically Vavrus Ranch), how would you maintain a balance between no-growth environmental activism and overly prolific development?
James D’Loughy:Respect private property rights, need balanced approach, preserve watersheds and envrionmentally sensitive areas. David Levy:We’ve been good at this, 40% of PBG is in conservation, best use of Vavrus is public use, financing of which we would need help from state or federal government. |
|
| Question 4, Ethics: The voters overwhelmingly approved the Inspector General and Ethics Ordinances and their application to municipal as well as county government. 15 cities (now 14) including Palm Beach Gardens have sued the county over the planned IG funding mechanism, but many would say it is an attempt to thwart the wishes of the voters. How should this standoff be resolved and what is your view of Karen Marcus’ proposal to de-fund the IG auditing function – an operation that the IG has said is central to any certified Inspector General operation?
James D’Loughy:Not proud of the city – lawsuits are a zero sum game, council as public servants have duty to listen to the electorate, city has been arrogant – IG would have cost $30K last year and they should have paid it, given the conviction of corrupt county politicians, we need the IG to insure transparency and good business practices David Levy:The City of PBG has always supported the Inspector General, but taxpayers were told it was funded by .25% of contracts but instead we have a system that we can’t estimate the amount – this is why WPB filed the lawsuit against the county and PBG joined them. Suit has gone on too long, PBG wants to be proactive and solve the lawsuit, the sooner the better |
|
| Question 5, Ethics: The city has been criticized by the IG and others for renewing the Waste Management contract without allowing competing bids, and placing the item on the agenda for a vote with no prior notice. What will you do if elected to insure an open and fair contracting process?
James D’Loughy:Responsibility to the taxpayer to get the best price – it is business 101 to bid it out when there are other companies who want to bid, Joe Russo voted against it and so would I have David Levy: In year 6 of 7 year contract, negotiated with Waste Management to see what they came up with, I think we got the best price, agreed to not raise rates in year 7, nor the next 5, we may have got a better price but I doubt it and am proud of what we did. |
|
| Question 6, Charter: The city attempted to “clean up” the charter and bring it into compliance with state law and practice with a 2012 ballot amendment which failed. The amendment was criticized as having been developed without a charter committee, and ignoring past proposals. What is the next step? What other charter issues should be considered (eg. term limits)
James D’Loughy: God forbid the founding fathers would have acted like that – having the city manager direct the city attorney to rewrite the charter, propasal was not understandable and I’m glad it failed, needs to be of the people, not of the government. David Levy: Tried to do too much too quickly, should form a charter review committee and have them add and subtract from the one that failed, then change it piecemeal over the next couple of years. |
|
| Selected Additional Questions from the Audience: Written questions submitted by the audience included topics on Vavrus development, annexations, term limits, voter turnout, truancy, council process, vision, pay raises, evaluation of the City Manager, and council member benefits. |
|
| Closing Statement: | |
PBG Watch Hosts Forum for City Council Candidates
Candidate Forum
Join us for an evening of in-depth discussion of city issues with the candidates for the March 12th election in Group 4. The seat has been vacant since former Mayor (and current candidate) David Levy resigned to run for the County Commission.
Moderated by Daniel Martell, President and CEO, of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
7:00 PM
Gardens Branch, Palm Beach County Library *
11303 Campus Drive
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
The candidates are:
For information, call 561-972-8789
This event is jointly sponsored by:
Palm Beach County Tea Party
Palm Beach Gardens Residents Coalition
PBGWatch
South Florida 912
* This program is not sponsored/endorsed by the Palm Beach County Library
Candidate Biographies
David Levy
Florida native David Levy was born in 1960 and is the owner of environmental engineering firm Southeast Remediation Technnology, and an adjunct professor in environmental geology at Palm Beach State College. He received a B.S in Geology from Florida State University, and a M.S. in Geological Services from Virginia Polytech.
He is the former Mayor of Palm Beach Gardens, and was a City Councilman from 2004 through 2012. County-wide, he chaired the League of Cities Environmental Committee, the Regional Hazardous Material Oversight Committee and the Water Resources Task Force, as well as participating with Workforce Alliance, the Biotech Land Advisory Board, and the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council.
