Palm Beach Gardens voters re-elect Marcie Tinsley to City Council, pick John Kemp for Group 4 seat

Palm Beach Gardens Council member Marcie Tinsley will keep her Group 2 seat for three more years. Voters re-elected her Tuesday and also picked John Kemp to serve on the dais.

With all 46 precincts reporting Tuesday, Tinsley had 85% of the vote to fend off a long-shot challenge from Scott Gilow.

For the Group 4 seat, Kemp defeated Chuck Millar with 55% of the vote for the right to succeed outgoing Council member Carl Woods, who must leave office due to term limits.

All four candidates are registered Republicans, though their political affiliation didn’t show on the ballot because the city’s elections are nonpartisan.

Tinsley, a 56-year-old land planner with 11 years’ experience on the Council across two separate stints, ran on a promise to fight against overdevelopment in the city, support the local economy and small businesses, and provide residents with more affordable housing options.

Through March 6, she raised over $67,000 and spent $41,500 to defend her seat.

That’s significantly more than her opponent. Gilow, a 51-year-old county information tech and bicycle shop owner, raised and spent less than $2,000, all his money. He decided to run after the city converted a local skate park he frequented into an ice-skating complex.

Stet News that Gilow pleaded guilty at 20 to felony burglary and served 20 days in jail while living in Wisconsin. His most recent legal trouble was in 2013 when he and his then-domestic partner filed to terminate their partnership, and she alleged that he tried to force her out of the home. He denied the accusation, and a court dismissed the case.

Kemp, a 47-year-old firefighter, paramedic and Realtor, ran — naturally — on a promise to support public safety. He also vowed to lower taxes and reduce wasteful government spending, back affordable housing projects, invest in public space and enact “smart traffic solutions that ease congestion and ensure public safety is improved with the increase in population within the city.”

He raised $27,500 and spent about $11,000.

City records show that Millar, his 66-year-old opponent and land use and real estate researcher, accumulated close to $51,000 and spent $40,000 by last week.

Millar, who chairs the city’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board and previously led its Art in Public Places Advisory Board, ran on a platform prioritizing public safety, traffic calming, promoting fiscal responsibility in government and establishing a grant program to support affordable housing for the city’s workforce.

The Group 4 race has involved some mudslinging due partly to Millar’s legal issues predating 2019. 2019 that involved drunk driving, domestic abuse and harassment.

He’s said he’s a changed man and hasn’t gotten into trouble since.

Millar carried endorsements from the Palm Beach County PBA, Palm Beach Human Rights Council, Conservative Watch, and Palm Beach County BizPac of Palm Beach County into Election Day.

Local 2928 of the International Association of Firefighters endorsed Kemp, a member. The association’s Local 5740, representing Palm Beach Gardens fighters, backed Millar and Tinsley.