A total of seven candidates qualified to run for two seats available on the Wellington Village Council when the qualifying period ended Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Vice Mayor Tanya Siskind and Councilman John McGovern are both stepping down due to term limits. Three candidates qualified to run for Siskind’s Seat 2: Johnny Meier, Elizabeth Pandich and Tatiana Yaques. Four candidates qualified to run for McGovern’s Seat 3: Lauren Brody, Stephen Levin, Paulo Santana and Joshua “Josh” Zillmer.
The election will be held Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Each seat is for a four-year term, and candidates must receive at least 35 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.
SEAT 2
The race for Council Seat 2 has three candidates: local businessman Johnny Meier, equestrian Elizabeth Pandich and attorney Tatiana Yaques.
Johnny Meier — Meier is a U.S. veteran and the owner of a local pharmacy. He unsuccessfully ran for the council four years ago against McGovern, and currently sits on Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board.
He explained that he is running again for the same reason as he did before in 2022.
“I want to make sure that the future of Wellington is secure, and it stays at the most optimal level,” Meier said. “If you don’t have good people running for office, then things can slip really quickly, and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen for Wellington.”
One of his most unique policy priorities is putting a cap on density in the village to prevent congestion and maintain the current quality of Wellington’s services. Other key issues are to lower taxes, reduce regulations to make it easier to start businesses and increase investment in village amenities.
“I want to look at every single dollar coming into the village and every single dollar going out,” Meier said. “I want to streamline all of our practices, making sure that we don’t have an excessive amount of overlap in any of these different branches of our government.”
Meier is also a member of the Wellington Rotary Club and a former president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
“I’ve been in the community since 2006. I’m not a politician — I’m a guy from Oklahoma,” Meier said. “If you’re voting for someone who knows how to manage people and improve any system, that’s me.”
Learn more about Meier at www.johnnyforwellington.com.
Elizabeth Pandich — Pandich is a fairly new full-time resident of Wellington, but has been active in the village’s equestrian community for many years. She is the owner of a horse training and riding business.
“Our residents want sensible growth with better communication from the village and decisions that are looking out for the long-term goals of our community,” Pandich said. “I’ve been listening and feel that I can hear their requests and represent them with a fresh set of eyes.”
One of her biggest focuses is to keep tabs on government agencies and legislation that can impact the village.
“I want to understand them and advocate for our village to the best of my abilities with having the title of council person,” Pandich said. “I would like to represent all of us fully and completely.”
Key issues for her are protecting open space, ensuring developments are appropriate for the context of the village and encouraging positive leadership.
“I would like things to feel positive and transparent so that [the council] can be at their highest level of productivity for the benefit of the community,” Pandich said.
She emphasized that her leadership style, along with her understanding of broad issues, will lead to proactive governance and creative ideas.
Before her council campaign, Pandich previously filed paperwork to run for a congressional seat during the 2026 cycle.
Learn more about Pandich at www.pandich2026.com.
Tatiana Yaques — An attorney and small business owner, Yaques has lived in Wellington for more than 20 years. She said she has deep roots in the community and an understanding of the problems that the village is facing.
“I feel it’s really important for whoever steps up to lead the community to really, truly understand what the issues are,” Yaques said. “I want to be able to serve my community by being a thoughtful member of the council and the local government that leads it forward into the future as best as possible.”
Like Meier, she is also a current member of the village’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board. One of the most significant issues for Yaques is development in the village and how to handle demand while also maintaining the quality of life of residents. She wants to hold developers accountable and make sure they keep their promises.
Other priorities are to support small businesses, maintain the equestrian identity of the village, protect the Equestrian Preserve Area, continue investment into public schools and provide housing options for people in all stages of life.
“The issues that are important foremost are to try to keep a balanced and thoughtful discussion between all the different things that Wellington is involved in, and to make sure that we listen to the input of our residents, of our businesses, of all the stakeholders of Wellington to try to come up with reasoned solutions,” Yaques said.
Most of all, she emphasizes that she is committed to the village and wants to ensure its prosperity.
“My only allegiance is to Wellington, and the reason that I’m running is because I love Wellington,” Yaques said. “I want to be able to use my skills to fight for and protect Wellington.”
