Delray Beach voters choose a couple of newcomers as committee members

DELRAEY BEACH, Florida. Delray Beach will get two newcomers to City Hall.

Voters chose Angela Burns and Rob Long as their new city commissioners in Tuesday’s municipal elections.

Long’s victory came at the expense of current Commissioner Juli Cazale, who herself ousted incumbent President Bill Bathurst in 2020.

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A former member of the city’s planning and zoning council, Long often supported development projects that Cazale opposed.

Burns persuaded former commissioner Angie Gray to take the seat vacated by Shirley Johnson, who could not seek re-election due to term limits.

Casale frequently sided with Mayor Shelley Petrolia in voting matters and opposed the massive growth of the Village by the Sea.

Long and his supporters criticized Casale for voting for terminate the city’s lease with the board that operated Old School Square. The controversial decision was met with many public outcry of residents.

Miranda Christian

Casale depicted Long in bed with developers voting on projects in the Planning and Zoning Board despite having business ties to some of them, the ethics complaint alleges.

“I’m disappointed,” Casale said in a statement to WPTV. “There was a lot of confusion about voting by mail. This resulted in a surprisingly low turnout.”

Meanwhile, Burns and Gray argued in a series of campaign e-mails.

The Gray campaign chided Burns for being part owner of a failed business that received a $66,000 city grant and was later evicted. Burns criticized Gray’s one-time suggestion that the city should get its own cryptocurrency.

Voters also overwhelmingly supported a pair of bond referendums totaling $120 million. Residents will pay for the bonds for 30 years through property tax.

Taxpayers will post a $100 million bond “to fund the renovation and equipping of the police department and fire stations.”

Earlier in the day, WPTV spoke with Delray Beach Police Chief Russ Mugger about the need for a new building. He said the current building on Atlantic Avenue has officers “working in the closets.”

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“The department has grown over the years,” he said. “The city has grown. The building is outdated, although functional.”

Mager said he believes most of the money – about $80 million – will go towards building the new headquarters for the Delray Beach Police Department.

“Basically, that’s what we’re looking at with today’s cost numbers,” Mager said.

Taxpayers will also spend another $20 million to improve Katherine Strong Park, Robert P. Miller Park, and other city parks, though it’s not clear how much money will be allocated to each.