A milestone for Palm Beach County: For a night, women held all seats on North Palm council

NORTH PALM BEACH — When Susan Bickel joined the North Palm Beach Village Council in 2017, she was the third woman ever to be elected to it and the lone woman on the dais for a year. On Thursday night, she witnessed a shift no one could deny was historic.

Not only were women in the majority on the five-member council, they also held every seat.

The meeting was only the third of its kind ever in Florida, said Bickel, now the village's mayor. And in a timely coincidence, it happened during Women’s History Month.

“It’s kind of a shame that this has to be a big deal, but it’s a big deal,” Bickel said. “I wish history were a little bit different, but it’s not. This says that (northern Palm Beach County) is forward-thinking and recognizes that women can do anything.”

The moment will be short-lived. Voters will choose between two men in the village election on Tuesday, March 19, to replace Judy Pierman, the former mayor who filled a council seat by appointment this spring. Those in attendance for the meeting found it exhilarating nonetheless.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have this, even for such a short time,” Bickel said. “I feel very lucky to serve with confident, strong women who have done a lot for our village and will continue to do more.”

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What made the moment possible was that two women seeking council seats in the election ran unopposed, allowing the village to swear them into office this month.

Lisa Interlandi, an environmental attorney, and Kristin Garrison, the director of planning and intergovernmental relations for the Palm Beach County School District, took two seats on the dais left vacant when members resigned this winter. They joined the three women already there: Bickel, Pierman and council member Deborah Searcy.

Pierman opened the meeting with a prayer that nodded to the progression of women.

“Help us, as women, to uplift and support each other,” Pierman prayed. “May the stories of courageous women of the past and present inspire us to be better and work for a better future for all.”

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Photos, proclamations and matching colors mark the moment

Residents packed Village Hall for the meeting. All the women in the chamber stood for a photo at the beginning of the meeting to mark the moment. Some brought their daughters and sons.

While some wore floral prints to the meeting, the five women on the council chose to match, all wearing black, the color many choose for professional settings, Bickel said.

Interlandi and her daughter, Lia, posed for photos before the meeting started. Then she took her seat on the dais next to Pierman, who was her fourth-grade teacher at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach many years ago.

“This pleases me so much to see Lisa here,” Pierman said.

Bickel made proclamations to commemorate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.

“Women have been leaders in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity,” Bickel said during one of the proclamations.

“Generations of women that knew their gender was no obstacle to what they could accomplish have long stirred new ideas and opened new doors, having a profound and positive impact on our community.”

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Form 6 resignations triggered three North Palm council vacancies

A state law that took effect in January unintentionally laid the groundwork for a North Palm Beach council comprised entirely of women.

Three council members resigned in December ahead of the law, which requires elected officials of municipalities to disclose their personal finances in a document called “Form 6.” Those who stepped down happened to be the three men on the council at the time.

“I don’t like how this happened, but I am glad to be a part of it,” Pierman said Thursday, March 14.

Karen Marcus, a longtime North Palm Beach resident and former Palm Beach County commissioner, was temporarily appointed to the council but resigned from the post in February.

Pierman, the first woman mayor for the village who served from 1989 to 1992, took up another temporary spot, which she will leave after the March election.

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Women in office: Northern Palm Beach County differs from the norm

In a world where women take up one in three local government seats, northern Palm Beach County is the exception.

Women are the majority in the councils of Juno Beach, Lake Park and Palm Beach Gardens. Tequesta has two women on its council, as did Jupiter before one of them resigned last summer.

Tequesta's lone council race on Tuesday, March 19 could tip its majority toward women. Lake Park has one seat up for election this cycle, which both men and women are running for, but the council will comprise mostly of women regardless of the results.

While Juno Beach has three women and two men on the council, a man and a woman are running for each of the two contested seats this cycle. The election results will determine its majority. Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter do not have any seats up for election this cycle.

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Mary Phillips, a resident and environmental committee member, said at the meeting that since the village was founded in 1956, there have been 36 councils in the village fully made up of men.

“It’s not just the fact that there are five women on the council, but you are accomplished women in your fields, you have great families and you are choosing to spend your time serving your community," Phillips said.

This statement proved true when Searcy’s son, Alexander, strode through Village Hall in soccer cleats and a medal in the middle of the meeting. Searcy's daughter, Elizabeth, accompanied him.

Alexander arrived to hug his mom and tell her that his soccer team just won their championship game, which she wasn’t able to attend because of the meeting.

Bickel noted that she is his teacher at The Benjamin School, ironically in the fourth grade. She said the village has a “nice little cycle of everything.”

“And Dr. Searcy’s husband was in my fourth grade,” said Pierman with a chuckle.

“That was a nice reminder of what we give up to be up here,” Bickel said about the soccer victory announcement. “It is one of those things where we are putting community ahead of things, and sometimes, that’s not easy.”

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: For one night, women hold all seats on South Florida village council