So much is happening with Delray Beach’s March 14 election that it can be hard to keep up. Today, we will start with a defamation lawsuit.
Rob Long, who is challenging Seat 2 incumbent Juli Casale, filed it against Chris Davey, chairman of the planning and zoning board on which Long served before having to leave because of term limits. Davey is a political ally of Casale and Mayor Shelly Petrolia. Casale and Petrolia often vote together against development projects.
According to the lawsuit, Davey has engaged in a “continuous online assault” against Long using “false and defamatory social media posts.” Long said Davey has wrongly accused him of “mortgage fraud” and claimed that Long has made money “only through his connections” in politics.
Davey is going after Long on the issue that the South Florida Sun Sentinel raised in a recent editorial. While on the board, Long voted on projects for which Bonnie Miskel was the attorney. Miskel has referred clients to Long’s marketing firm. None of the clients had businesses in Delray Beach.
Long, however, asked a member of the city’s legal department if he should vote on those projects. The attorney said yes, since Long had no financial interest in any of the projects. Long also disclosed his relationship with Miskel before debate.
On his posts that are contained in the court file, Davey said Long voted “with no disclosure at all.” Long, Davey said, had “single-handedly corrupted” the board. Some posts were on discussions monitored by Ingrid Lee. Casale put Lee on the code enforcement board last year.
Davey claims that because Long is “burdened by debt,” he took “ten’s (sic) and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed money” for votes. Davey provides no evidence of those claims, beyond alleging that Long has refinanced his home. The lawsuit accuses Davey of making these claims despite having “actual knowledge” that they were false or acting with “reckless disregard.”
Petrolia appointed Davey to the planning and zoning board. Long’s supporters will see hypocrisy in Davey’s accusation that Long has not been transparent. In 2018, during Petrolia’s first campaign for mayor, Davey was the agent for a fundraising committee that the law allows to keep its donors secret.
The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $50,000.
Casale’s voting record on development
During the Sun Sentinel’s interview with Casale and Long, Casale again stressed the issue of development. In contrast to Long’s record on the planning and zoning board, Casale said, she opposes projects that “people come out in opposition to.”
Casale’s statement implies that there has been massive public resistance to certain projects. Though she claimed to have “dozens” of examples, Casale cited Aura Delray and Delray Central, two residential developments that Miskel represented and Long voted for. Let’s look at the record.
Aura is a 292-unit apartment complex on Atlantic Avenue near Congress Avenue. It went on vacant land. When the project came before the city commission in November 2020, no one spoke in opposition. Yet Casale and Petrolia voted no.
Casale defends her votes by saying that she opposes developers who seek changes—sometimes known as waivers—from current rules. Aura Delray needed a rezoning.
Yet at the same meeting, Casale joined the unanimous decision to approve a waiver that allowed construction of a single-family home in the north end of the city. The architect was Gary Eliopoulos, a former city commissioner. He has contributed $2,000 to Casale’s campaign.
Delray Central will combine two office buildings on South Congress Avenue with a new, 271-unit apartment complex to create a mixed-use project. It required two minor waivers.
When Delray Central came before the commission last December, just three people raised issues with traffic. The planning and zoning board had recommended 4-3 that the commission reject it. Davey and Long were on opposite sides.
A similar project came before the commission in January 2021. Menin Development wanted to add residential to a commercial complex on Linton Boulevard east of Interstate 95. The project needed waivers. Casale and Petrolia joined the unanimous decision to approve it.
Despite Casale’s claim, no development projects during her three years on the commission have been wildly controversial. The most controversial vote was by Casale, Petrolia and Shirley Johnson to end the lease at Old School Square.
Fundraising for Delray’s election
The most recent fundraising reports reflect the alignment of that Seat 2 race.
Long received $8,000 in January, bringing his total to about $35,000. Donations include $1,000 from Elise Nail, a board member of Old School Square for the Arts, which Casale, Petrolia and Johnson voted to evict. Long has received contributions from two other board members, Deborah Dowd and Scott Porten.
