Jesse Scheckner
Palm Beach County’s most populous municipality has two names and two questions on the ballot Tuesday, when voters will choose between an incumbent City Commission member and her lone, funding-disadvantaged challenger.
Commissioner Christina Lambert is squaring off against first-time candidate Matthew Luciano for the panel’s District 5 seat.
The city canceled races for the District 1 and 3 seats after no one challenged incumbents Cathleen Ward and Christy Fox.
Lambert, 44, is running for her fourth two-year term. When not serving at City Hall, she works as a chief administrative officer for a law firm in Palm Beach Gardens.
If re-elected, she said she wants to focus on improving public safety, boosting affordable housing and making the city’s government more financially efficient.
Through March 14, the last date for which campaign finance information is available, she raised $147,400 and spent about half that sum.
That haul makes the District 5 race something of a David-and-Goliath contest, monetarily. Luciano, 51, amassed a comparatively small $5,349 by last week and spent all but $138 of it in an effort to appeal to voters.
An associate director for an asset management firm, Luciano wants to tamp down on development in West Palm Beach, which he said suffers from congested roadways and overpacked schools.
He wants to make West Palm Beach more walkable, with more green spaces, and reimburse residents for tax revenues the city has gained through its growth.
West Palm Beach voters will also weigh in on a pair of referendums. One would double the length of time a candidate must have lived in the city from six to 12 months. The other would prohibit the Mayor from seeking outside employment and limit their ability to hold financial interests in any business.
