Richard Guercio Memorial and Celebration of Life

Photo from February 16, 2018

Richard J Guercio

Richard J Guercio touched the lives of many with his kindness and trademark smile. He lived with passion and purpose, embracing life's experiences with an open heart. He was one part Cary Grant, one part Dean Martin, one part Jimmy Buffett — all shaken together, double tall glass. And Lake Worth Beach will be less colorful, less quirky and less fun without him.

Memorial Service
Friday, Feb. 28, 2-4 p.m.
Del Lago Chapel
131 S. Lakeside Drive
Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460

Celebration of Life
Friday, Feb. 28, 4-6 p.m.
The Beach Club
One 7th Ave. N
Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460

Richard Guercio on the Issues

A few Q & A's from the Palm Beach Post Interview:

Do you support growth in your community?
We have a mountain of vacant properties. Growth needs to be complimentary, maintaining the character and flavor of the immediate surroundings. We need to look at height limits, certainly west of I-95 and in some areas, west of Dixie Highway. Ad valorem income had dropped from $16.6mm to $5.6mm post banking crisis. With Save our Homes, we only recoup 3% per year on homesteaded properties and 10% on the rest. Our 2019 projected income is $9.6mm, so increasing our tax base is essential.

Do you think the city manager is doing a good job?
This is not a yes, or no answer. We'd be hard pressed to find someone as talented as our CM. He has assembled an excellent team of department heads that I've had the great pleasure to work closely with and they do a fine job. The issue is authority. Our CM has been given a long leash by this Commission, too long in my view. He needs to be reeled in and stick to what his parameters are. This is, in many ways, the fault of the Commission.

Is your city wisely spending its share of the county sales tax money?
Another question that does not carry a yes, or no answer.
Yes - license plate readers, cameras in crime hot-spots and matching money to the grant for the Park of Commerce.
No - funneling money through the CRA - without public input - to build parking garages downtown This needs to be a more open process with more citizen input.

Vote Richard for a Better Lake Worth

Richard Guercio for District 4

It's about Trust - Richard Guercio

Found on the Internet, written by Chip Guthrie. I am posting it here because it is an explanation on Richard and how I feel about him overall.

Trust is not the only quality he has going for him--intellect and integrity are two important ones as well and if you have concerns on any of his positions, he will fully explain them,  but more importantly, he will listen. Gee, maybe I'll get someone to return my calls or e-mails for a change...that would be refreshing.

March 12 ballot

Amendments:

1. NAME CHANGE TO THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH BEACH.
IN ORDER TO DISTINGUISH ITSELF FROM SURROUNDING UNINCORPORATED AREAS, SHALL ARTICLE I, SECTION 1 OF THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH CHARTER ENTITLED “CITY CREATED” BE AMENDED TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE CITY FROM THE “CITY OF LAKE WORTH” TO THE “CITY OF LAKE WORTH BEACH?”
VOTE NO

2. SALE OF DOWNTOWN PROPERTY TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENHANCE REDEVELOPMENT.
IN ORDER TO IMPROVE DOWNTOWN INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENHANCE REDEVELOPMENT, SHALL THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH BE AUTHORIZED TO SELL CITY PROPERTY AT 501 LAKE AVENUE IN DOWNTOWN LAKE WORTH WITH ALL PROCEEDS USED EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN DOWNTOWN LAKE WORTH?
VOTE NO

VOTE HARDY & GUERCIO

This is to state that I have nothing against Omari Hardy's opponent. I don't know her but I have seen Omari in action over the past two years and he is all for Lake Worth and most of the issues that I approve on a local level. He is smart as a whip and the rest of the dais constantly wants to shut him up. He keeps his cool during those encounters and does not allow to be deterred. That's a good enough reason for me to vote for him again. He is the lone voice on the dais that reads the back-up and does the necessary research. He is not a puppet of the city manager.

Richard Guercio in District 4 is simply the best candidate and will represent Lake Worth well. He won't be intimidated by Scott Maxwell or the city manager. He will ask the tough questions and will get to the bottom of all issues and come up with the right answers. He will hold the city manager accountable to commission policy. He will be there for the residents--people over politics.

Richard Guercio's campaign banner

So all can see, Richard's banner is being displayed at Greenline on Lake Avenue. Only 16 days until the election where we elect someone really smart who will stand up and be a voice on the commission for common sense and not a puppet of the administration.

Candidate Debate at The Beach Club

I got to the debate early (it didn't start until 7pm) so that I could order dinner and not disturb the candidates while they were center stage. However, there was still a lot of noise in the room as the connecting bar area was packed with patrons having fun.

The main room at The Beach Club was filled to capacity with standing room only. It was a really great debate, probably the best I have ever attended for a neighborhood association. All the candidates were effective and even some who did not fare so well at the Playhouse debate did extremely well last night. I enjoyed them all. They each answered the same questions with no rebuttals. It went smoothly and efficiently.

So now we all have to decide in just three weeks who will make the best commissioner in District 1 and District 4. Besides the candidates, the important decisions on the ballot are two amendments:  change the name of our city and sell off 501 Lake Avenue, our old Chamber of Commerce building.

So, if you are against these two amendments and believe as I do that changing the name of our city that has been in existence for 106 years would be a travesty of the first order and selling off our beautiful historic building downtown is a bad decision brought forward by the city, there is only one candidate that fits the bill--Richard Guercio.

