Jesse Scheckner
West Palm Beach voters have elected Commissioner Christina Lambert to a fourth and final two-year term, choosing the incumbent over a single challenger in the city’s General Election.
With all 55 precincts reporting at, Lambert took 72% of the vote to defeat first-time candidate Matthew Luciano for the Commission’s District 5 seat.
Lambert said she is grateful to the voters of West Palm Beach for their support and hinted at a potential run for Mayor in 2027 after she reaches term limits on the City Commission.
“My win today is a testament to my experience and hard work on the dais,” she told Florida Politics by phone. “I gave this election 150%, as I do everything I put my mind to, and I think today’s win was not just a win for me, but it says volumes about the direction of the city and that our residents are happy with it.”
Asked whether there was any animosity between her and Luciano, Lambert said “not at all.”
“I really focused on the issues that are important to me, our city and residents, made sure I communicated with residents, as I always do. I have a great rapport in City Hall and throughout our neighborhoods and with our business owners. I continued to focus on that.”
In a follow-up statement, Lambert said she’ll consider a run for Mayor “when the time is right,” after discussing the matter with her family and supporters. She called the encouragement she’s received “flattering.”
Voters also approved two ballot measures. One will double the residency requirement for city candidates to 12 months. Another will bar the Mayor from seeking outside employment and private business investments.
More than 9,600 West Palm Beach voters cast ballots Tuesday.
Palm Beach County’s most populous municipality would have held races for two other City Commission seats, but those contests were called off after no one filed to run against District 1 and 3 Commissioners Cathleen Ward and Christy Fox.
Lambert, 44, clenched a fourth term. When not serving at City Hall, she works as a chief administrative officer for a law firm in Palm Beach Gardens.
She vowed, if re-elected, 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 made 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.
An associate director for an asset management firm, Luciano ran on a promise to tamp down on development in West Palm Beach, which he said suffers from congested roadways and overpacked schools.
He said he wanted to make the city more walkable, with more green spaces, and reimburse residents for tax revenues the city gained through its growth.
