Recently, a letter was sent to the Town-Crier, giving kudos to Commissioner Jess R. Santamaria for standing up for the citizens of The Acreage, regarding a pending development on Northlake Blvd., and being a spokesman for the people. The letter paraphrased him as saying, “the people of The Acreage are having big government and special interests decide what is best for them, namely unwanted development. It is being pushed upon them whether they like it or not, being told the developers are there to serve the residents and improve their lives.”
This is not the first time that Commissioner Santamaria has spoken up to protect the quality of life for the residents in Palm Beach County. Even before becoming an elected official, he has always pro-actively advocated for the voice of the citizens to maintain the rural character of the area they live in, which is why they moved to a rural area.
For the past 7-plus years, he has continued to be the voice of the people, provided leadership to the Palm Beach County Commission on several key issues that impact the quality of life and saved taxpayer dollars, including: avoiding the Callery-Judge project that would have resulted in 10,000 homes, successfully opposing the eminent domain of private property on Pioneer Road for an entrance to a commercial venture, $65 million cost avoidance for a landfill purchase and successfully advocating for increased oversight of how Palm Beach County buys and sells real estate, resulting in the creation of the Property Review Committee.
These are just a few of the many issues that Commissioner Santamaria has advocated for the rights of the citizens. Since his election, he also shares and educates the community by having monthly community forums.
I am sure there are many more examples that I am not aware of, and there is no question that the people will miss the commissioner when his term is up. Who will step up to fight for and represent the citizens of Palm Beach County?
Genieve White, Royal Palm Beach
