12 Palm Beach County cities had elections on Tuesday. Here are the results

People are saying they want open primaries

More than 26,000 Palm Beach County voters cast ballots Tuesday, electing and re-electing candidates and weighing in on government matters across five municipalities.

Here are the results, which are likely to shift slightly overnight at vote-by-mail ballot tallies are finalized.

Boynton Beach

Voters in the county’s third-most populous city elected Rebecca Shelton to succeed outgoing Mayor Ty Penserga. She won handily over three opponents: Court McQuire, Golene Gordon and David Merker.

In the race to represent District 3, which spans the city’s southeast portion, incumbent Commissioner Thomas Turkin beat political operative Dominick Vargas.

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

Read more here.

Palm Beach Gardens

Council member Marcie Tinsley retained her Group 2 seat, defeating long-shot challenger Scott Gilow. For the Group 4 seat, firefighter John Kemp edged out Chuck Millar for the right to succeed term-limited Council member Carl Woods.

Read more here.

Jupiter

Voters re-elected Mayor Jim Kuretski to a second term. He defeated Council member Cameron May, a fellow Republican.

For the open District 1 seat, Republican realtor Phyllis Choy and Democrat Teri Grooms will compete in a March 25 runoff after neither received more than 50% of the vote. Republican Andy Weston placed third and is out of the contest.

In the District 2 race, Republican incumbent Council member Malise Sundstrom captured 53% of the vote to win by a large margin against Democrat Linda McDermott and GOP candidate Willie Puz.

Lake Park

In the small town of Lake Park, population 8,984, voters kept Commissioners Michael Hensley and Judith Thomas in office.

But they also replaced two other incumbents, Kimberly Glas-Castro and Mary Beth Taylor, with challengers John Linden and Michael O’Rourke.

Lake Park in 2010 adopted an election method known as “limited voting” through which each voter can vote for just one candidate, with the top four vote-getters winning office.

Lake Worth Beach

One race in Lake Worth Beach was settled and another is bound for a runoff.

In District 2, which covers the city’s northwest area, incumbent Commissioner Christopher McVoy repelled a challenge from fellow Democrat Carla Blockson, who chairs the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

In a three-way race to represent District 4, which spans the city’s southeastern region, incumbent Democratic Commissioner Reinaldo Diaz placed third with 26.5% of the vote.

His two challengers, Democratic Realtor Greg Richter and no-party businessman Anthony Segrich, will compete in a runoff culminating March 25.

Lantana

After Group 2 Council member Kem Mason coasted to re-election unopposed, a contest between Group 1 Council member Lynn Moorhouse and challenger Jesse Rivero was the only one on the Lantana ballot Tuesday.

And Rivero, a Democrat who serves on the Lantana Master Plan Committee, succeeded in supplanting Moorhouse, a Republican, with 58% of the vote.

Loxahatchee Groves

County building inspector Paul Coleman walloped two opponents, no-party Steve Hoffman and fellow Republican Bryan William Zdunowski, for the right to succeed Council member Robert Shorr in Seat 4.

The win, which Coleman secured with 64% of the vote, was a testament to persistence; he unsuccessfully challenged Shorr in 2022.

Loxahatchee Groves voters also faced one ballot question asking whether the town should use

Palm Beach County’s Canvassing Board as its canvassing board during municipal elections, which would save money.

They overwhelmingly said yes, with 74% supporting the change.

Pahokee

Group 1 Commissioner Clara “Tasha” Murvin, who is currently serving as the city’s Vice Mayor, lost her seat to fellow Democrat James Scott, 55% to 45%.

Other posts that were up for election — Mayor and Group 2 Commissioner — automatically went to their respective incumbents, Keith Babb Jr. and Derrick Boldin, in November after no one filed to run against them.

Riviera Beach

One Council member lost his seat and another held onto hers, both in close races.

In District 1, incumbent Tradrick McCoy lost to challenger Bruce Guyton, 51% to 49%. Just 69 votes separated them at 9 p.m.

In District 3, incumbent Shirley Lanier beat opponent Cedrick Thomas, 50.5% to 49.5%. Thirty votes separated them.

Royal Palm Beach

Democratic Council member Jeff Hmara won a race to keep the Mayor’s job his peers appointed him to in September, capturing 58% of the vote to defeat Republican challengers Selena Samios, a fellow Council member, and Justin Plaza.

In a race for the Council’s Group 3 seat, grant writer Sylvia Sharps narrowly led two others, Republican consultant Steve Avila and nonprofit founder Donielle Pinto, a fellow Democrat.

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, with all 22 precincts reporting, Sharps held a 17-vote lead over Avila.

She had 40.3% of the vote, compared to 39.6% for Avila and 20.1% for Pinto.

In the event of a tie, Sharps and Avila would compete in March 25 a runoff.

The Group 3 seat’s appointed occupant, Adam Miller, ran unopposed for the Group 1 seat Samios vacated to run for Mayor.

Other incumbent Council members Richard Valuntas and Jan Rodusky of Group 2 and Group 4 also coasted back into office without opposition.

Golf

Voters in the 265-resident village of Golf have three ballot questions to answer. Here’s how they voted:

— Shall the Village Charter be amended to allow for the Village Council to consist of three or five members? Yes.

— Shall the Village Charter be amended to provide that a vacancy shall be filled to the end of the term of office of such vacancy? Yes.

— Shall the Village Charter be amended so that if there are less than three members of the Council who are eligible to vote due to vacancy or lawful abstention that the remaining member or members may approve the matter by unanimous vote? Yes.

Highland Beach

Sixty percent of voters said “yes” to a ballot question asking whether to spend up to $3.5 million to pay for two public safety projects, one to rehabilitate an old fire station and its apparatus bays, the other to build a marine facility for boat docking and water rescue services.

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Editor’s note: This report was updated to correctly describe Lake Park’s election method and show that Jupiter’s District 1 race is going to a runoff.