Meet Your Boca Raton City Council Seat D Candidates: Monica Mayotte
By: Michael Demyan
Monica Mayotte will be running against Armand Grossman and Paul G. Preste for City Council Seat D in the upcoming election on March 13, with the winner taking over for incumbent Robert Weinroth.
This will be Mayotte’s first time running for political office. She is a graduate of Florida State University where she received a bachelor of science in Management Information Systems and has been a Boca Raton resident since 1996.
In 2009, she became one of the founding members of the Boca Raton Green Living Advisory Board. It was there where she noticed the lack of a voice residents were given in front of city council.
“It was our duty to provide advice to city council on ways residents could live a greener lifestyle,” Mayotte said. “We came up with 81 different initiatives and we would report on how the city could implement them and it was always a ‘thank-you’ with no response, no movement on any of our ideas. I felt like it was always a one-way conversation. I thought it needed to be a two-way conversation.”
Mayotte said that she wants to be the voice of the resident, opening the door for them to have a true impact on the city through their thoughts and ideas.
“Wanting to have the residents have a louder voice also means that I think the developers have too loud of a voice,” she said.
Overdevelopment has often been a discussion surrounding the city, with parking and traffic similarly being brought into the conversation. Mayotte feels that they all are issues that need to be looked at, pointing out the tall and bland buildings as well as the Brightline trains causing problems with the synchronization of traffic lights.
“People will peg me as anti-growth and that’s just not me,” she said. “I’m for smart, sustainable growth. Responsible growth.”
Another issue she feels strongly about is the overcrowding in Boca Raton schools.
“We have great schools here in Boca, but they are way too crowded and if we want to great people and great companies to come and do business in our city, we need to have A+ world class schools.”
As a strong proponent of green living, Mayotte continues to be involved with climate change through the bipartisan Citizens Climate Lobby. She is also excited about Boca Raton’s Waterfront Master Plan, as well the Wildflower property being opened as a city park.
“It’s such a prime piece of real estate in our downtown that I always felt that we needed some green space downtown,” she said. “It’s such a prime piece of property that I think could be the crown jewel of our waterfront parks.”
Mayotte said that she wants to make Boca Raton a place for people to bring and raise their families, while providing opportunities for small business and a voice for the community.
“We have professional, intelligent residents that live here in our city that have some great ideas that can be implemented and I think we need to pay attention.”
The Boca Raton Tribune will be hosting a candidate forum at the Wayne Barton Study Center, 269 NE 14th Street, Boca Raton on Thursday, March 8 at 6.p.m. The event is free and open to the public, however, due to seat limitations, you must register online by clicking here to receive your complimentary ticket.
