Lake Worth Beach Mayoral Contest

4 Candidates Run For Mayor Of Lake Worth Beach

Election Spotlight
4 Candidates Run For Mayor Of Lake Worth Beach
By Joel Malkin
Feb 8, 2024

With the municipal elections coming in Palm Beach County on March 19, Lake Worth Beach is in our election spotlight.

There are three races in the city and in this entry we'll focus on the one for mayor.

    1. Incumbent Betty Resch, whose an attorney by trade, wants a second term and hangs her hat on improvements to the city's electric utility. "I am very proud of the fact that for the first time, the city electric utility has a storm fund and a rate stabilization fund."

She says these two funds mean the city has the money to pay other power companies to be on standby to help restore power in the event a storm looks ready to strike and they can keep electric rates competitive. Lake Worth Beach is the only municipality in Palm Beach County with its own electric utility.

The mayor also takes credit for having the water tower painted like a beach ball as a way to tell the world that Lake Worth Beach is a "fun beach town."

    2. One of Resch's three challengers is former City Commissioner Andy Amoroso, who says she has been unable to keep the commission focused.

"Right now I feel the city is broken. That's why I'm jumping back in the race. We have no city manager. We have senior staff and staff that's leaving. Since 2020, we have almost 150 people resign."

The City Council voted in December to fire City Manager Carmen Davis after two years on the job, citing performance issues. Mayor Resch was one of two council members to vote against her firing.

Amoroso, who owns a store in Downtown Lake Worth Beach, says a lot was accomplished during his ten years on the dais and includes among his issues the delay in the reconstruction and reopening of the history Gulfstream Hotel. Resch blames that mostly on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here... to read about all four candidatrs for Mayor and listen to their audios.

WJNO candidate Interviews

Click here... in order to listen to interviews of four of our Lake Worth candidates running for office.

For some reason, WJNO has been unable to reach Omari Hardy and has not connected with William Joseph, running for District 4.

WJNO Candidate Interviews

Listen to the candidate interviews

Maryann Polizzi interviewed by WJNO

WJNO, the news and information you need to start your day, conducted candidate interviews.

Maryann Polizzi's interview will be on the radio between 5am and 9am tomorrow, February 28. It will be aired throughout that time slot.

WJNO's Brian Mudd on the Lake Worth General Obligation Bond

Brian Mudd has a special interest in the General Obligation Bond that is on the November 8 ballot.  He lives here.

For some of you who missed his segments on Lake Worth's General Obligation Bond, here are the links. As Brian says, "It is important information on the Lake Worth Bond issue & what everyone in Palm Beach County should pay attention to in their local government:"

Segment 1

Segment 2

WJNO Cheat Sheet Part 2

Comment Up

"In 2010 Lake Worth's annual budget for road repairs stood at $1 million. 

In 2015 the budget for road repairs had been cut in half (to just over $500k) and reports demonstrate that only about $200,000 was actually used for road repairs last year. Additionally, the budget for 2016-2017 only budgets $583,000 for road repairs. I can make this complicated but it doesn't need to be. Since 2010 Lake Worth's revenues are substantially higher. The city has indicated that road repairs/repaving is a critical need. Thus the budget in recent years has been cut and the budget for next year is 42% lower than it was in 2010 and the city says it needs an additional $40 million in debt that will cost property owners $3000 per $150,000 of taxable value. 

I call shenanigans. Could it be that the city is deliberately attempting to make residents "feel the pain" of inadequate road repairs in order to get their $40 million infusion of cash that they can control? I can't prove it so I have to leave it as an open ended question but the underlying facts are more than suspicious.  

Whether it's Lake Worth or Palm Beach County, we don't have a revenue problem. We have a leadership problem.

Vote no on the 1% Proposed sales tax for Palm Beach County and against the $40 million bond issue in Lake Worth. It's time we take our local government's back. Remember, they work for us... Not the other way around.

If you have a topic or question you'd like me to address email me: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com"

Read it...

WJNO "Cheat Sheet" on Lake Worth General Obligation bond

Comment Up

Cheat Sheet Q&A: Pt. 1 A closer look at the proposed Lake Worth bond issue for roads:

Today's entry: Brian, I'm so glad to hear you talk about the Lake Worth bond issue. First, I want you to know that I've unsuccessfully tried to comment about the handling of this bond to elected representatives of the city. They repress opposition and open discussion around every turn, and secondly, any effort any of us make leads to being called obstructionists to fixing the roads. Anything you can offer up that I can use to spread the message is appreciated. 

Bottom Line: So to reset the topic for those who don't live in Lake Worth and/or weren't here two years ago...

Lake Worth fought hard to pass a $63 million debt offering in a plan called "Lake Worth 20/20". The $60+ million in debt would be paid back by a special tax assessment over 30 years that would have cost property owners thousands above and beyond their typical property tax bills during that time. After the city spent tens of thousands of tax payer dollars to promote their plan ($50k+), it failed by just over 20 votes when put before voters. Fast forward to this year... 

With largely the same batch of politicians running the city, they've come back with a $40 million debt plan, that's similar to what they proposed two years ago. Light on specifics, other than it'll fix the roads around Lake Worth, they've voted to put it on November's ballot without meaningful open public discussion of the matter. The city paid $8,000 to conduct an unaccredited poll of Lake Worth registered voters. They surveyed only 200 registered voters along non-demographically correct lines and showed that residents favored the bond by 12%. So already the irresponsible use of tax payer money for the perpetuation of this project is underway. The most egregious aspect of all of this to me however is the dishonesty. 

Recently city manager Michael Bornstein, stated to the Palm Beach Post, that the city has no other options for fixing the roads. That's demonstrably false. Here are just a smattering of options the city could pursue prior to seeking to put residents in debt for thirty years (leaving even the average property owner to pay thousands of additional dollars during that time):

Click here... to get some of the facts.