Election Roundup
By: Dale King
Six political hopefuls are officially running for two seats on the Boca Raton City Council in the March 9 municipal election, according to papers filed in the city clerk’s office.
Constance Scott, Yvette Drucker, Josie Machovec and Bernard Korn are seeking Seat C while Monica Mayotte, who currently holds Seat D, is being challenged by Brian Stenberg for that position. Mayotte is seeking her second three-year term.
The Seat C situation is a bit more complicated. Incumbent Jeremy Rodgers, a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve, took a leave of absence last year after being called to military duty in Qatar.
By late October when it became apparent Rodgers would not be returning soon, council members sought out a registered voter to fill the position on a temporary basis. Scott and Drucker were among 32 applicants, and the council chose Drucker to serve until the election.
Korn, who listed his address as 720 Marble Way, filed for office in November. Machovec, of 503 W. Conference Drive, completed her nomination papers in December.
Drucker, of 6466 NW 32nd Terrace, and Scott, of 300 E. Royal Palm Road, round out the field.
Of all the candidates, only Scott has held elective office before. In fact, she was the council member in Seat C from 2009 to 2015, immediately preceding Rodgers. Korn has been a candidate in several recent local elections. Drucker is active in the community, but has not held elective office, nor has Machovec.
BLU-PAC picks to address Boca Chamber
Constance Scott and Brian Stenberg, both candidates for Boca Raton City Council in the March 9 municipal election, will speak to members of the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce at a “virtual” meeting Jan. 19 at 3 p.m.
Both office seekers have been endorsed by BLU-PAC, the Chamber’s political action committee which supports office seekers considered to be business-friendly.
Scott is seeking Seat C, which will become vacant starting in April because the incumbent, Jeremy Rodgers, is term-limited and cannot run for re-election. Also in the running for Seat C are Yvette Drucker, who was appointed in October to fill the seat temporary because Rodgers has been called to duty with the U.S. Navy; Josie Machovec and Bernard Korn.
Stenberg is challenging Seat D incumbent Monica Mayotte, who is running for re-election to a second term.
The BLU-PAC-endorsed candidates will address a combined meeting of the Government Affairs and Economic Development committees of the Chamber via a virtual hookup.
Ex-Commissioner McCarty gets Trump pardon
Former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty has received a full pardon from President Donald Trump.
The longtime public servant was a member of the Delray Beach City Commission and also chair of the Palm Beach County Republican Party for two terms. She was a Palm Beach County Commissioner in District 4 from 1990 until January of 2009 when she resigned due to allegations of corruption.
She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud – a charge stemming from votes on projects that indirectly benefited her husband, Kevin McCarty (now deceased), a former employee of Raymond James, without the required disclosure.
The President’s announcement said the Supreme Court has since interpreted that statute more narrowly, meaning that McCarty’s conduct might not be criminally prosecuted today.
McCarty has returned to Delray Beach after serving 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Christopher Ruddy are among those who supported McCarty’s pardon.
President Trump also pardoned Boca Raton real estate mogul James Batmasian who was charged with “willful failure to pay over tax,” says the President’s announcement.
He served eight months in prison.
