LWB ballot: Both sides make final push with weekend rallies before voters head to polls Tuesday
Supporters and opponents hope for large voter turnout to decide future of public land at beach, golf course, downtown
SUPPORTERS AND OPPONENTS of two controversial Lake Worth Beach charter changes held separate rallies this weekend in final pushes to sway voters at the polls on Tuesday.
At least 50 people waved signs Sunday at a cookout and rally downtown in support of the two land-lease amendments.
“I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised as to how many people have been silent through this entire process but are actually for the growth and prosperity of the city,’’ Cheryl Spearling, wife of City Commissioner Anthony Segrich, said at the cookout.
The rally was held in a parking lot at the southeast corner of Federal Highway and Lake Avenue, a site owned by developer Bhavin Shah, owner of several downtown buildings.
A day earlier, about 25 people waved “Hands Off Our Beach & Parks” signs at the foot of the Lake Worth Bridge on Lake Avenue and Golfview Road, the latest of weekly sign-waving rallies held there since January.
That location was chosen for the rally because it’s close to three of the public spaces organizers say would be adversely affected if the two amendments win: the city beach, golf course and Bryant Park.
“I think everybody who learns about this is with us,’’ said Kim Stokes, a former city commissioner who is president of Lake Worth For All, a grassroots group leading the opposition. “People do not want the commission to have the power to do 99-year leases. That is what these ballot items are about.’’
Of five amendments on Tuesday’s ballot, two have been contentious because they would allow major development at the beach, golf course and public spaces downtown without voter approval. Details about the ballot questions, along with arguments for and against, can be found by clicking here.
Both sides agree on the obvious: The fate of the referendums will come down to voter turnout.
In Lake Worth Beach’s most recent citywide election, 3,608 voters cast ballots for four candidates in the 2024 mayor’s race. Mayor Betty Resch won the runoff in which 2,575 ballots were cast.
“I’m worried about low turnout. I’d be thrilled if (at least) 1,500 people came out,’’ said Jackson Stahl, a Parrot Cove resident who supports the referendums. “I am optimistic. I think there is a large base that has rallied for a ‘yes,’ but there’s no way it’s not going to be close.’’
Opponents of the ballot questions are optimistic, too.
“We are feeling good,’’ Stokes said Saturday, the same day The Palm Beach Post editorial board recommended voting against the referendums. “It’s just a matter of did we get in front of enough voters and will they show up on Tuesday.’’
Both rallies this weekend were peaceful. Each group got endorsements from the honking horns of passing cars and trucks.
But on social media, comments from some supporters and opponents in recent weeks have been vitriolic and laced with accusations of lying and fear-mongering by both sides.
“I am embarrassed for my city that this kind of stuff is going up on Facebook, that this kind of misinformation and scare tactics are happening,’’ Mayor Resch, who wrote a newspaper op-ed Sunday supporting the referendums, said March 3 during her comments at the most recent City Commission meeting.
State law forbids the city and City Commission from advocating for the referendums, but individual commissioners are allowed to share their opinions. Resch and three other commissioners voiced opinions about the ballot questions during their commissioner comments on March 3.
“It’s important to me that people are voting as an educated voter, not as a scared voter or a threatened voter,’’ said Commissioner Mimi May, a referendums supporter who attended the Sunday cookout and has advocated for the charter changes at neighborhood meetings.
“There are pros and cons to everything,’’ said Resch, “but we can’t just sit and let our city rot, and all l’ve ever heard from the folks opposed to this is … there’s an intimation we are crooked, that all developers are bad.’’
Commissioner Chris McVoy, who cast the lone no vote last year against putting the referendums on the March 10 ballot, said supporters share blame for the online rhetoric.
“Maybe what motivates some of the community concerns is that many people came to this commission repeatedly and said, ‘Don’t mess with our charter, form a charter review committee like we did last time and have them meet’ … instead of ramming it through with none of that,’’ he said March 3.
