Riviera election: Why is there a race on the ballot that technically won't even count?

Early voting started Saturday for Palm Beach County municipal elections, including in Riviera Beach, where one — but not two — contested elections are being held.

City Council incumbents KaShamba Miller-Anderson and Julia Botel both drew re-election opponents.

In District 2, voters will get to choose between Miller-Anderson and her challenger, newcomer Leroy Kelson IV.

But in District 4, Botel has been disqualified by an appellate court, which ruled that she did not follow state law in qualifying as a candidate.

The city has notified Botel and her opponent, former Long Beach, N.Y., city manager Glen Spiritis, that the race is essentially over. Spiritis' swearing in has been scheduled for March 20.

Botel's name is on vote-by-mail ballots because the appellate ruling came after they were printed. But votes in the race will not be counted.

The appellate court ruled that Botel, a former educator who was seeking her third term, paid her campaign filing fee with a cashier's check and not one drawn from a campaign account, as is required by state law. That method of payment disqualified Botel, the court ruled, adding that it did not need to address another challenge to Botel's qualification - the fact that her qualification paperwork was filed after the noon, November 21 deadline.

Botel has vowed to take her case to the state Supreme Court. But even if that court agrees to hear it, Spiritis would not be required to respond until after his swearing-in date and the court would have well past that to make a ruling.

If the court agrees to hear Botel's case and if it rules that she was improperly disqualified, it could order a special election to fill the District 4 seat, according to a Spiritis political advisor familiar with local and state election law.

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Botel, 76, announced last year that she would not be a candidate for re-election. She backed her legislative aide, but when the aide got arrested, Botel changed her mind and jumped into the race, literally with only hours to complete her paperwork, according to court documents.

The two-week filing period closed at noon on Nov. 21. Botel's paperwork was stamped minutes after noon, and she paid the campaign filing fee with a cashier's check, according to court documents.

Riviera Beach initially declared that the former educator had properly qualified as a candidate, but the city reversed itself, noting that the paperwork had to be submitted by noon and that the filing fee had to be drawn from funds in a campaign account.

Botel sued, and a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge ruled in her favor. Spiritis appealed that ruling, which was reversed by the Fourth District Circuit of Appeal.

Botel asked the appellate court for a rehearing, but it refused, leaving Spiritis essentially as District 4's councilman-elect.

Before the ballot battle consumed their race, Botel and Spiritis were tussling over safe drinking water, development and management, which have also been the top issues in the District 2 race between Miller-Anderson and Kelson.

In January, when the city sent out a notice telling readers its utility had failed to report a positive test for E. coli in a well in June, water safety exploded as the top issue.

Residents have crowded into city meetings demanding answers about the late notification and expressing concern about the safety of the water they get from the city's water treatment facility, which was built in 1958.

The city plans to build a new water treatment plant, but it will cost an estimated $200 million and isn't expected to be operational until early 2027.

Meanwhile, the city is pushing to move forward on a host of development projects. In addition to voting in the City Council races, voters will be asked to consider a trio of referendum questions that could allow the city to raise $115 million for new parks, a new fire station and a new Police Department headquarters.

Passing all three would raise property taxes by $292 for every $250,000 in taxable assessed value.

Miller-Anderson has pushed for the new development projects. Kelson and Spiritis have been supportive as well, though both have questioned why more hasn't been done at this point. Both have also questioned the workload of City Manager Jonathan Evans, who oversees day-to-day city functions but also serves as director of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency.

Miller-Anderson has been a staunch supporter of Evans, though she said she'd be open to bringing on more management help for him.

Here's a more detailed look at the candidates in the District 2 race:

District 2: Leroy Kelson IV, 31, is making his first run for public office

Background: Kelson IV holds a bachelor's degree in public management and a pair of master's degrees, one in sports management and another in educational leadership and administration. He works as a single-school cultural coordinator for Palm Beach County Schools.

Public service: Kelson IV has not previously run for public office.

Priorities: Economic growth, public safety, environmental protection, city unification.

What he's saying: "I'm not a politician. I'm an educator. I was born and raised right here in Riviera Beach because the problems facing our students and their families are critical and won't be fixed by continuing to do the same thing over and over."

Campaign finance: Kelson IV raised $8,603 through January 31.

Website: www.LeroyKelsonIV.com

District 2: KaShamba Miller-Anderson, 50, is the incumbent and is seeking her fourth term

Background: Miller-Anderson holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in educational leadership and administration. In addition to her work on City Council, Miller-Anderson is an assistant principal in the Palm Beach County School District and a real estate agent.

Public service: Miller-Anderson serves on Riviera Beach City Council.

Priorities: Safe, clean drinking water, transparency in local government, funding infrastructure improvements, affordable housing, beach preservation, job creation.

What she's saying: "It is very important that experience continues to remain on the dais because we have gotten a lot of projects started. With those projects, it took a very long time for that to happen. It did not happen the very first few years, and so me staying on the board is certainly something that I'm asking for your vote for."

Campaign finance: Miller-Anderson raised $9,675.15 through January 31.

Facebook: Re-Elect Riviera Beach Councilwoman KaShamba Miller-Anderson, District 2

Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Riviera Beach election: Water safety, development are key issues