'There is a deep-seated mistrust of the Lake Worth Beach city government and us as commissioners'

Elected leaders reflect on lop-sided results of controversial March 10 ballot questions

ONE WEEK AFTER voters resoundingly rejected two controversial charter amendments affecting public land, Lake Worth Beach city commissioners offered their takeaways on the results.

“One thing I personally took away … in speaking with people: There is a deep-seated mistrust of the Lake Worth Beach city government and us as commissioners,” Commissioner Anthony Segrich said Tuesday night at the first City Commission meeting since the election.

“That’s a tough hurdle for us to overcome,” he said.

Segrich, a vocal supporter of the amendments, praised the commission for “doing a great job of getting things done and moving the ball forward.’’ He added, “I think we can do a little bit better job of communicating and having more open town halls and open discussions with residents.’’

In a landslide, voters on March 10 rejected three of five proposed charter amendments, including two that would have transferred to commissioners — and away from voters — the power to grant long-term leases on public property. Leases of up to 99 years at the beach failed by about 79 percent while leases on the mainland failed by 77 percent.

“The results on amendments 2 and 3 were pretty dramatic,’’ Commissioner Chris McVoy said, referring to the lease questions. “I don’t recall ever seeing a roughly 80-20 election on anything in the city in the past.’’

McVoy, a critic of the lease amendments, devoted nearly 15 minutes of his commissioner comments to the election results. He suggested that one reason for the lopsided tallies was skepticism by voters about recent decisions commissioners have made about major developments on public land.

He cited a few examples, saying that many residents have been critical of the commission’s approval of the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts mixed-use project downtown, the K Street parking garage and new rules banning food sharing at Bryant Park.

McVoy mentioned a comment he saw on social media: “‘Given how little four members of this commission have listened to us, why should we believe a ‘Trust us, we would never vote for something the community doesn’t support. Why should we believe that for 99-year leases?’ I think that’s just rational thinking,’’ he said.

Commissioners voted to schedule the referendums without input from a charter review committee made up of city residents.

The ballot language failed to mention that passage of the amendments would strip voters of powers they have under the charter — a fact also not mentioned in the city’s $30,000 public information campaign to educate voters about the amendments.

City officials only acknowledged the power-shift impact of the two questions after residents raised questions at city-sponsored presentations.

“I knocked on doors in over half the streets in Lake Worth,’’ Laurie Witkin, a Parrot Cove resident, told commissioners at the start of the meeting during public comments. “Residents did not only not want to lose their vote, they were outraged you considered taking it from them.’’

“There is no doubt where the residents stand on this,’’ she said. “It’s hard to believe that the commission was so tone deaf to the will of the people to even consider asking us to give up our votes.‘’

Witkin also took issue with comments made by some commissioners before the election that the charter changes are needed to encourage private investment in the city, which could lead to much-needed renovations of public facilities and create sustainable revenue streams.

“I heard arguments from you that it needed to be easier for the developers, but I heard nothing about what do the people want for their beach and parks,’’ she said. “Who do you represent, developers or residents? Let me give you a hint. It’s the residents who elect you.’’

Witkin added, “The election was a waste of city time and money. It was rushed and ill-conceived. It never should have happened.’’

Vice Mayor Sarah Malega and Mayor Betty Resch took issue with McVoy’s comments. They blamed opponents of the amendments for sharing “bad information” and urging no votes on all five amendments, even though two were considered minor changes to update the charter on city operations.

Former Commissioner Kim Stokes, who lost her District 3 commission seat to Mimi May in 2024, helped lead the opposition.

Malega pointed to an amendment to remove from the charter references to the city’s police and fire departments. Lake Worth Beach dissolved its police department by merging with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in 2008 and dissolved its fire department by merging with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue in 2009.

The amendment failed by two votes, out of 3,278 cast, after a manual recount.

“There were signs around the town that said, ‘Vote no on all’ and I think that’s a reflection of some of the misinformation,’’ Resch said. “When I saw that, I shook my head and said, ‘Fine, it’s a losing battle.’’’

Speaking about the two lease amendments, Resch said: “I don’t see it as a win or a loss for anybody. I think it was the voice of the people. I think we need to hear it. But I also know a lot of misinformation was put out about the realities of the referendum.’’

Two other questions passed: A charter update reflecting that the county election supervisor certifies city elections, and a rule mandating that a search for a city manager must start within 90 days of a vacancy.

Segrich said he was “very proud” that 23 percent of the city’s 14,401 registered voters cast ballots, higher than the county average of 17 percent in municipal races March 10.

“I would hope in 2027 we can beat those numbers. Let’s get 6,000 people out to vote,’’ he said. “The more voices we have out there voting, it actually will help having commissions that represent the values of our residents. I think we have a lot of residents who think the commission does not represent them who might not vote.’’

In 2027, voters will cast ballots for mayor and commission seats 1 and 3, now held by Malega and May, respectively.

“The fallout from this referendum process will be long lasting,’’ Ramsay MacLeod, a Royal Poinciana resident, told commissioners. “Your behavior through this all has been less than honest and transparent, so trusting any of you is a very hard ask right now.”