Delray cancels election; McDuffie, Frankel win unopposed

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — One civic duty Delray Beach residents won’t have to perform this year: voting.

Delray Beach City Commissioners have canceled the election set for March 8 because of a lack of candidates. Three seats on the commission were up for election, including the mayor’s chair, but only three candidates, one for each race, qualified for the ballot.

Mayor Woodie McDuffie and Commissioner Adam Frankel won reelection by default, and Tom Carney, a member of the Delray’s Community Redevelopment Agency took the seat now held by Commissioner Gary Eliopoulos. Eliopoulos chose not to run for another term.

“I have a vision for the future of our city,” McDuffie said in an email sent out shortly after the noon deadline passed for candidates seeking to get on the ballot. “As your mayor, I will continue to work with our community and neighborhood groups on addressing local issues. I will continue to ensure Delray Beach runs more efficiently and find ways to save taxpayer money.

“I will advocate for strategic public-private partnerships that improve the quality of life for our residents. Your support has been critical throughout my years of service and I am ready to work for you again.”

The three will be sworn in at the commission's annual organizational meeting on March 31.
A proposed charter amendment that would change the terms in office for commissioners from two years to three years was to be the March 8 ballot as well. However, commissioners agreed not to hold the election if there were no contested races and the proposed amendment was the only item on the ballot.

The change was seen as a way to save money, since the city would not have to hold an election every year. Commissioners would have been limited to serving a maximum of six consecutive years in office as they are now. The amendment could appear on the 2012 ballot, but only if commissioners vote again to put it there.

Delray Beach, Delray Beach City Commissioners, Mayor Woodie McDuffie, Adam Frankel, Tom Carney, Gary Eliopoulos, election, charter amendment