Anne Geggis
After 21 years serving on the Town Council, Jim Kuretski is now the City of Jupiter’s Mayor. He’s one of nine candidates who emerged victorious Tuesday as voters in six municipalities headed to the polls.
On March 8, 19 different Palm Beach County municipalities held elections. Nine races came close enough that a runoff election was required to settle on a winner.
In Boynton Beach, voters chose Thomas Turkin to represent them in the District 3 seat on the City Commission. Turkin works in the veterinary field. He defeated Marit Hedeen, a business owner. The unofficial vote totals showed political newcomer Turkin winning 53% of the vote, or 960 votes to Hedeen’s 856.
In Jupiter, three mayoral candidates had been whittled down to two Council member rivals. Voters Tuesday chose a longtime Town Councilor over a newer arrival. Kuretski, a Jupiter Town Councilor for 21 years, defeated Councilman Ilan Kaufer, first elected to the Town Council in 2014. With all precincts reporting, unofficial results show Kuretski won nearly 56% of the votes, which came out to 5,696 votes to Kaufer’s 4,556.
A Jupiter Town Council race originally drew five competitors before Tuesday’s runoff. Malise Sundstrom, a member of the Town Planning and Zoning Board, bested Linda McDermott, who worked as the No. 2 in West Palm Beach’s City Finance Department. With all precincts reporting, Sundstrom won 5,454 votes — or 55% of the votes — to McDermott’s 4,446 votes, unofficial results show.
In Jupiter Inlet Colony, incumbent Commissioner Cynthia Keim lost by 11 votes to Marie Rosner in the race for the Town Commission Group 4 seat. Rosner won 53% of the votes, winning 110 votes to Keim’s 99 votes, according to unofficial results.
In Lake Worth Beach, Reinaldo Diaz, who founded a nonprofit that advocates for the preservation of Lake Worth Lagoon, bested Craig Frost, a business owner, for the District 4 seat on the City Commission. Diaz won 61% of the vote. Unofficial results showed Diaz winning 1,596 votes to Frost’s 1,041.
In Lantana, voters weighed in on two Town Council seats. In Group 1, Incumbent Lynn Moorhouse, a retired dentist, defeated John Raymer, a retired member of the Army. Moorhouse secured 59% of the vote. Moorhouse won 597 votes to Raymer’s 410, according to unofficial results.
In Lantana’s Group 2 Town Council race, voters chose Kem Mason, a retired Palm Beach County Fire Rescue captain, over Media Beverly, a real estate agent. Mason won 59% of the vote, with the unofficial total 610-421.
Seeking his second, three-year term, Riviera Beach Mayor Ronnie Felder bested Billie Brooks, a former City Council member in the runoff. Felder gathered 60% of the vote, according to unofficial results. That’s a margin of 2,454 to 1,609.
Riviera Beach’s City Council District 3 race ended Tuesday with Incumbent Shirley Lanier winning 51% of the vote. She bested Marvelous Washington. Washington was on her second run for public office, according to the Palm Beach Post. The vote was 2,062 to 1,994.
