Two seats on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council are up for election on Tuesday, March 15.
SEAT 2 — In this race, two-term incumbent Councilman Jim Rockett is being challenged by Todd McLendon, a community activist who narrowly missed unseating Rockett three years ago.
On the council, Rockett has often been an asset to the town, especially when it comes to his business expertise and knowledge of budgets and financing. He has had a hand in keeping tax rates low and limiting development. However, Rockett is known for being unnecessarily combative with the town manager, and there are many questions left unanswered regarding his role in the disputed 2015 town election. At this point, Rockett has become more of a liability to the town moving forward.
Nevertheless, Rockett’s challenger is a flawed candidate. McLendon is a better prepared, more polished and more knowledgeable candidate than he was three years ago, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is best known for his efforts to derail building a Palm Beach State College campus in Loxahatchee Groves. That effort was wrong-headed and dangerous. However, it is also the past, and McLendon acknowledges such in his vow to work with the campus to make it a success. Today he carries a message of equality, working with the current town manager, working toward what the residents want and protecting the rural nature of the town.
Ideally, there would be a better candidate in this race. When we tally up the benefits each candidate brings to the table, McLendon comes across as the better choice, not the least of which because he offers healing from the divisive 2015 election and a chance to bring a deeply divided community together. The Town-Crier endorses the election of Todd McLendon to Seat 2 on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council.
SEAT 4 — In this race, Mayor Dave Browning is being challenged by Thais Gonzalez, an equestrian who has often been at odds with the town on policy issues.
Gonzalez is in-tune with the equestrian community of Loxahatchee Groves and has business expertise with a strong drive to learn. She certainly has qualities that Loxahatchee Groves can benefit from. Gonzalez’s passion for the community is refreshing, but passion and hard work is not always enough.
For almost a decade, Browning has been the mayor of Loxahatchee Groves, a ceremonial title granted to him by his fellow council members. But long before that, he was a leader in the community, dedicating countless hours of time and effort to stay in-tune with the needs and desires of this rural town. Having served both on the town council and on the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Board of Supervisors, Browning has a unique perspective that allows him to smooth over the literal bumps in the road as the two hash out what the relationship between the two entities should and will be. Browning works well with others on the council, and the town manager, listening to all points of view and doing the best he can for what the residents want. It is a role that he does well and should continue in.
The Town-Crier endorses the re-election of Dave Browning to Seat 4 on the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council.
