Category: Politics

West Boca News invited candidates in the 2014 Boca Raton City election to submit an article of up to 1000 words. Here is the submission from Eric Gooden, a candidate for Council Seat B. His campaign website is Eric Gooden 2014.
I am a 4 1/2 year resident of Boca Raton. I am originally from Detroit, Michigan. What brought me to the city of Boca Raton was the small town environment and the sense of communities that big cities lack. I am currently attending Lynn University and will be graduating in May with Bachelors in Criminal Justice.
This past summer, I had the honor to work for a congressman from my home state of Michigan. My primary task was writing constituent letters. Hearing stories about local issues became life defining moment for me and sparked my interest to get involved in public service.
I am running for Boca Raton City Council because Boca Raton is home for me and I want to be part of making it an even better place where young professionals, seniors, and all residents can realize opportunities, build community, raise families, grow their own businesses, and lead successful lives. All of which will enhance the bright future and opportunities offered by living in Boca Raton.
If elected as Boca Raton City Councilman I will be a voice for all the residents and the preservation and enhancement of the quality of life in Boca Raton, including its beautiful beaches, parks, and diverse neighborhoods. To achieve this goal, I would focus on ‘‘smart growth and development.’’ By that I mean development that recognizes and takes into account the realities of our existing infrastructure, including such basic things as traffic patterns, limited parking, future costs of utilities, sewage, waste disposal, aesthetic, transportation, etc. this vision of ‘‘smart growth and development’’ also requires a streamlining of the permitting process for every small business owner. This goal can be realized by strategies to enhance the economic security of Boca Raton. We must take full advantage of the valuable universities in Boca Raton: Lynn, Florida Atlantic, and Palm Beach State College. There are thousands of bright minds, including future successful engineers, doctors, lawyers, city planners, inventors, nurses, skilled IT workers, business professionals, and executives. Over the next two years, I will reach out to the students in these communities with a message that they can make a difference here, build here, work here, and raise a family here… because Boca Raton is a great place in which to live, raise a family, and work.
The incumbent has been voting 99% of the time for developers and not voicing the concerns for all the residents. This needs to stop. Please make the right decisions for future generations of families, seniors, college graduates.
Vote on Tuesday, March 11th, Eric Gooden for Boca Raton City Council, Seat B. Your vote counts!

Boca Raton city candidates for Mayor and two Council seats will debate tonight at the “6500 Building”, 6500 N. Congress Ave.

The event is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County.
Unfortunately West Boca News will not be able to attend. If any of our readers can tip us off to other coverage of the debate, especially online videos, we will be happy to share them.

West Boca News invited candidates in the 2014 Boca Raton City election to submit an article of up to 1000 words. Here is the submission from Robert Weinroth, a candidate for Council Seat D, for the remaining year left in the term for that position. His campaign website is Weinroth2014.com.

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ABOUT ROBERT S WEINROTH
I am a 22 year Boca Raton resident. I attended Northeastern University where I earned my BS in Business Administration, and my Juris Doctor from New England School of Law. I currently serve as president and general counsel of Freedom Medical Services, an accredited Boca Raton medical equipment & supply company servicing over 6,000 patients, nationwide.

I have a broad background in business management, having worked at American International Group, as president of a claims subsidiary. My family and I were asked to relocate for work in Palm Beach County. Moving our lives to a new place was both scary and exciting. But moving our vehicles over was difficult, it would’ve been so much easier to use a company like Cars Relo for example. Anyway, once we’d moved and were all set up, I was engaged as a senior analyst for Southern Business Management Associates where I was responsible for analyzing the corporate operations of small to medium-sized, closely-held companies and was tasked with creating a plan for restoring operational efficiencies and profitability for our clients.
I was appointed to sit on Boca Raton’s Elder Affairs Advisory Board. I have served as president of two homeowners associations. I was also appointed to serve on the Safety & Security Committee at Woodfield Country Club HOA, its finance committee and the by-laws, long range planning and finance committees at Woodfield Country Club.