James D’Loughy
James D’Loughy, is a long-time resident of Palm Beach Gardens. A lawyer of over 17 years, James is the founder of AdvisorLaw PLLC, a legal firm that represents clients in complex business matters. He helps individuals and small businesses alike protect their assets, resolve conflicts, and plan for a rainy day.
James’s knowledge of politics is informed by a degree in political science as well as experience working on Capitol Hill. Having worked on corporate transparency and compliance issues, James seeks to bring a new level of ethical governance to the Palm Beach Gardens City Council.
James lives with his wife, Anne Louise, his two daughters, Fredericka and Wilhelmina, and his newborn son, Maximilian, in Frenchman’s Reserve, where he volunteers his time as a member of the community’s governing body.
Moderator Biography
Daniel Martell
Daniel Martell is President and CEO of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, a not-for-profit, non-governmental, non- partisan organization established in 1975. Its members come from all geographic areas of the county, represent all major business categories and encompass all sizes of businesses. Its mission statement is simply, “Create an environment to help business prosper.”
Mr. Martell came to the Economic Council of Palm Beach County from local sugar company, Florida Crystals Corporation as Vice President of Real Estate. His responsibilities at Florida Crystals included overseeing local government affairs, corporate land development, and real estate investments.
Beginning his career as the Director of Government and Political Affairs for the Gold Coast Builders Association, he was responsible for the regulatory and political issues confronting the home building industry in Palm Beach and Broward counties. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Florida, Juris Doctor from the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University, and obtained a Certificate of Corporate Finance from Cornell University in 2011.
Palm Beach Gardens Municipal Election on March 12
Two of the seats on the 5 person City Council are up for election this year. In group 2, current Councilman and former Mayor Joe Russo is currently unopposed. In group 4, former Councilman and Mayor David Levy will face newcomer James D’Loughy.
Qualifying by petition ends on Monday, January 14, but candidates can still qualify by paying a fee up to January 31. For more information about this election, see: Posting of Election.
It should be noted that March municipal elections in the Gardens are low turnout affairs, and a candidate typically wins with votes from about 5% of the 35K registered voters. There is typically little media attention and the City itself does not promote the elections. It is only through the actions of concerned citizens that step forward to support a candidate that our government can be representative of the citizens. Tell your neighbors to get involved and VOTE on March 12.
Group 4 Candidates
James D’Loughy, a Republican, is the founder of Gardens law firm AdvisorLaw PLLC. He has a degree in Political Science as well as experience working on Capital Hill, and has lived and worked in Europe. His law practice represents clients in complex business matters. James is active in his Frenchman’s Reserve Homeowners Association, acting as a leader of the HOA board. As a Councilman, James would focus on promoting business development in the Gardens, improving ethics and transparency, and supporting the city’s first responders. James is married to Anne Louise D’Loughy and has three children Fredericka, Wilhelmina and his newborne son Maximilian.
David Levy, a Democrat, was first elected to the Council in 2004, beating Carl Sabatello in a run-off election after no candidate in a three way race achieved a majority. He was re-elected in 2007 against Michael O’Rourke,and again in 2010 against Rob Palladino. He served for 8 years until resigning in 2012 to run for the County Commission seat vacated by Karen Marcus. Losing that race, he wishes to return to the Council.
A Geologist by trade, with an MS in Geological Services, he is the owner of Southeast Remediation Technology and an adjunct professor in environmental geology at Palm Beach State College. He has regional experience working with the League of Cities Environmental Committee, the Regional Hazardous Material Oversight Committee and the Water Resources Task Force, as well as participating with Workforce Alliance, the Biotech Land Advisory Board, and the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council. He is married to Penny Levy and has two children Jacob and Gail.
Group 2 Candidate
Joe Russo, a Republican, was first elected to the Council in 1989 and has served for 24 years, many of them as Mayor. In recent years he has successfully defended his seat against Adrian Salee in 2004, and Pat Hughey in 2010 but was unnopposed in 2007 (and this year so far). Joe has a BS in Business Administration and is a self employed Certified Public Accountant and Financial Planner.
