The field in the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors Seat 2 race is finally complete, drawing a total of six candidates.
Former Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Capt. Richard Vassalotti II qualified for the ballot just over 90 minutes before the noon deadline on Friday, June 14.
Vassalotti’s entry into the crowded race brings the number of candidates to five who are challenging incumbent Supervisor Keith Jordano, a longtime Acreage resident, insurance agency owner and former president of the Acreage Landowners’ Association.
Vassalotti grew up in Palm Beach County, graduating in the final Twin Lakes High School class in 1989. He spent 30 years in PBCFR, including 15 years in The Acreage.
What Vassalotti saw at accident scenes in The Acreage is what pushed him to get into the race, he said this week.
“A lot of the roads [in the district] are old farm roads, and people go down them at 40 to 45 miles an hour,” he said. “We’ve seen a severe increase in traffic crashes and know how to fix it.”
Vassalotti said the main problem is two-way stops.
“Many of these crashes are totally avoidable if we have four-way stops,” he said.
Jordano, an Orange Blvd. resident who is completing his first term, said he is not focused on the number of opponents he has in the race, but realistically, getting to 50 percent plus one to win outright in August will be difficult with such a crowded field.
“All I can do is concentrate on what I can concentrate on,” he said. “I believe I’m a man of the community… I’ve tried to do the best I can over the last four years to help all segments of our community have a better quality of life.”
As the board’s treasurer, Jordano said he’s “very on top of the budget” and proud that there is no assessment increase for most ITID property owners for the 2025 fiscal year.
Vassalotti, a 70th Place North resident, said he hopes to take the seat in August and avoid the November ballot.
“I think it’s time for change,” he said. “I’m not doing this for myself. I’m doing it for the taxpayers of The Acreage.”
The other candidates are:
- Lou Colantuoni Jr., a Coconut Blvd. resident. He has lived in the western communities for 45 years and owns a boatyard and dealership in Jupiter.
- Kirk Allen Ljongquist, who currently resides on 94th Terrace North and has owned property in The Acreage since 1989. He has been a frequent critic of road-related spending by the board.
- Stian Oksavik, who lives on 79th Court North and works for a telecom company, has lived in the area since 2014.
- John Rivera, a Tangerine Blvd. resident, is president and owner of Sunshine Safe & Lock. He has lived in the area since 1999.
Colantuoni, Ljongquist, Oksavik and Vassalotti are making their first runs for public office. Rivera ran unsuccessfully for Seat 5 in 2018 and 2022.
Under Florida law, if more than two candidates qualify for a nonpartisan race, it will appear on the Tuesday, Aug. 20 primary election ballot.
The top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election, unless a candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote and is elected outright.
Races that only draw two candidates — such as the Seat 4 contest in which two-term incumbent Supervisor Betty Argue is squaring off against trucker advocate Natalia Melian Torres — will skip the primary ballot and be on the general election ballot in November.