I also accepted assignments as a Guardian ad Litem for the 15th Judicial Circuit, advocating for the needs of abused and neglected children, have served on the boards of two Boca synagogues, was elected to sit on the School Advisory Councils for Waters Edge Elementary and Olympic Heights High School and have served on the Board of the Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Friends of the IDF and the Adolph & Rose Levis JCC. I am also an associate member of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), I am an Associate Member of the PBC League of Cities, and I was elected to the Florida Bar Board of Governors for two terms.

I am running to bring more clarity to the budgeting process, reduce the tax burden on residents; address development and traffic issues from the perspective of smart, proactive planning, and continue our tradition of good local schools. Additionally, the City Council has, for the last few years, been less successful than in the past in finding consensus on policy direction, and I believe I can bring a new sense of cooperation to the dais.
I also see a need to utilize the Council Workshops (usually held the day before the City Council meeting) as working sessions where issues can be discussed & debated and where city staff, proponents and opponents can provide the Council with a broad range of views and input to allow the City Council to make fact based decisions. This is how workshops used to work, and I will bring back that focus.

For my year in office I will tackle:
I. Efficiencies at city hall in obtaining building permits and the permits necessary to do routine maintenance e.g. tree removal jacksonville fl, sidewalk repair, etc. Likewise, I would like to explore ways to make the approval process more efficient especially for minor changes in previously approved projects to allow for responsible economic development and job creation.
II. I also think it is time to step back and review the previous 20 year development plan (originally approved by the voters) and determine what the City of Boca Raton should look like in 2035 and beyond.
III. I would also like to focus on business development to ensure Boca Raton is deemed a viable choice for businesses seeking to relocate to Southern Florida, while continuing to nurture its business relationships with companies currently operating in our city to avoid seeing them depart for a municipality deemed friendlier to business.

IV. I had anticipated the issue of pension sustainability would have been settled before the election on March 11th. It now appears this issue will be kicked to the next City Council and, if elected, will work to ensure we balance the ability of taxpayers to absorb the costs of public safety (including pension costs) with the need to ensure our fire, police and emergency medical professionals are treated fairly allowing us to attract and retain the best recruits. With this in mind, I also want to raise awareness about how people can go about filing a mis-sold pension claim. Far too many of our citizens have been mis-sold pensions and, as a result, have been left in a financially insecure position. Justice must be done.

V. I am in favor of annexation, if after full analysis it is deemed favorable to the city. With the recent annexation of the old polo field on Jog Road, at the request of the developer, contiguous communities should be considered for annexation. In the past, St Andrews CC and Boca Grove were considered appropriate for annexation. I would request an updated fiscal study by the City Manager and, assuming it still makes fiscal & operational sense, would seek the Council’s approval of a resolution directing the City Manager to initiate formal contact with those communities to ascertain their sentiments on this issue
VI. Over the next five years, municipal services will be impacted by a significant number of retirements. We need to address succession planning before our public safety and municipal services are adversely impacted as the knowledge and skills base leaves.

VII. Our relationship with FAU and BRRH needs to be improved with respect to their need to upgrade facilities, and our residents need for education, health services and employment opportunities.
I am committed to making Boca Raton even better than it is today. Notwithstanding some hiccups over the past few years, Boca Raton is in an extremely favorable position with respect to attracting new business to our City. Also, with many money-making strategies such as buying and trading stocks through computer programs like forex robot more businesses are able to become a reality due to the profit they can make from investing in the stock market. We have space available for virtually any sized company looking to relocate to Boca Raton. From our “A” rated schools, to beautiful weather, miles of beaches on the Atlantic and abundant recreational opportunities. Three colleges, a Medical School, a friendly business environment and no state income tax, These are the just a few of the reasons why Office Depot will stay in Boca Raton as it consolidates operations, Cancer Treatment Centers of America is also forsaking Illinois for Boca Raton. Trader Joe’s, Fortunoff’s, Tyco, ADT, Lord & Taylor and many others are seeing Boca Raton as the place they want to be.