Michelle Grau, Jon Pearlman, Stacy Sipple win seats on Boca Raton City Council

Significant change is coming to Boca Raton government, as voters Tuesday elected a new Mayor and three new City Council members.

For Seat A on the City Council, which Fran Nachlas is vacating, Michelle Grau secured 65% of the vote to defeat Christen Ritchey and Bernard Korn.

For Seat B, Jon Pearlman supplanted incumbent Council member Marc Wigder and outpaced a third candidate, Meredith Madsen, with 51% of the vote.

And in the contest for Seat D, Stacy Sipple won the right to succeed incoming Mayor Andy Thomson with 54% of the vote, beating Robert Weinroth and Larry Cellon.

Boca Raton uses a plurality system with no runoff, meaning a candidate in a given race needs only to secure the most votes to win outright, even if that total is below 50%.

All offices have terms that run for three years, with limits of two consecutive terms. City Council members are elected at large on a nonpartisan basis.

This year’s election came amid sharp disagreements over the city’s development future, with candidates split between arguing that proposed projects and related initiatives would generate revenue while modernizing the city and critics who warned it would amount to a giveaway of public land, worsen traffic and accelerate overdevelopment.

Seat A

Grau, a Republican accountant specializing in government finance, ran on a platform prioritizing fiscal oversight, keeping taxes low, improving city communication with residents and addressing cost-of-living and homelessness issues.

She was one of three City Council candidates endorsed by the Save Boca movement opposing plans to redevelop the city’s downtown area, which she said could be financed directly by the city without leasing it to private interests.

As of early this month, she reported raising nearly $24,000 and spending about $15,000 through her campaign account.

Ritchey, a politically unaffiliated family law lawyer and former member of the Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board, vowed to focus on a host of issues if elected, including infrastructure improvements, traffic management and support for first responders.

She supported the development plans, arguing that the companies involved listened to residents and improved their proposals.

She raised nearly $35,000 and spent more than $16,000 through her campaign account, City Clerk records show.

Korn, a Democratic former law enforcement officer-turned-real estate broker, had repeatedly run for public office over the years, but never notched a win. He ran this year on a promise to clean up City Hall, which he said is controlled by lobbyists and special interests.

Through Friday, he reported raising $5,400 through his campaign account and spending less than $350.

He said he wanted to slow Boca Raton’s development, arguing the city is approving major projects faster than infrastructure like roads, parking and policing can support.

Seat B

Wigder, a Republican real estate lawyer and self-described sustainability-focused developer, said that if he won re-election, he would continue promoting fiscal responsibility, public safety, affordable housing and technology-driven traffic solutions while supporting sustainable development and long-term financial stability for the city.

He generally supported the downtown development push, which he described as a significant benefit to the city, but also pushed for refinements to the project and project-approval process.

Wigder reported raising more than $131,500 through his campaign account, of which he spent about $118,000 by Friday.

Madsen, a Democrat-turned-Independence Party of Florida member, owns and operates a sun care products business and a brand consultancy company. She served in local school and civic roles, including the city’s Community Advisory Panel, and entered the race after activism with Save Boca, which endorsed her.

She promised, as a Council member, to prioritize transparency, resident input and responsible growth, opposing the current downtown redevelopment plan while advocating public votes on city land deals and stronger protections for green space and neighborhoods.

She reported raising $2,300 and spending about $650 through her campaign account.

Pearlman, a real estate investor and agent with no party affiliation who founded Save Boca, said he’d fight overdevelopment as an elected official in City Hall while protecting open green spaces and giving residents greater control over how city-owned land is used.

He reported raising almost $63,000 through his campaign account and spending just $2,000. Boca Magazine reported that he spent almost $250,000 to promote himself and Save Boca.

The outlet also called into question whether he met Boca Raton’s one-year residency requirement to run for office, citing issues with voting records and documentation tied to his listed address.

Voter records show Pearlman, who also carried a Save Boca nod, listing a Palm Beach address as his residence through at least 2024.

Seat D

Cellon, a retired Democratic construction executive and longtime Boca Raton civic leader, ran on his record of civic involvement, which includes decades on city advisory boards, including 27 years on the Community Appearance Board and service as Vice Chair of the Planning and Zoning Board.

If elected, he said he would use his development and planning experience to manage growth responsibly, require developers to fund infrastructure improvements, expand traffic and transit solutions, and maintain low taxes while preserving the city’s quality of life.

He framed himself as pro-development but also pro-management, supporting growth while insisting developers help pay for infrastructure and community improvements.

By last week, he reported raising about $15,000 through his campaign account and spending $13,000.

Sipple, Democrat-turned-independent pharmacist and fourth-generation Boca Raton resident, ran as a political outsider focused on transparency, infrastructure planning and stronger resident input in development decisions. Save Boca backed her campaign.

She vowed to limit zoning variances, require voter approval for changes to public land use and oppose long-term public land leases while prioritizing traffic solutions, public safety staffing and more transparent city governance.

She raised $18,000 and spent $5,000 through her campaign account.

Weinroth, a Democrat-turned-Republican lawyer and business executive by trade, served on the City Council from 2014 to 2018, when he won a seat on the County Commission. In 2024, he mounted an unsuccessful run for Congress.

This cycle, he ran on a promise to apply his government and financial oversight experience in supporting responsible growth, strengthening public safety, improving transportation and infrastructure, and protecting taxpayer dollars while maintaining parks and community services.

He said he supported the idea of redeveloping the government campus and building new public facilities, but that the current proposal still needed refinement and stronger public input before advancing.