Regarding the District 7 race to replace Palm Beach County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor, so far, five Democrats have entered the race.
It appears that crowded fields for elections at the local, state and national level has become the new trend, coupled with aggressive, record-breaking fundraising.
District 7 is a Democratic stronghold with a very large minority population. However, don’t be surprised to see a Republican candidate enter the race.
All five of the Democratic candidates have name recognition: Mack Bernard, Rubin Anderson, Clarence Williams, Cedric Thomas and Lawrence Gordon.
My choice in this crowded field is Lawrence Gordon. He is experienced, hardworking, articulate, honest, knowledgeable and, above all, he is of impeccable integrity.
My conversations with Mr. Gordon were quite stimulating. He is a candidate, if elected, who will hit the ground running, which is a requirement for Riviera Beach at this moment in time.
I applaud his wife, Salesia V. Smith-Gordon, for the good work she did on the ethics commission, and for gracefully stepping down in order to campaign for her husband.
A number of county commissioners will be leaving office shortly, some due to term limits, like Shelley Vana, who will be running for Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, and others, like Taylor and Melissa McKinlay, who are both candidates for the U.S. Congress.
The economy is in good shape and property values in Palm Beach County are rising; prices at the pump are falling. We have a new county administrator, Verdenia Baker, poised to succeed her retiring boss, Bob Weisman, and a number of soon-to-be elected new county commissioners. It just doesn’t get any bigger than this.
In the coming weeks and months, there will be an avalanche of campaign literature and advertisements, some of which will be misleading and relying heavily on the stupidity of some of the voters. With that in mind, I urge the voters of District 7, and all voters, not to be fooled, but to be informed. Get involved and vote for the best candidate in the field; the one who will best represent your interests. In District 7, that candidate, without a doubt, is Lawrence Gordon.
Karl Witter, The Acreage
