Palm Beach County Commissioner Gregg Weiss kicked off his campaign for mayor of West Palm Beach with a vow to residents that “your voice will be heard” and an endorsement from a former mayor.
Addressing supporters at E.R. Bradley’s Saloon
in downtown West Palm Beach, Weiss said at the Sept. 16 event that the city “is at a turning point” and said that it needs a leader who will take residents’ concerns seriously.“We’re growing and that’s a good thing,” he said. “But that has to be managed well, and we have to make sure we protect our neighborhoods.”
Weiss received an endorsement at the event from former Mayor Jeri Muoio, who said that the city has multiple qualified mayor candidates but “only one of them should actually be mayor.”
“I think Gregg
is that person,” she said.
With less than six months before the March 9 mayoral election, four people have filed paperwork to run: Weiss, former City Commissioner Christina Lambert, construction superintendent Aaron Moreno and Cory Kennedy, a former Northwood Hills neighborhood leader who filed in June.
Lambert and Weiss are considered the two front runners and have amassed the largest campaign war chests.
Lambert reported $231,000 in campaign contributions through June, while Weiss had $128,000, according to city records.
Lambert said she is planning a campaign kickoff event Nov. 10.
Weiss is hoping to channel rising concerns about overdevelopment in the city, which reached new heights this year as city leaders moved to allow taller buildings downtown and explored working with a prominent developer to close a stretch of Flagler Drive and build a waterfront park.
Weiss cited the location of his campaign event, Bradley’s, to underscore his point, reminding supporters that Mayor Keith James had worked with developer Stephen Ross to pressure the restaurant’s owners to sell their property as part of the effort to build the waterfront park.
“Thank God this building is still here,” he said.
Weiss went on to say that as mayor he would make sure residents’ voices are heard and neighborhoods’ concerns are taken into consideration.
“We have to make sure we protect our neighborhoods, that our neighborhoods have a seat at the table, that what makes this place special we don’t allow to be pushed away under some bulldozer or somebody else’s vision,” he said. “This has to be the vision of the people of West Palm Beach.”
Andrew Marra is a reporter for The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Weiss kicks off West Palm mayor campaign with ex-mayor’s endorsement
