My Local Politics

Boca Politics 2008 | Same Old Faces

Further supporting the theory that the Boca City Council is an incestuous group which merely recycles the same deep seated members between term limits pauses, the just elected City Council includes the repeat members of Susan Whelchel, Peter Baronoff and Susan Haynie

Councilwoman Susan Whelchel went unchallenged and will take the helm as Mayor to replace the term limited Steven Abrams, who for the record did an admirable job in the post for the prior seven years. Peter Baronoff was also unchallenged in the election so he will assume his second three year Council term.

In the only contested race for the Boca City Council, former councilwoman Susan Haynie edged out former councilman Al Travasos by about 54% to 46%. Approximately 11% of the city's 56,257 registered voters cast their ballots. Haynie, 52 and a licensed contractor, previously served on the City Council from 2000 to 2006 until her term limit was reached. By comparison, Travasos, 63, served on the Boca City Council from 1984 to 1992.

    
Councilwoman Susan Haynie     Councilman Al Travasos

This was yet another competitive race where the strategies employed seemed to focus more on placing signs in yards and less about giving the voters something new to think about. Neither Haynie or Travasos did a respectable job of differentiating themselves or offering any new or creative strategies for the voters to consider.

Haynie and Travasos both made revitalization of the North Federal Highway Corridor a top campaign theme. Travasos also said the city's code enforcement department should crack down on the multiple families residing in single family homes along the corridor. Other campaign promises from Haynie included the following:

• Public safety. Haynie says "I want to provide our residents with the highest level of public safety in the most cost-efficient manner. You do that by maximizing the resources and with the current employees that you have." In addition, money can be saved by "utilizing the available technologies, such as global position systems or remote surveillance or the laptops in the police cars. The city subscribes to the Code Red System, which is currently used for hurricane evacuation and boil-water alerts. It could also be used for crime alerts citywide."
• City finances. "The common objective here is to provide the highest quality of service in the most cost-efficient manner. That's done by reviewing each department from the bottom up to achieve maximum efficiencies. Privatization should be looked at for certain services, like sanitation, building inspection, code enforcement and golf course management."
• Redevelopment. "We had the successful charrette for North Federal Highway. We have a vision that was the consensus of the neighborhood and the property owners. And we need to see that vision brought to fruition. The city can spur that by seeking funding to do an entry feature and a corridor enhancement on North Federal Highway, using enhancement-funding funds through the [Palm Beach County Metropolitan Planning Organization]."

Haynie also suggested something must be done with the Eden condominium project (yawn) and claimed she would fight for the long overdue I-95 interchange at Spanish River Blvd. These campaign promises will be scored as Haynie's term proceeds.

Because the Haynie and Travasos campaign offered little in a creative or stimulating message, the only entertainment came when Haynie went negative on Travasos and the Boca Chamber of Commerce. Haynie distributed a mass mail campaign showing pictures of the two council members Bill Hager and M.J. 'Mike" Arts along with her opponent Travasos and the phrase "Do we want the Boca Chamber of Commerce to Take Control of Our City?" Boca Chamber President Troy McLellan responded with a statement citing "It is unfortunate that Haynie is resorting to negative attacks on good public servants who aren't even on the ballot, even a former colleague, and the small business people of Boca Raton in a desperate attempt to get back on the City Council."

Haynie asserts the mailer wasn't a negative piece and instead positions it as a "humorous" message. However, its clear that after she accepted the Chamber's endorsements during three prior campaigns between 2000 and 2004, she had little reservation in attacking the Chamber when it chose to endorse her opponent. The Chamber as well as former council members Steven Abrams, Susan Whelchel and M.J. 'Mike' Arts all backed Travasos.

In addition to alleging Chamber imperialism, Haynie portrayed herself as a lone crusader determined to offset an alleged City Council Chamber-heavy influence. Perhaps this balance is true, or perhaps Haynie is just an obstructionist unable to work in a team environment. In the end, painting the Chamber as a dominating special interest group and Travasos as a puppet of a lobbying organization seems to have proven effective.

Posted: March 12, 2008
Keywords: Boca Raton City Council
Categories: Boca Raton Politics
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