Jesse Scheckner
Palm Beach County held 12 local elections earlier this month, and all but two saw definitive results in their respective races.
Voters in Jupiter and Lake Worth Beach are holding runoff elections Tuesday to decide the remaining contests.
Jupiter
In Jupiter, the county’s sixth-largest municipality by population, Republican Phyllis Choy and Democrat Teri Grooms are competing for the right to succeed Council member Frank “Andy” Fore in the District 1 seat.
Both candidates agree Jupiter needs more affordable housing, smart but sustainable growth, better transparency at Town Hall, more community engagement in government decision-making, and better provisions for local small businesses.
Choy, a 77-year-old Realtor who has lived in the town for more than a third of her life and is the current Vice Chair of the Palm Beach County Housing Authority, where she has served since then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed her in 2017.
If elected, she vows to address traffic congestion and foster development planning that protects Jupiter’s “small-town charm, natural beauty, and vibrant sense of community that drew so many of us here.”
“I’m running because I love this town, and I believe we can navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead while preserving what we all cherish about Jupiter,” she said in a statement.
Grooms, a 62-year-old former administrative assistant and caretaker, was born and raised in Jupiter. She has served as an appointed member of the town’s Historic Resources Board and its Planning and Zoning Commission, which she has chaired.
She plans, if elected, to preserve the town’s cultural and historic assets while protecting its blue and green spaces.
“I believe that together, we can build a stronger, more resilient community that honors our past while embracing the future,” she said in a statement. “Our town is at a crossroads, facing both challenges and opportunities that will shape our future for generations to come.”
Choy and Grooms have strong records of community volunteerism.
Choy’s involvements have earned her plaudits from the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound chapter of the Miami Association of Realtors, which named her “Humanitarian of the Year” in 2023, and the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce, with which she was a finalist last year for “Woman of the Year.”
Both organizations are backing her campaign, as are Jupiter Council member Ron Delaney, the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association and Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors.
Grooms carries endorsements from the Sierra Club, Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928 and the Palm Beach Post.
Choy has had much more success fundraising. Through March 20, she amassed $62,250 and spent $56,003. Grooms, meanwhile, raised $9,255 and spent $7,288.
In Jupiter’s March 11 General Election, Choy took 44.3% of the vote while Grooms captured 40.1%. Third-place candidate Andy Weston, a Republican, took the remainder. Just 303 votes separated Choy and Grooms, according to the Palm Beach County Elections Department.
Since no candidate earned more than 50% of the vote to win outright, a runoff was called.
The victor Tuesday wins a three-year term on the Town Council.
Lake Worth Beach
For the District 4 seat on the Lake Worth Beach Commission, Democrat Greg Richter and no-party candidate Anthony Segrich are squaring off Tuesday to replace outgoing Commissioner Reinaldo Diaz.
Diaz, a Democrat, placed third March 11 behind Segrich and Richter, who took 39% and 34% of the vote, respectively.
Lake Worth Beach is Palm Beach County’s eighth-largest municipality by population. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at its voter turnout; just 802 residents cast ballots in the city’s General Election this month, with only 43 votes separating Richter and Segrich.
The candidates agree there’s too much red tape slowing permitting at City Hall and that local infrastructure needs better upkeeping.
Richter, a 69-year-old Realtor, has lived in Lake Worth Beach for almost eight years. He has served as President of the South Palm Neighborhood Association for the past three years and is a neighborhood liaison for the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO).
If elected, he promises to create a volunteer task force called the “Lake Worth Beach Pothole Patrol” to identify and fix problems in the city. He also wants to address code compliance issues, improve the city’s tree coverage and ensure there’s enough parking, workforce housing and affordable housing in new multifamily developments.
“I spent my entire business career building relationships and driving projects forward to successful results, and I’ll bring that experience to the … City Commission,” Richter said in a statement. “My only objective is to be your voice and help (Lake Worth Beach) thrive as a vibrant and charming community.”
Segrich, a 47-year-old real estate agent who owns a water and mold remediation company, has lived in Lake Worth Beach since 2018. He believes a more business-minded approach is necessary to improve the city.
That includes hiring a new, full-time City Manager, he said. The city has had a Deputy City Manager instead for more than a year. Other items on Segrich’s to-do list include filling key city staffing slots, creating more incentives to attract businesses, working with the PBSO to improve policing and cutting budgetary waste by having city staff do more work than outside consultants.
Segrich said Richter’s “Pothole Patrol” plan could “inspire a Jimmy Buffet (sic) song,” but would do little to “resolve the issues.”
“It’s time to bring back common sense and accountability to Lake Worth Beach,” he said. “Our beloved city is not without its challenges. As of late we have lost our way a little.”
Segrich was the better fundraiser, collecting $51,410 and spending $42,013 by March 20. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel endorsed him.
Richter raised $25,930 and spent $17,089. He won nods from the Palm Beach Post, Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928 and the Palm Beach Human Rights Council.
District 4 spans Lake Worth Beach’s southeastern portion. The winner Tuesday secures a three-year term.
