Town to hold its annual election caucus Tuesday at Town Hall

After being held virtually last year because of COVID-19 concerns, the town's annual election caucus returns to Town Hall on Tuesday.

The 110th annual event, at which candidates will be nominated for Town Council groups 1, 2 and 3, is scheduled for 5 to 6 p.m. in Town Council Chambers, 360 S. County Road.

The town's general election is scheduled for March 8.

Incumbent council members Lew Crampton, Bobbie Lindsay and Maggie Zeidman announced in October that they would be seeking reelection for their seats.

More: Palm Beach Town Council OKs one-year residency rule for political candidates

All offices are for a two-year term.

Crampton, a longtime South End resident, holds the Group 1 seat. He is seeking a third term.

Lindsay, who holds the Group 2 seat, and Zeidman, who occupies the Group 3 seat, are seeking their fourth terms.

Currently, all three are running unopposed, Zeidman confirmed.

"I think the community really likes what we're doing," Zeidman said Monday. "It's continuity. People trust us. We've got some big decisions coming up, and I'm very pleased we're going to stay intact for the next couple of years. We've got this."

The caucus will take place a month earlier than it did last year after the council agreed unanimously last spring to move the town caucus and qualifying date from the first Tuesday and Wednesday in January to the first Tuesday and Wednesday in December for all future elections.

The move followed a request from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections that all municipalities in the county change their qualifying periods so that they end at least 60 to 70 days prior to the municipal election date.

This change would provide the Supervisor of Elections enough time to create and mail ballots to overseas voters, according to town documents.

Municipal elections are held annually on the second Tuesday in March.

Crampton was first elected to his seat in 2018 and re-elected in 2020 without opposition.

A former chairman of the Citizens’ Association of Palm Beach and vice chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission prior to joining the council, he touts his leadership on issues such as beach renourishment, alleviating parking congestion, redevelopment of the Town Marina, pension fund realignment and management of construction throughout the town.

Most recently, Crampton supported funding additional code enforcement personnel to monitor construction sites throughout town.

"We've got more boots on the ground in neighborhoods to help monitor the behavior of contractors on these construction sites, which has gotten out of hand from time to time," he told the Daily News in October.

Lindsay, a former member of the town's Shore Protection Board and Planning and Zoning Commission, first was elected to the council in 2016, and re-elected in 2018 and 2020 without opposition.

She chose to pursue a fourth term to help shepherd the town through a review of its zoning code, she said.

Palm Beach, Lindsay said, is under pressure from accelerated growth in West Palm Beach and the county.

"We don’t need to reimagine Palm Beach," she said. "We need to preserve it, to keep its unique small town charm and hold on to the mass, scale and architecture of the community that attracted our families here so many decades ago."

Zeidman joined the council in March 2016 after being elected without opposition to the seat previously held by Penny Townsend, and was re-elected unopposed in 2018 and 2020.

Currently serving as council president, she told the Daily News in October that she wanted to remain on the council for another term "to help guide our town through the decisions we're about to make over the next two years.”

"Without a doubt, the health, safety and welfare of our town and its residents continues to be challenged by drinking water issues, rising sea level, and considerable growth in neighboring cities and in our own town," she said. "The current council is uniquely positioned to address these issues because they are experienced, diligent, and immersed in the everyday life of this community."

Jodie Wagner is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

@JRWagner5

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach to hold its 110th election caucus Tuesday at Town Hall