Learn more about Yaques at www.votetatianayaques.com.
SEAT 3
The candidates for Seat 3 include a diverse range of backgrounds, from real estate and finance to equestrian and entrepreneurship.
Lauren Brody — A Realtor and an equestrian, Brody has made a name for herself by speaking out against projects in Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Area. She wants to run for the council to take residents’ opinions into account in decisions and improve fairness.
“I decided to run because I felt that if I don’t do it, I don’t know who’s going to,” Brody said. “I feel that Wellington needs a big change.”
Her biggest priority is protecting land in the Equestrian Preserve Area and stopping overdevelopment. Other key issues are to improve oversight on development in Wellington to ensure that infrastructure is in place before changing zoning and approving projects.
Brody also wants to increase accessibility by making council materials easier to find, revamping the village’s web site to make it more user-friendly, and providing improved communication between the village and residents.
“Wellington is a very unique and special place, and when people come here, it’s for a reason,” Brody said. “I think that the council in the last several years has lost sight of that, and they are attempting to turn Wellington into something that it wasn’t when all of the residents that live here came. I don’t think that is right, and I don’t think that’s fair.”
Outside of her campaign, Brody is a Realtor specializing in equestrian properties. She is also an amateur show jumper.
Learn more about Brody at www.laurenforwellington.com.
Stephen Levin — Levin comes to the council race after years as a volunteer on Wellington advisory boards. He spent eight years on Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board, and he now serves as vice chair of Wellington’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, and on the School District of Palm Beach County’s Advisory Boundary Committee. He is also known for organizing the Western Ride, a charitable bicycle event that raises funds for Women in Distress.
“I wanted to make sure I had a reasonable amount of diverse experience, credibility, and the timing was right now,” Levin said. “When the opportunity came, I made sure I was the first one to file.”
Levin believes that his enthusiasm to run for the council shows his drive to continue to build a safer and more connected community.
“Every day I’m meeting new people and visiting new organizations in the community to make sure that I know what they’re about,” Levin said. “We have a number of amazing service organizations within the Village of Wellington, and anything I can do to lend them my support, I’m happy to do.”
The key issues for Levin are to maintain the neighborhood lifestyle of Wellington, keep taxes and utility costs low, preserve the Equestrian Preserve Area, promote education programs in the village and invest in smart infrastructure.
Learn more about Levin at www.votelevin.com.
Paulo Santana — After moving from Wellington to Loxahatchee Groves to run for a council seat there earlier this year before dropping out of the race, Santana is back in Wellington seeking a council seat.
The 20-year resident of Wellington is an equestrian show jumper and owns a horse stall cleaning business that provides horse waste management services. The key issues for him are working on traffic control for commercial vehicles and increasing benefits for teachers, firefighters and law enforcement.
“My focus is to keep Wellington strong to attract and benefit year-round residents, which is the majority of what Wellington is right now,” Santana said. “Especially everything that’s directed toward education, children and sports.”
He also wants to ensure that big developers are paying fair tax contributions and addressing agricultural exemptions to redistribute those funds back to the community.
“I would like to use this opportunity to reward these people with some programs by switching taxes that are misplaced… and bring it back to village workers,” Santana said.
Josh Zillmer — With a background in finance and investment services, Zillmer is heavily prioritizing fiscal responsibility.
“I want to make sure that every dollar spent is where most of our constituents can use it for the services that we offer,” Zillmer said. “I believe that having my finance background is something that’s going to be important for the next four years.”
Besides being a wealth management business owner, Zillmer sits on Wellington’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Board and is the president of the Western Communities Football League.
Zillmer wants to ensure that essential services that the village relies on are maintained, especially because the Florida Legislature is considering reducing or even eliminating property taxes. He wants to conduct assessments and community discussions to make sure that no taxpayer dollars are wasted.
The father of four also wants to give back to a community that has given so much to his family and, most importantly, stay local.
“I’ve been approached and recruited to run as a state house representative and all these other positions — my answer is simple: my heart is local,” Zillmer said. “I want to stay here in Wellington, and I want to do something great for our community.”
Other key issues are keeping Wellington safe, family-centered and improving the quality of life through responsible growth instead of overdevelopment.
Learn more about Zillmer at www.votejoshzillmer.com.
