Three candidates are seeking Seat 2 on the Wellington Village Council in the municipal election on Tuesday, March 10. Johnny Meier, Elizabeth Pandich and Tatiana Yaques each bring a unique approach and background to address issues faced by the village.
Seat 2 is one of two seats on the March 10 ballot. The other is a four-way race for Seat 3 between Lauren Brody, Stephen Levin, Paulo Santana and Joshua Zillmer.
Both seats are for four-year terms. The two incumbents, Vice Mayor Tanya Siskind and Councilman John McGovern, are stepping down due to term limits.
Johnny Meier — Meier is hoping to bring his diverse business experience to the council to not only promote local businesses but to improve efficiency when using residents’ tax dollars. He supports this experience with knowledge of the community through being a member of Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board and the Wellington Rotary Club. Meier is also a former president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
The U.S. Air Force veteran owns multiple businesses, including a pharmacy, a sterile pharmacy, a CBD company and a real estate company. He said that running these businesses has given him the knowledge on how to best allocate resources to accomplish goals while limiting waste.
“I understand ins and outs, costs, and receivables,” Meier said. “I understand how to make sure to squeeze every single cent out of a dollar.”
Meier supports streamlining bureaucratic processes and eliminating unnecessary regulations. He hopes this will make it easier for residents and contractors to get work done. He explained that the permitting process, in particular, is long and difficult, which discourages people from doing business in Wellington or doing construction on their property.
“To get a permit to do anything on your property, it requires like an act of Congress,” Meier said.
Part of these changes would also include ways to find waste and reduce costs, he added.
“What I would like to do is have an exercise for all department heads to come to me with 20 percent of waste that they can cut out, or things that they can do without,” Meier said.
To complement these improvements, he would like to create tax incentives to encourage more small businesses to open in the village. This will help create jobs and strengthen the local economy, Meier said.
Meier is interested in lowering the village’s millage rate. He also wants to find ways to lower utility costs and would go through service contracts to find potential savings.
“I will not allow the people of influence to sway my decision for what’s best for Wellington,” Meier said. “What you see is what you get with me. I’m honest to a fault, and I have no reason other than to make sure that the Village of Wellington retains the premium lifestyle that people are looking for.”
Other than plans to improve government operations, Meier said he will take a hardline approach to development. He supports placing a moratorium that restricts housing development for at least five years. He explained that village services are already stretched, and there is not enough infrastructure to support an influx of new residents.
“I believe that we’re already overdeveloped… and we’re at our capacity, as far as the amount of residents that we can take care of in the village,” Meier said.
This hardline approach applies to development in Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Area. He wants to protect the area and would only support proposals that are equestrian-related.
“I think that the Equestrian Preserve Area is our future,” Meier said. “If you allow people to continue to take land out of the Equestrian Overlay Zoning District and the equestrian preserve, and you allow people to keep developing in those, then we lose the uniqueness of Wellington.”
Meier emphasized that his business ties to the village and community involvement make him the ideal candidate.
“Not only am I the right person for the job, but I’m invested because I have three businesses [in the village],” Meier said. “I have the most skin in the game; I have the most to lose; and I have the most to gain if things are beneficial for everyone.”
Other areas of interest for Meier are to expand recreation facilities for other athletic sports while also implementing smarter traffic solutions to reduce congestion and roadway safety.
Learn more about Meier at www.johnnyforwellington.com.
Elizabeth Pandich — Pandich is prioritizing bringing consistency and greater public input into local government decisions. An equestrian, she is looking to improve community engagement from the dais by implementing clearer agendas, earlier outreach, an updated village web site and better use of public forums so residents can be more involved.
“My top priority in general is restoring that confidence in the process and making sure decisions are data-driven, clearly explained and focused on the long-term quality of life,” Pandich said.
She believes that the council should take a systematic approach to determining the impacts of projects or decisions. Through this, Pandich would like to make sure that current proposals already approved get done before there is consideration of any additional development.