Have the Ballot Questions been Fairly Portrayed?
If you live in the city, chances are you have received at least one phone call and a mailer describing the two ballot questions. There was also a “tele-town hall” conducted by City Attorney Max Lohman in which several hundred people participated. These communications were part of the city’s campaign to educate the voters about the ballot issues. They were not supposed to take sides or suggest how you should vote.
Were they impartial? The Palm Beach Post didn’t think so. See: Palm Beach Gardens defends charter change flyers in wake of criticism
In the story, they quote Larry Casey, a local attorney, who thinks the flyers left out some important information.
The Flyer described Proposition One thusly:
“Proposition 1 would amend the Charter to modernize the document and bring it into compliance with State Law.” Examples they site are allowing for electronic banking, prohibiting removal of a sitting councilman by the other concilmen, and changing election scheduling so it won’t “disenfranchise military voters”. Sounds like a good thing, right?
What they don’t say is that among other things, Proposition One will also:
- Remove the requirement for the City Manager to live in the city
- Remove the requirement for an annual evaluation of the City Manager
- Limit the ability of the Council to affect hiring/firing decisions
- Remove the requirement for periodic review of the Charter
- Allow for appointment to vacated Council positions in lieu of a special election
- Remove the requirement for an annual audit
- Limits the ability of electors (citizens) to initiate ordinances or resolutions that relate in any way to money/taxes/salaries
Are these the changes you would like to see? If so, vote YES. It is all or nothing though, so if you object to any of these you should vote NO.
Proposition Two would allow the Council to grant tax exemptions to current and future businesses under certain conditions. The county government has this ability and is asking to continue it in the county Proposition Two. While it adds something to the toolbox of “economic incentives” available to the city, it is one more avenue for taxpayer funds (or expected revenue) to flow to those businesses “favored” by City Government. If you are OK with that, vote YES. If you object to the government “picking winners and losers”, vote NO.
The Presidential election will see a relatively high turnout. In Palm Beach Gardens, there could be as many as 25,000 voters. Given that a typical March municipal election draws about 3,000 and many do not pay attention to city government and the result is hard to predict. Make up your own mind on these amendments and tell your friends and family about them.
District One Races for County Commission and School Board
On October 1, TAB, along with the South Florida 912 and the Palm Beach County Tea Party, hosted a candidate forum for County Commission district 1 and School Board district 1. Moderated by Steve Rosenblum of the blogTalkRadio show “CRF Radio with Steve and Daria”, the candidates were asked a set of questions about current issues facing their respective bodies, some of which proved to offer a real choice between the candidates. Present for the forum (and keeping them honest) was outgoing Commissioner Karen Marcus, who we thank for her service, and several of Mayor Levy’s councilmen, Bert Premuroso and Eric Jablin.
October 1 Forum for County Commission and School Board
Candidate Forum
Join us for an evening of in-depth discussion of county issues with the candidates competing to replace outgoing County Commissioner Karen Marcus and School Board member Monroe Benaim.
Moderated by Steve Rosenblum, former candidate for Florida House and host of the “CRF Radio with Steve and Daria” show on BlogTalkRadio
October 1, 2012
6:00pm buffet ($15), 7:00 Program
Abacoa Golf Club
105 Barbados Drive, Jupiter, Florida 33458
The candidates are:
This event is jointly sponsored by:
Palm Beach County Tea Party
South Florida 912
Candidate Biographies
David Levy
Florida native David Levy was born in 1960 and is the owner of environmental engineering firm Southeast Remediation Technnology, and an adjunct professor in environmental geology at Palm Beach State College. He received a B.S in Geology from Florida State University, and a M.S. in Geological Services from Virginia Polytech.
He is currently Mayor of Palm Beach Gardens, and has been a City Councilman since 2004. County-wide, he chairs the League of Cities Environmental Committee, the Regional Hazardous Material Oversight Committee and the Water Resources Task Force, as well as participating with Workforce Alliance, the Biotech Land Advisory Board, and the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council.
