Todd Drosky will continue serving in the Deerfield Beach government under a new title: Mayor.

On Tuesday, the District 4 Commissioner took 56% of the vote to defeat real estate investor Dan Herz, a fellow Republican, and secure the right to succeed term-limited Bill Ganz as the city’s top official.

Drosky will serve Deerfield Beach’s 87,000 residents at City Hall alongside new Commissioners Daniel Shanetzky and Thomas Plaut.

Shanetzky won the City Commission’s District 3 seat, taking 50.7% of the vote to defeat Philip Bradley and Karen Shelly, who respectively received vote shares of 28.4% and 20.9%.

Meanwhile, Plaut beat Chauncey Chapman, with 84% of the ballots in his favor, to take the District 4 seat Drosky is vacating.

Chapman had self-inflicted disadvantage. He errantly checked a box on his paperwork to make himself a write-in candidate, meaning his name did not appear on Tuesday’s ballot.

The city’s election rules provide that the candidate with the most votes in each race wins outright, with no runoff.

The winners Tuesday secured four-year terms. Because municipal elections are technically nonpartisan, none of the candidates’ political affiliations were denoted on the ballot.

Drosky, 53, raised more than $69,500 through March 6. He carried endorsements from the Broward Teachers Union, Broward Young Republicans, Metro-Broward Professional Firefighters and a deputies’ union from the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

He ran on a promise to keep taxes level, add more green spaces, promote “smart and responsible” development and promote public safety.

Herz, 63, amassed over $58,000. His campaign priorities included permanently lowering property taxes by 10%, moving the city’s elections to November, spurring local economic development and improving fiscal responsibility in government.

Things between the two candidates grew heated in the lead-up to the election. Drosky told NBC 6 Herz had made “very disparaging comments” about him, his family, and his supporters. Herz said that Drosky and others at City Hall had spent and developed irresponsibly.

Two other candidates for Mayor have dropped out of the race but did not do so soon enough for their names to be removed from the ballot.

Chaz Stevens exited the race and endorsed Drosky after taking Herz, the city, and the Broward Supervisor of Elections to court to remove Herz from the ballot. Stevens alleged that Herz lives in Plantation, not Deerfield Beach. A Judge decided last Wednesday that the matter would have to be settled after the election.

Caryl Berner also filed to run for Mayor but later withdrew.

For the Commission’s District 3 seat, which represents the center-west portion of the city, Bradley, Shanetzky, and Shelly ran to succeed Commissioner Bernie Parness.

Bradley, a 74-year-old Republican retiree with a background in biomedical engineering, added $17,000 from his bank account to his campaign coffers and spent all but $7,000 of it by last week.

Shanetzky, a 62-year-old lawyer, raised about $38,000 and spent $30,500. Shelly, a 70-year-old condo manager, raised about $11,000 and spent $7,700. Both are Democrats.

Bradley ran to reduce property taxes, “embrace innovative technology,” and advocate for “smart development.”

Shanetzky, meanwhile, leaned on his community involvement over the past four years, including service as Vice Chair of the Deerfield Beach Cultural Affairs Committee. He prioritized public safety, a preservation-conscious development plan and addressing traffic issues.

Shelly, who has worked in several posts in state government, wanted to help small businesses in the community, reestablish the Deerfield Beach Chamber of Commerce and ensure residents have a say in government decisions.

Twenty-eight years ago, in 1996, she unsuccessfully ran for Broward Supervisor of Elections.

Two Republicans, Chapman, 75, and Plaut, 73, competed in the race for the District 4 seat, which represents the city’s northwest corner.

Chapman raised more than $21,000 through March 6. Almost all of it came from his bank account. A retired engineering pro in the scuba diving industry, he promised to roll back property taxes by 10%, provide residents with more exclusive amenities, move the city’s elections to November, and stop “stupid spending of our tax dollars.”

Plaut, who previously managed office operations for a home inspection company, headed into Election Day as the city’s sitting Planning and Zoning Board Chair. He raised about $28,000 and spent almost $16,000.

His campaign platform prioritized using federal funds on sewage and drainage projects, renovating Deerfield Beach’s downtown area, improving the city’s local transportation provisions, backing law enforcement and ensuring the efficiency of municipal services.

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Voters in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County’s third-most populous city, picked a new Mayor and kept a sitting Commissioner in office on Tuesday.

With all precincts reporting, Rebecca Shelton secured 56% of the vote, earning the right to succeed Mayor Ty Penserga, who must leave due to term limits. She won handily against three opponents: Court McQuire, Golene Gordon and David Merker, who took 28%, 12% and 4% of the vote, respectively.

In the race to represent District 3, which spans the city’s southeast portion, incumbent Republican Commissioner Thomas Turkin took 58% of the vote to defeat political operative Dominick Vargas, who carried an endorsement from the Florida Democratic Party.

Incumbent District 1 Commissioner Angela Cruz coasted back into office unopposed.

The Mayor’s race featured a politically diverse field of candidates. Gordon and Merker are both registered Democrats, McQuire is a Republican, and Shelton has no party affiliation.

Shelton, a 49-year-old real estate broker, carried endorsements from the Palm Beach County PBA, Boynton Beach Association of Firefighters, Palm Beach Fraternal Order of Police, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Ruth’s List Florida into Election Day.

She ran on a platform that prioritized government transparency and neighborhood cleanliness, supported a strong local economy, and supported “sustainable growth.”

Through March 6, Shelton reported raising nearly $70,000 and spending $43,000.

A longtime resident, Gordon, 51, ran on her record of community service — she chaired Boynton Beach’s Community Agency Advisory Board and sat on its Planning and Arts panels — and a promise to leverage her business expertise for the city’s benefit.

Gordon vowed, as Mayor, to improve the city’s management, boost government transparency and involve the community more in city decisions.

She reported raising more than $38,500 through the end of February, a significant chunk of which was her own money.

McQuire, a 55-year-old marketing executive, said his goal as Mayor would be to lower taxes, cut government spending and boost public safety. He promised to prioritize “smart growth and development that makes sense” while helping small businesses thrive and ensuring the city’s clean drinking water.

Through March 6, he reported raising and spending more than $27,500 to win the job.

Merker is a 79-year-old insurance pro who served on the City Commission from 2013 to 2016 when he unsuccessfully ran for Mayor. He told the Palm Beach Post last week that supporting first responders is a priority.

City records show he raised just shy of $3,400 and sent $2,200 by New Year’s Day, after which he reported no campaign finance activity.

Turkin, a veterinarian and real estate agent who joined the City Commission in 2022, prioritized public safety and touted his record at City Hall, supporting fiscally responsible and community-first measures.

The 33-year-old, who serves in the U.S. Navy’s construction battalion and on the Palm Beach County League of Cities, reported raising more than $38,000. He had about $15,000 left heading into the last week of the race.

Vargas, 25, worked on several political campaigns before launching his own. His platform focused on affordable housing, public safety, addressing traffic congestion, improving government transparency and a promise to establish guidelines to encourage environmentally sustainable development.

His endorsers included Penserga, Democratic Reps. Joe Casello and Debra Tendrich, the Florida Democratic Party and Florida Future Leaders.

Vargas amassed $16,500 through March 6, with about $5,000 left to spend.

The District 3 race turned ugly in January when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed that it was investigating an altercation between the two candidates. When the pair met at City Hall, Vargas accused Turkin of grabbing his phone.

A five-second video Vargas showed WPTV, which the outlet posted on its website, shows Turkin grabbing Vargas’ phone and saying, “You’re not allowed to videotape me. I didn’t approve that.”

Consent is not required to film people in public.

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