Delray Beach election: A decade later, Tom Carney, 70 is back in the city's mayoral seat
DELRAY BEACH — Residents of the “Village by the Sea” will have a new mayor and two newly elected commissioners come March 28.
The city's 40,412 voters elected former mayor and commissioner Tom Carney as mayor on Tuesday. Voters also elected political newcomer and former corporate CEO Tom Markert for Seat 1. In the city's third race of the night, voters elected former commissioner Juli Casale for Seat 3.
Carney, 70, defeated Ryan Boylston, the city's current vice mayor, and Shirley Ervin Johnson, a former commissioner from 2017 until 2023. In about a week, he will take over for current mayor Shelley Petrolia, who has served in the role since 2018.
Carney gained 52% of the vote, to Boylston's 38% and Johnson's 10%, according to preliminary results published by the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office.
Carney did not respond for comment to The Palm Beach Post but in his campaign, he stressed concerns about overdevelopment and the traffic congestion that comes with it, public safety, fiscal responsibility, reductions in property taxes, protecting Delray's quality of life and making City Hall user-friendly.
This election marks Carney's first return to the commission in more than a decade. Previously, he served as a commissioner from 2011 until 2013, serving as acting mayor in 2013. He has lived in Delray Beach for nearly three decades.
Tom Markert and Juli Casale win Delray Beach commissioner seats
In the city's Seat 1 race, Markert, a political newcomer and former corporate CEO, defeated former commissioner Jim Chard and Tenille DeCoste, another political newcomer. Markert, 66, will replace current commissioner Adam Frankel. He gained 39% of the vote to Chard's 37% and DeCoste's 24%.
Before running for local office, Markert had a long history in business. He has served as the president and chief marketing officer of various companies and currently is president of InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and members of the private sector for the protection of U.S. critical infrastructure and the American people.
Markert is a 15-year resident of the city. His campaign centered on increasing public safety, more oversight of the budget, providing residents with clean water and finding solutions to the city’s traffic congestion.
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For the city's Seat 3 role, Casale defeated political newcomers Anneze Barthelemy and Nick Coppola. She gained 42% of the vote, to Coppola's 37% and Barthelemy's 21%. She will replace Boylston.
Casale, 55, previously served as a commissioner and deputy vice mayor from 2020 until 2023, when she was defeated for the position by a newcomer at the time, Rob Long. Her campaign priorities included better management of the city's budget, neighborhood safety, supporting a new Atlantic Avenue Historic District, using technology to improve traffic and building more workforce and affordable housing. She has lived in the city for nearly two decades.
Also on the municipal ballot this year was an amendment to eliminate the city's Board of Adjustment, which considers and decides appeals and variances to the city's land-development regulations. Voters did not approve the amendment, with 59% of voters voting against it.
Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Delray Beach 2024 election: Tom Carney returns as mayor