Former Mayor Tom Lynch donated $250. Most of the city’s former mayors support Long. So do the first responder unions. Long has received $2,000 from the firefighters union and $1,000 from the police union. Both have endorsed Long.
Miskel’s firm has donated $1,000. Another $1,000 comes from Neil Schiller, a land-use lawyer who has projects in Delray Beach, including the renovation of Doc’s All American. Casale voted against it.
Casale got $13,000 in January, her best month. Her total is about $39,000. She received $500 from Carolyn Patton and Price Patton, who are allied with Petrolia. Patton, who served on the historic preservation board, ran unsuccessfully against Adam Frankel in 2021. Casale also has received $1,000 from Allen Zeller, whose votes on the planning and zoning board are often the opposite of Long’s.
I’ll have more on Thursday, including a look at the generally overlooked District 4 race.
Parking meters at Boca library?
A very bad idea is on the consent agenda for tonight’s Boca Raton City Council meeting.
City Manager Leif Ahnell wants to place parking meters in the parking lot of the downtown library. Apparently, Brightline passengers who should pay to park in the station garage are using free spaces that should be for library patrons.
So residents who don’t have home Internet service and won’t be spending $20 to ride Brightline would have to pay while they spend a couple of hours on a library computer? Mothers taking kids to story hour would have to pay? Even if patrons could have the library validate their ticket, why subject people to new hassle?
According to Ahnell, “Parking meters are needed to effectively manage the availability of public parking” near the library and nearby public areas. If Brightline customers are cheating, however, the city should go after the cheaters, not library patrons.
Ahnell put this item on the consent agenda with many others. Usually, council members approve those items with one vote and after little discussion. I’ll be stunned if there isn’t opposition to this idea, despite the council’s embrace of Brightline. The city already laid out $10 million for the garage.
FAU’s search for a new president
The Florida Atlantic University trustees meet this morning to discuss, among other things, the search for a president.
Chairman Brad Levine has said that he would like to see three finalists emerge from FAU’s search. But if what happened with the University of Florida repeats itself, the public may not know anything until the decision has been made.
To get around Florida’s Sunshine Law, the Legislature allowed the names of applicants to be secret. The argument was that good candidates wouldn’t want their interest to jeopardize their current jobs. Yet Florida State hired a very qualified candidate from Harvard under the old system.
The new system makes it possible to engineer a political hire. That happened at New College, where former House Speaker Richard Corcoran—an ally of Gov. DeSantis—became president with no debate. At UF, former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse was announced as president. He was the only finalist.
FAU’s new leader will succeed John Kelly, who retired at the end of 2022 after nearly nine years on the job. Chief Operating Officer Stacy Volnick is serving as interim president.
Delray police officer resigns following felony charges
Last October, Peter Sosa was an officer with the Delray Beach Police Department when county prosecutors filed charges against him. As part of a pretrial intervention after most of the charges were dropped, Sosa has given up his law enforcement certificate and resigned.
Sosa allegedly interfered with county firefighters who had responded to a blaze near his home west of Lake Worth Beach. One of the original charges was aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. According to the probable cause affidavit, Sosa tried to run down a sheriff’s deputy working crowd control.
Among other conditions, Sosa cannot have a firearm and must subject himself to random drug testing. If Sosa complies with all conditions, the remaining charges will be dropped.
Honoring Charles Siemon on Boca’s agenda
Also on tonight’s city council agenda is a proposal to honor the man who is largely responsible for creating Mizner Park and downtown Boca Raton.
Charles Siemon, who died in September 2020, was a land-use lawyer. He crafted the plan that turned the dying Boca Raton Mall into Mizner Park. The actual work was beyond complicated. Without someone as smart and civic-minded, it would not have happened. Siemon went on to start the annual Festival of the Arts at Mizner Park.
Councilwoman Monica Mayotte has proposed designating Northeast Fifth Street in front of the Mizner Park Amphitheatre “Charlie’s Way.” City Manager Leif Ahnell recommends approval. I expect no opposition.
