WELLINGTON — Five candidates are competing for two seats on the Wellington Village Council in the March 8 election.
Both races feature incumbents seeking to secure final terms in the council,challenged by local business people. One race has the possibility of seating the the city's first black elected official.
Seat 2 race features incumbent, two challengers
Tanya Siskind, a Realtor in the Palm Beach and St. Luciearea, is vying to win her secondand final elected term in Seat 2. The council appointed her to fill a vacancy in 2016, but she later won the seat in 2018. Sheserved as vice mayor in 2020. She has received endorsem*nts from local teacher, police and Realtor unions and associations.
As councilwoman, Siskind oversaw the establishments of partnerships to fund schools around the city and and championed the expansion of the sport programs and investments on their facilities.
"The schools to me arejust super important, because they attract new families here, and that drives business and it's all connected," said Siskind who served forsix years on the Binks Forest Elementary School PTA.
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With another term, Siskind said, she hopes to see through infrastructure projects initiated under her watch, such as the town center renovations and the return of community events.
She has also stressed the importance of taking steps to keep crime and taxes low and of having continuity on the council when dealing with matters such as the redevelopment of the Mall at Wellington Green.
Siskind faces two opponents, eitherof whom, if elected, would become Wellington's first Black elected official.
Tony Nelson isthe president of Premier Family Health and Wellness, a family medical center. He has lived in Wellington for over 35 years and his family were among first Black residentsof the village.
Two years ago, when Palm Beach County was the scene of multiple Black Lives Matter events,his 16-year-old granddaughter was a target ofa racially charged altercation when one of Nelson’s neighbors was caught on video screamingat her: “You don't belong in this development.”
His top priority, Nelson says, will be to bring diversity and inclusion initiatives to the village. The 2020 Census found significant growth in Wellington's Hispanic population since 2010.
“By educating people in regards to diversity and inclusion, it allows people to accept others,” said Nelson, who was also the first Black Santa in the village's history.
For Nelson, addressing the lack of accessible housing is the key to luringinvestments and entrepreneurs to come to Wellington and stay.
‘It's one thing to own a small business in Wellington, and it's another thing to be able to afford to live here,” he said.
Nelson said he would also look to crack down on developers who disregard building regulations, forcing tenants to live in run down properties.
Karen Morris-Clarke, a real estate agent, is also running for seat 2. It's the first race for the Jamaican-born resident who moved to Wellington in 1999. If elected, Morris-Clarke would focus on roadway improvements includingilluminating dark streets and placing bicycle markers.
She lost her son Chris, in a crashsix years ago when his vehicle was hit by another in a dimly lit road entering Wellington. He was 25.
“We don't want to wait until another child or another resident dies for us to start to put in streetlights,” said Morris-Clarke. “It's dear to my heart to get this done. Win or lose”
Morris-Clarke says that with her race, she aims to “represent the underrepresented” in Wellington.
Her priorities include reviewing city code enforcement laws to enact policies that protect middle and low income tenants, and redeveloping the “forgotten areas” of the village, which, she says, includes 12th Fairway and Greenfield Shores Boulevard.
Seat 3 race pits village native, business owner
In the race for seat 3, Vice Mayor John McGovern will face newcomer Johnny Meier, the president of My Community Pharmacy.
McGovern has served in the council since 2015 and was appointed vice mayor in 2021. He is a trial attorney in his law firm McGovern Gerardi Law.He is endorsed by the Classroom Teachers’ Association, Hispanic Vote, the AFL-CIO and the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
During his timein office he supported the investment in schools,nature preserves and community centers that includethe amphitheater, its boardwalk and the new Town Center. He also oversaw the renovation of Wellington’s water and wastewater plant which, he said, “is not sexy, but it's vital.”
“For me, Wellington is personal,” said McGovern, who was born and raised in the village. “That is why I am inspired to keep doing this work for both the parents of my friends from high school, for my friends who have returned to raise their children, like me, and for our children to come back too.”
McGovern says the biggest project he would like to carry outis an overhaul to Wellington's telecommunications infrastructure to improve residents' connectivity. Such renovations include burying power lines, improving fiber-optic cables and connecting "dead zones" to the web.
Meier, whose family has lived in Wellington since 2012, told The Palm Beach Post he would aim to lower resident taxes by reducing the council’s spending on projects that includeturf fields for schools and a proposed community pool.
“We don't need to spend on ridiculous things and in turn, increasing the budget and driving people out of our village,” said Meier, a former president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
Instead, he would invest in items such as street lighting andsecurity cameras.
Meier also believes the council must make it easier for small businesses to open in the city. For this, he proposes the creation of a liaison position to guide and help business owners with permitting and operations.
He opposed the council’s proposal to demolish the Lake Wellington Business Professional Center to build a community pool. The closure, Meier says, would displace about150 businesses.
“That is appalling to me,” said Meyer. “Small business is what really runs this village and the revenue from small business is what keeps this village going.”
vpalm@pbpost.com
Wellington Election: Mar 8, 2022
Seat 2
1. Tanya Siskind.
2. Karen Morris-Clarke.
3. Tony Nelson.
Seat 3
1. John McGoven.
2. Johnny Meier.
