I write to take issue with Mr. [Jess] Santamaria’s paid advertisement on page 2 in the Jan. 29 issue in which he stated that “these candidates have done nothing good for the village” and that they simply “wanted to create the illusion of controversy” in order to garner some media publicity. This statement is patently untrue and rises to level of defamation of Ms. [Selena] Smith’s character, and for this, I hereby demand a written apology and retraction from Mr. Santamaria on his next page 2 advertisement.
If Mr. Santamaria truly believes that Ms. Smith “has done nothing good for the village,” then he needs to educate himself on her background and history. Ms. Smith has been my neighbor since her family moved to the village in 2009. As a resident she has: organized food drives for Royal Palm Covenant Church, raised money for grants and scholarships for Royal Palm Beach High School students, distributed free dictionaries to Royal Palm Beach students, educated Royal Palm Beach kindergarteners on water safety and initiated the “Buy Local” program with the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce.
She is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Royal Palm Beach, a founding member and board member of the Western Business Alliance, a board member of the Executive Women of the Palm Beaches and a past board member of the Central Palm Beach County Chamber. She served on the Royal Palm Beach Art & Music Festival committee, golfed in the village’s annual Fourth of July golf tournament, ran in the West Fest 5K, bought a brick at Commons Park and was a board member of the Women of the Western Communities.
And to further educate Mr. Santamaria, that is only her involvement in the western communities. She is currently a board member of the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Women in Business Steering Committee. Previously, she served on the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s Six Pillars of Florida’s Future committee and helped dozens of Palm Beach County nonprofits as co-chair of the civic engagement committee with Leadership Palm Beach County. She served the community as a member of the Junior League of the Palm Beaches and on the board of the Palm Beach County Attractions Association. She has volunteered with many organizations, including the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, Habitat for Humanity, Els for Autism, Wellington Cares and Girls on the Run.
Even though Mr. Santamaria stated that Ms. Smith “has done nothing good for the village,” many other organizations feel differently. The Central Palm Beach County Chamber nominated her for the Women of Worth awards, and she was nominated for the Athena Award in the volunteer category for her service to the community. Ms. Smith has served, and continues to serve, the western communities, and I look forward to having her serve the western communities as a member of the Royal Palm Beach Village Council.
Mr. Santamaria needs to retract his statement, or further define how Ms. Smith “has done nothing good for the village.” If her service constitutes “nothing good,” then we should all strive to do this level of “nothing” for our community.
Frank Lopez, Royal Palm Beach
Santamaria certainly does need to apologize. His attacks against women are just not right and it is long over due for there to be some women up there on the council. I will be voting for all 3 women who all have very good qualifications. Shame on Santamaria to act like he has. A lot of us see that he is not the man we thought.
The Donald Trump of Royal Palm Beach speaks again! A bully is a bully is a bully. Are the residents of our village aware that as of 2010, Santamaria has filed 78 lawsuits in Palm Beach County (Source: testimoney from Andy Schaller Freedom of Speech lawsuit)? Does that number exceed “The Donald”?
There once was a time when Jess did “Do a lot for RPB” sadly it is now “What Jess Santamaria has Done to RPB”. Insulting people who are willing to run for office as he is now doing is really a low bar for him.
Mr. Santamaria has done a great deal for Royal Palm Beach and the western communities. But never forget the words that fall from his lips at so many meetings……..”I am a developer.”