When Wellington residents vote in the upcoming August Primary Election, the Village of Wellington has placed two charter amendments on the ballot, which are deserving of your consideration and your “YES” vote.
Question 1 asks residents to further cement the term limits, which have been in the village charter since Wellington’s incorporation in 1996. When the charter was amended to allow for a separately elected mayor, term limits were correspondingly amended to allow office holders to serve up to two terms in each office. This means that after serving two terms (eight years total) a council member is term-limited, unless she or he runs for mayor. One could then serve up to two terms as mayor (another eight years). Question 1 seeks to remove any ambiguity that could allow a person to continually alternate between the offices of council member and mayor without limitation — forever. Elections themselves are not term limits because incumbents hold many advantages over first-time candidates, making it harder for challengers to win at the ballot box. Wellington has always benefited from term limits, which create an opportunity for new leaders to emerge and provide residents with more choices on Election Day. Vote YES on Question 1.
Question 2 seeks to allow the canvassing board appointed by the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to canvass Wellington’s elections without the need for Wellington to designate its own separate canvassing board. Wellington is one of just three municipalities in Palm Beach County that still appoints its own canvassing board. Service on the canvassing board is time-consuming and duplicates work the can be performed by the county’s board. Members must attend training workshops, the testing of the voting equipment, and then, after the election, multiple meetings where they may review ballots for signature matches. The council believes that there is no need for Wellington to continue to have its own separate canvassing board for anything other than a special (Wellington-only) election. Vote YES on Question 2.
Michael Drahos
Wellington Vice Mayor
John McGovern
Wellington Councilman
Tanya Siskind
Wellington Councilwoman
Michael Napoleone
Wellington Councilman