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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.
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."
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.
The issue over the fired city manager is one of candidate Alex Cull's concerns.
"When I approached and tried to learn more about the issue pertaining to the city manager, I found myself struggling to wrap my head around the meeting and the circus and the firing."
The 32-year old strategist for Amazon says his executive leadership experience will help him bring people together as mayor.
Our fourth candidate, William Joseph ran for mayor three years ago and lost to Resch. He's a private detective who wants more done about the city's homeless issue and says if elected, his door will always be open.
"I am here for the sake of our community. I'm here for the people. And I'm here to listen."
Joseph says he didn't agree with the city commission firing the now-former city manager, claiming she only had two years on the job.
"They don't give her enough time to fix the mess. Our city's been a mess."
There are also races in Lake Worth Beach for City Commission Districts 1 and 3. We'll cover those here in the Election Spotlight page at a later date.
The city also has a referendum that will be on the ballot. Mayor Resch refers to it as "essentially a housekeeping issue."
SHALL THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH BEACH AMEND ITS CHARTER AT SECTION 2 OF ARTICLE II TO AUTHORIZE ELECTION DISTRICTS TO BE AMENDED, BY ORDINANCE, AFTER EACH DECENNIAL CENSUS TO ENSURE THAT THE DISTRICTS COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE LAW?