Seat B – Michael Mullaugh

By: Quezia Salgado

Among all 7 candidates for city council in this year’s Municipal elections, only one of them has the experience of actually being a member. Michael Mullaugh was first appointed in 2008 to fill vacated Council Seat B, and was elected without opposition in 2011 for a three-year term. On his first time actually running an election campaign, Mullaugh brings experience and discipline to the race. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Michael moved to Boca in 1997. A lawyer by training, for many years he worked for a bank in the trusts and estates department.

When Mullaugh and his family first came to Boca they knew it was a wonderful place to live, and he immediately became involved in the community, by helping the residents at Boca Teeca who were having a problem with airplanes flying over their buildings early in the morning, creating unbearable noise. Mullaugh was able to get local support and go to the county commissioners and city of Boca to get the federal agencies in charge of flight patterns, to change them so that planes would fly over the ocean, instead of the apartment buildings. Michael was also president of the Broken Sound Country Club for 3 years.

With a background in finance, one of the main things Mullaugh has brought to the city council is a disciplined approach on how to manage the city’s revenue: “When things started going badly with the budget in 2008 and some members wanted to invade the city reserves, I said that was not the right thing to do; instead I advised the city manager and administration to do some budget cuts, wherever possible, without invading the reserves.” When things got better and the city’s revenue increased, they had not invaded the reserves, thanks to Michael’s advice and the group’s effort to ensure discipline.

Michael Mullaugh believes city government is important because, among other things, it is what determines how safe the community is and ensures quality of life for that city; it is the basic unit of government that comes into play when something goes wrong. As the only candidate in these elections with prior council experience, and knowing what it takes to make decisions that affect so many people, Mullaugh’s top priorities are: stabilizing public safety pensions; addressing the downtown parking issue and coming up with a solution; revitalizing the Northwest sector through economic development. At least two new council members will inevitably be added to the board after this year’s elections, and Mullaugh is seeking re-election because he believes: “Retaining the one who has the experience is a good thing.”