Two candidates vying for the Palm Beach County Commission will appear on the Aug. 20 Democratic ballot.
The candidates, Bobby Powell Jr. and Richard A. Ryles, are running for District 7, which includes cities such as Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lantana, Hypoluxo, Riviera Beach, Mangonia Park and Lake Park.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary will then appear on the November general election ballot alongside the other District 7 candidate, Republican Leonard L. Serratore. Two other people, Boaz Fleurena and Javonta Jerome Taylor, are both write-in candidates for the November election.
The winner of the November election will replace District 7’s current Commissioner Mack Bernard. The District 7 seat is one of three openings on the County Commission this election year.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel interviewed the two District 7 candidates who will appear in the primary. Powell and Ryles are the only candidates who will be on the ballot during this year’s primary election — no Republican candidates for any of the open commission seats will appear on the August ballot, only on the November ballot.
Among the key issues for the county include affordability, incomes, and how to balance smart development along with the county’s growth.
Since 2016, Powell has served as a state senator representing cities in the county and served on various committees, with work in the senate centering largely around gun safety reforms, health care and criminal justice reform. Ryles is a practicing attorney and former city of West Palm Beach commissioner, which he said means he “understands the running of a municipal operation.”
As for why Powell wants to be on the commission, he said he believes in a “life of service,” and being on the commission would add to what he said has been years of community involvement.
“There is no one who’s more prepared and who will work harder for this community,” Powell said.
For Ryles, he said his work “in and out of government has been serving the people,” which best qualifies him for the position, adding he has the experience necessary to “provide creative solutions and alternatives in order to address the issues that are burdensome on the citizenry of Palm Beach County.”
One of these burdens is the gap between livable wages, and wages paid by the county and industries within the county, which need to be fixed, he said.
“I am an advocate of paying livable wages, but I’m also an advocate of providing the training necessary for people to have the type of jobs that will allow them to earn livable wages,” Ryles said.
Outside of his experience as a senator, Powell said he believes his work as an urban planner will equip him to adequately deal with county issues such as cost of living, development and transportation.
“Any proposed developments that I do support or do not support moving forward have to fit into the fabric of our community and within the guidelines of what this community looks like,” he said. This also includes being mindful of development on the county’s Ag Reserve, a swath of more than 20,000 acres of farmland in the southwestern part of the county, he said.
Stopping growth in Florida is not possible, he said, but managing it can be conducted well.
“We have to make sure that when we are growing, we’re doing so in a manner that’s effective and efficient,” he said.
Similar to Powell, Ryles said he has always “been a proponent of maintaining the sanctity of the Ag Reserve” throughout his career as well as representing neighborhoods in the district consisting mainly of minority populations.
“I do believe that the overdevelopment that is occurring, on the coast especially, is negatively impacting the the Greater Northwest and the African-American neighborhoods,” he said. “So I, having been a proponent and having grown up in District 7, would do everything in my power in order to make development more equitable and to reduce the negative impact that is currently occurring.”
Smart growth, though, also needs to be coupled with addressing the high cost of housing, Powell said, which the county should continue to do by allocating the remainder of the $200 million affordable housing bond.
County officials need to work on ensuring there are enough equitable employment and housing opportunities for all, he said, but other than that: “We’ve got beautiful weather, we’ve got beautiful opportunities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ryles said diversity is both the county’s greatest strength and greatest weakness.
“Our diversity is why people would want to come here,” he said. “You can get a touch of the cultures of Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador, all over Central America, the Caribbean. Our worst attribute is our failure to capitalize on that diversity and exclusion of those communities from participating meaningfully in most aspects of life here in Palm Beach County.”
District 7 candidate Republican Leonard L. Serratore told the Sun Sentinel he is a veteran who formerly worked at the Palm Beach International Airport. He’s looking ahead to the November election: Similar to his opponents, he believes the county’s cost of living is too high, making it hard for people to enjoy the county’s beaches and parks, which he said are the county’s best attribute.
Serratore said he is a “true public servant” who wants to give people choice.
Boaz Fleurena and Javonta Jerome Taylor could not be reached for comment.
Aug. 20 election need-to-knows
Anyone who wants to receive a mail-in ballot for the upcoming election must make have a request filed with the Palm Beach County supervisor of elections office by 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8.
Otherwise, registered Republicans and Democrats can vote in-person on Tuesday, Aug. 20. Republican ballots will not have any County Commission races until November.
Contests in November
The Palm Beach County Commission candidates for District 3 and District 5 also will appear on the November ballot.
In District 3, incumbent Republican Michael Barnett will go against Democrat Joel Flores.
For District 5, the current county mayor, Maria Sachs, a Democrat, will face off with Republican John Fischer.