David’s campaign issues are streamlining the county permitting process, creating an attractive environment for new businesses, supporting FAU Research Park and additional biotech startups, and protecting the environment, particularly water resources.
Hal Valeche
Hal Valeche was born in 1948, grew up in New York and received a degree in American Studies from Yale. Joining the Navy flight program during the Vietnam era, he flew 85 combat missions as a fighter pilot off the carrier USS Oriskany. After the Navy, Hal received an MBA in Finance from Wharton and returned to NYC to work as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch. Hal has been a Palm Beach County resident since the early ’90s, and works in venture capital for Carl Domino, Inc.
In 2002 he was elected to the Board of the Northern PBC Improvement District and won a seat on the Palm Beach Gardens City Council in 2004, serving two terms. He also served on the board of the League of Cities, chaired the Consumer Affairs Hearing Board and was active in philanthropic endeavors. In 2008, He ran for Congress in District 16, losing to Tom Rooney in the Republican primary.
Hal is a fiscal conservative and founded the Taxpayer Action Network, a budget watchdog, and has been a participant in the Taxpayer Action Board.
In the 2012 Republican primary, Hal won 67% of the vote, defeating Dan Amero (27%) and Harry Gaboian (6%).
Christina Jax
Christine Jax was born in 1959 and lives in West Palm Beach’s Osprey Isles. She has a PhD in Education policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota, an MA in Public Administration from Hamline University, and a BA in child Psychology, also from U. Minnesota.
She was Minnesota Commissioner of Education under Governor Jesse Ventura and briefly ran for Governor of that state as an Independent Party candidate. She is currently listed on the staff roster of Walden University in Minneapolis, an online university, as Associate Dean, Doctoral Programs.
Ms. Jax has been endorsed by both the PBA and BizPAC. She was the only candidate of the original five to support high stakes testing and believes schools and teachers should be measured.
Her bio is quite extensive, with a significant array of awards won, papers written, and she is nationally known as an education expert.
Mike Murgio
Bio provided by candidate:
Mike Murgio was born in 1950 and has been a Palm Beach county resident for 39 years. He has a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Education from William Paterson University in New Jersey. He was a teacher, then a school principal for 20 years. Because of his extensive business expertise as a general and roofing contractor he was called on to solve overcrowding in our Schools in the mid 1990’s. As Principal on Special Assignment he managed the departments of Planning & Real Estate, Architect Services, and Facilities & Construction Management with budgets in excess of $170 million and 120 employees. Mike retired from the School District in 2007.
Mike has been endorsed by Palm Beach County’s most highly respected leaders who have worked closely with him for over three decades. To name a few: County Commissioner Karen Marcus; former principal of Suncoast High School, Kay Carnes; David Talley, former Chairman of the North Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce; former principal of Bak Middle School of the Arts and Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Amelia Ostrosky; and former school superintendents Tom Mills and Bill Malone. They know first hand the expertise, quality and commitment he will bring to the school board. When elected Mike will ensure students are the priority.
Two PBG Ballot Questions for November Election
The fall election will have a complicated ballot. Way down at the end, on the back of page 2 of the ballot, beyond the candidates, beyond the 11 State Constitutional Amendments and past the two Palm Beach County questions, are the following:
Proposition 1 – Amendment of the City Charter
Proposition 1 asks:
“SHALL THE CITY CHARTER OF PALM BEACH GARDENS, ADOPTED IN 1976, BE AMENDED AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 1 OF ORDINANCE 20, 2012 OF THE CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS?”
and
Proposition 2 – Property Tax Exemptions
Proposition 2 asks:
“SHALL THE CITY COUNCIL BE AUTHORIZED TO GRANT, PURSUANT TO S. 3. ART VII OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION, PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS TO NEW BUSINESSES AND EXPANSIONS OF EXISTING BUSINESSES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO CREATE NEW FULL-TIME JOBS IN THE CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS?
For details and background, see PBG Ballot Questions