Omari, Cathy, Richard, Tom, Herman

March 12 Election

Richard Guercio - Lake Worth First

Richard Guercio, candidate for District 4 Commissioner Lake Worth

Last evening I attended a Meet & Greet at Gwen and Michael's house on N. Golfview. It was great talking with Richard about his view for our great little city. Primarily I wanted to hear his thoughts on the issues near and dear to my heart:

• Changing the name of our city: He believes there is a better way to separate us from crime stats that are being attributed to us when in fact they are happening out of our city limits. He is working with the United States Postal Service to remove Lake Worth from all zip codes outside our borders. On top of that, Lake Worth has been our name for 106 years. We should be embracing and honoring our history.

• Our Pool and Beach park: He does not want to sell our assets at the beach or make it private but believes a public/private partnership is necessary that will be responsible to maintain our most important asset. He talked about including a parking decal to pool members, a separate pass from residents' decals.

• Our Golf Course: Wants to maintain it and make it a great course once again. It's a beautiful asset on the Intracoastal waterway...something we must cherish and preserve.

Of all the candidates, Richard is the most qualified to be a policy maker for our city. He believes that the present dais is dysfunctional with commissioners having personal agendas. He wants to bring professionalism back to the city. You and the city are his only priorities. Lake Worth First is the motto.

Any questions, please call him at 561-329-6961 or reach him on Facebook.

People aren't innocent until proven guilty in his book

In this country you are innocent until proven guilty---but don't let politics enter that equation.

The following is a post from Steve Ellman, Lake Worth's liberal Alt-Left Democrat as it appeared on Facebook. It's always politics over common sense with some people, mostly Democrats. Steve used to be an advocate for truth in local politics but it seems he has strayed just as far as all Democrats have and has brought national politics into our local elections, taking the side of the establishment over a fellow citizen and 100% discounting due process by prejudging. Here is his abhorrent comment--

Steve Ellman
February 5 at 3:23 PM

Having read the city file on Richard J Guercio's dismissal from the FAB -- in which he presumes to overrule the city attorney and city manager on matters of law and official procedure -- it's clear that he lacks the temperament to hold an official position.

Richard Guercio, Candidate for City Commissioner District 4 and as former chair of the Finance Advisory board gave his explanation on the firing...Meeting of 1-15-19

Richard Guercio featured on Podcast - Shooting the Breeze on Lake Worth

I am Lake Worth Podcast featuring candidate Richard Guercio for Commissioner District 4.

Candidates on Lake Worth name change

Lake Worth or Lake Worth Beach? What do the candidates say?

Omari Hardy: NO on changing name of our city
Cathy Turk: YES on name change

Herman Robinson: YES on name change
Richard Guercio: NO
Tom Copeland: YES
William Joseph: No opinion

There are only two candidates to vote for:  Omari Hardy in District 1 and Richard Guercio in District 4, not only for their stand on the city retaining its name, but for many other issues as well that benefit our health and welfare.

Read the article...

Lake Worth's Commission Candidates

Read Kevin D. Thompson's article on the Lake Worth election.

As I said on the PBPost article, "Omari Hardy is not into his own self-interests.  He is one of the few commissioners who ever does research or even reads the back-up. He is NOT a puppet to the city manager.

As far as Richard Guercio,  he is highly intelligent and would make a great commissioner.  He won't be a puppet either. I believe he was a thorn in the side of city management thus they derived an excuse to kick him off the Finance Advisory Board." Sometimes management does not want to answer too many questions or be forthcoming in information dissemination.

Meet & Greet today for Richard Guercio

On a Scale of 1 - 5 - Last Night's Candidate Forum

With #1 being the best--

I always surprise myself---choosing an ultra-liberal such as Omari as Top Dog at last night's NAPC Candidate debate. He was the most articulate and intelligible of all the candidates and I agreed with his platform. He looked professional and sounded the same, does his research and hones in on the goal. I swear, he must have been on the debating team at the U of Miami.

I do want to give credit to all the candidates. This ranking is not meant to insult anyone. It's not an easy job running for office as a lot of former candidates and commissioners will attest. All candidates, especially the newbees, will improve their skills as they debate at neighborhood associations within the next month or so. This ranking very well could change!

Let me know what you think of the "debate" and the rankings above. Who do you feel stood out from the pack?

The Video of last night's forum

Richard Guercio Meet & Greet

City Commission Meeting of 1-15-19 and Richard Guercio

Scroll to 1:06 and listen to Richard Guercio's powerful testimony regarding the city administration as well as the vice mayor to shut him up while he was Chair of the city's Finance Advisory Board. He spoke for 15 minutes as other residents gave up their time to Mr. Guercio to allow him to present his case to the public and clear the air.

Richard Guercio for Lake Worth Commissioner District 4

If you don't know Richard, you need to attend his Kick-Off Meet & Greet. Richard is highly qualified with an impressive resume.  You need to meet Richard.

Read Richard's message

Facebook page

Richard Guercio presents his logo for District 4 Commissioner

Richard says,

" I’m running a campaign based on issues, policy and record. Mine is a record of public comment and advice over the years, both from the podium and my time as a member, and then Chair of, the Finance Advisory Board and Bond Oversight Committee. I am proud of this record and fully stand by it.

There is much to do in the coming days and weeks regarding organization, personnel, etc. and of course, fundraising. There will be a website and Facebook page set up soon and I will certainly announce their arrival when ready. Stay tuned.

I face three good men in Herman Robinson, William Joseph and Tommy Copeland. I wish them well in their campaigns and look forward to spirited debate in the months to come.

If you have any questions, you know where to find me."

Thanks…Richard.