McVoy criticized texts sent early last week by a state-registered political committee, Firefighter FACT PAC, urging passage of two ballot questions. Ballot question 3, the text said, will help “modernize and improve the safety and security of your local fire stations.’’
McVoy, who served on the commission from 2010-2017 and has held his current seat since 2021, praised Palm Beach County Fire Rescue for providing excellent service to Lake Worth Beach. But he said that during his years on the commission he never heard the agency ask for an improved fire station.
The text language “looks like it’s our local firefighters saying if you don’t vote for this, we won’t be able to provide you proper fire service, and that is a really bad thing to attack the trust our community has in our fire department,’’ he said March 3.
Commissioner Segrich used his comments March 3 to criticize Lake Worth Beach For All for spreading “false” information, including signs that suggest the public will lose beach access if question 2 passes.
At the Saturday rally, Stokes said she stands behind the language on the signs.
“We haven’t said they are going to take away public access. We’ve said public access is under threat, which is true because if we give them a blank check to do whatever they want, they could build out more commercial space along the beach, expand (Benny’s on the Beach owner) Lee Lipton’s footprint at Benny’s, and add more restaurants,’’ she said.
“All of that would reduce access to the beach. And building a parking garage there for an outdoor mall could jack parking (fees). There are a lot of people who can’t spend that money. If you make it more expensive, you’re reducing their access to the beach,’’ she said.
On Sunday, Stahl said he understands the concerns about overdevelopment. But he said the current casino complex was the result of a project built by developers, and the public still has access to it.
That access won’t go away if the amendment passes, he said.
Click here to find your voting precinct.
Click here to see a sample ballot.
Here is how the five referendums will appear on the ballot, according to a resolution approved by city commissioners last year:
1. The City utilizes the County Canvassing Board and the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections certifies election results canvassed by the County Canvassing Board.
Shall the City of Lake Worth Beach amend its Charter at Article III, Section 2 to reflect that the election results are certified by the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections?
Yes _____
No ______2. City-property East of A1A
In order to encourage private investment in and redevelopment of City- owned property and reduce the City’s maintenance costs of City facilities, shall Article II, Section 3 of the City of Lake Worth Beach Charter be amended to allow City-property East of A1A to be leased for up to 99 years for purposes other than lodging and residential uses?
Yes _____
No ______3. City parks and City-property downtown and West of A1A to the Lagoon
In order to encourage private investment in and redevelopment of City- owned property and reduce the City’s maintenance costs of City facilities, shall Article II, Section 4 of the City of Lake Worth Beach Charter be amended to allow City-owned property West of A1A that is restricted in the Charter to be leased for up to 99 years??
Yes _____
No ______4. Filling a Vacancy in the Office of City Manager
Shall Article IV, Section 3 of The City Of Lake Worth Beach Charter be amended to require the process for filling a permanent vacancy in the Office of City Manager be started within 90 days of the vacancy and continue in good faith until the Office of City Manager is filled?
Yes _____
No ______5. City Police and Fire Departments
In recognizing that the City no longer has a City Police or Fire Department and to eliminate any confusion, shall Article IV, Section 10 of the City of Lake Worth Beach Charter (Police and Fire Departments) be repealed?
Yes _____
No ______
Thank you for a fair and balanced article. I encourage people who have questions to reach out to both sides. Take your time and understand each of the questions. Ms Stokes is standing by No to All… that saddens me. 3 of the questions should not even be a debate at all. I was proud of L-Dub today. We had an awesome group of people come out and celebrate our hopes for the future. Many of us are saying YES we want our city to get back on track. We met many new people that recently moved here. It was a great message of positivity. My message to voters … do your research- speak with friends and neighbors on both sides. Most of all …. Please vote.
Of course the beach casino and retail space was built by a developer. Who else would do it? It has to be a private contractor/developer to build a project like that. But what Mr. Stahl may not know is that the casino complex construction was paid for in full with a county grant, so there was no need to give away or grant access over any public land to a developer. The city owns it and we lease it out under the terms of the current charter for less than 30 years.