Boynton Beach voters pick Rebecca Shelton as Mayor, re-elect Thomas Turkin to City Commission

Voters in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County’s third-most populous city, picked a new Mayor and kept a sitting Commissioner in office on Tuesday.

With all precincts reporting, Rebecca Shelton secured 56% of the vote, earning the right to succeed Mayor Ty Penserga, who must leave due to term limits. She won handily against three opponents: Court McQuire, Golene Gordon and David Merker, who took 28%, 12% and 4% of the vote, respectively.

In the race to represent District 3, which spans the city’s southeast portion, incumbent Republican Commissioner Thomas Turkin took 58% of the vote to defeat political operative Dominick Vargas, who carried an endorsement from the Florida Democratic Party.

Incumbent District 1 Commissioner Angela Cruz coasted back into office unopposed.

The Mayor’s race featured a politically diverse field of candidates. Gordon and Merker are both registered Democrats, McQuire is a Republican, and Shelton has no party affiliation.

Shelton, a 49-year-old real estate broker, carried endorsements from the Palm Beach County PBA, Boynton Beach Association of Firefighters, Palm Beach Fraternal Order of Police, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Ruth’s List Florida into Election Day.

She ran on a platform that prioritized government transparency and neighborhood cleanliness, supported a strong local economy, and supported “sustainable growth.”

Through March 6, Shelton reported raising nearly $70,000 and spending $43,000.

A longtime resident, Gordon, 51, ran on her record of community service — she chaired Boynton Beach’s Community Agency Advisory Board and sat on its Planning and Arts panels — and a promise to leverage her business expertise for the city’s benefit.

Gordon vowed, as Mayor, to improve the city’s management, boost government transparency and involve the community more in city decisions.

She reported raising more than $38,500 through the end of February, a significant chunk of which was her own money.

McQuire, a 55-year-old marketing executive, said his goal as Mayor would be to lower taxes, cut government spending and boost public safety. He promised to prioritize “smart growth and development that makes sense” while helping small businesses thrive and ensuring the city’s clean drinking water.

Through March 6, he reported raising and spending more than $27,500 to win the job.

Merker is a 79-year-old insurance pro who served on the City Commission from 2013 to 2016 when he unsuccessfully ran for Mayor. He told the Palm Beach Post last week that supporting first responders is a priority.

City records show he raised just shy of $3,400 and sent $2,200 by New Year’s Day, after which he reported no campaign finance activity.

Turkin, a veterinarian and real estate agent who joined the City Commission in 2022, prioritized public safety and touted his record at City Hall, supporting fiscally responsible and community-first measures.

The 33-year-old, who serves in the U.S. Navy’s construction battalion and on the Palm Beach County League of Cities, reported raising more than $38,000. He had about $15,000 left heading into the last week of the race.

Vargas, 25, worked on several political campaigns before launching his own. His platform focused on affordable housing, public safety, addressing traffic congestion, improving government transparency and a promise to establish guidelines to encourage environmentally sustainable development.

His endorsers included Penserga, Democratic Reps. Joe Casello and Debra Tendrich, the Florida Democratic Party and Florida Future Leaders.

Vargas amassed $16,500 through March 6, with about $5,000 left to spend.

The District 3 race turned ugly in January when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed that it was investigating an altercation between the two candidates. When the pair met at City Hall, Vargas accused Turkin of grabbing his phone.

A five-second video Vargas showed WPTV, which the outlet posted on its website, shows Turkin grabbing Vargas’ phone and saying, “You’re not allowed to videotape me. I didn’t approve that.”

Consent is not required to film people in public.