She added that any new developments would also need to respect existing neighborhoods. She said that she is not anti-development; she is pro-planning.
“I would like to bring measured consistency because I think good governance doesn’t need to be loud — it needs to be consistent and fair,” Pandich said. “I want to provide solutions and not surprises.”
Pandich supports protecting the village’s Equestrian Preserve Area. “It should be protected at all costs,” she said. “It is a very unique part of our community identity.”
She believes that part of the importance of the preserve is the need for open space and environmental stewardship. Not only will maintaining the equestrian industry maintain the identity of the area, but it will also act as a buffer against costly environmental and infrastructure mistakes, she said.
“I understand the importance of protecting and improving our open space and our resources because conservation is about avoiding costly mistakes that residents end up paying for,” Pandich said. “A lot of the equestrian preserve creates a bit of a buffer in that.”
As an equestrian, Pandich said she understands that protecting the preserve is necessary for the safety and performance of horses.
“Equestrians need space. Horses need space in order to perform well,” Pandich said. “In order to protect real horsemen and competitors who want to come here for an extended period of time for the circuit… it needs to be an environment that’s horse-friendly.”
Pandich supports having more clearly defined language for what is considered an equestrian use. She said the current language is vague and needs to be updated.
“Importantly for both developers and residents who are passionate, clearly defined rules make it fair for everyone,” Pandich said. “Making the standards more fleshed out in a way that everyone understands where the goalposts are is the right way to go about it.”
Other than wanting to bring more public engagement and protect the village’s equestrian identity, she is interested in reinvestment in existing infrastructure and neighborhoods. Pandich believes that Wellington needs more smart, sustainable development, especially with infrastructure tied to quality of life.
Through her dedication to Wellington’s values and commitment to supporting families, she said she has a vision to help lead the village into a thriving, family-oriented and equestrian-friendly future.
“What I bring to the table is common sense,” Pandich said. “I bring a balanced perspective… I bring transparency, and my hope is to bring more trust in the process with the residents.”
Learn more about Pandich at www.pandich2026.com.
Tatiana Yaques — An attorney and small business owner, Yaques heavily emphasizes that her legal background in land use planning makes her the ideal candidate to best approach development in Wellington. She also pointed to her position on the village’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board, which has given her an appreciation for how important local government processes are.
“I’m the candidate who has relationships throughout all of Wellington and truly understands deeply all of our different communities and how they intersect and form important parts of Wellington, which have to be considered when these important decisions are made,” Yaques said.
She would take a comprehensive approach to determine if a specific development fits the needs and goals of the village. Part of her plans are to focus on redevelopment that can promote small businesses and increase affordable residential areas. Through redevelopment and strategic planning, there will be more opportunities for people to live in Wellington at all stages of life, she said.
Similarly, Yaques wants to offer support services to encourage people to open small businesses in commercial areas. She would like the village to act as an incubator that fosters growth and promotes businesses that meet the needs of residents.
“We have to be very thoughtful in any new proposed development, and we have to pay close attention to what the potential impacts would be — both good and bad,” Yaques said. “We need to make informed decisions so that any new projects that are proposed can be assessed for how they would affect our community. Determine if it’s something that will fit in well with our community character and our community of values.”
Apart from her stance on development, she heavily supports protecting Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Area. Yaques has lived in the village for more than 20 years and currently resides in the equestrian preserve. She said this experience with the equestrian lifestyle and living in Wellington for so long has shown her the importance of the local horse industry.
“The Equestrian Preserve Area is the most unique part of Wellington,” Yaques said.
She explained that the council should continue to take steps to maintain regulations in the preserve. Proposed developments in it would need to align with the village’s equestrian lifestyle, she said. Maintaining this character is essential to sustaining the prosperity of the overall equestrian community.
“We need to continue making sure that we have regulations in place that protect that character, that protect that lifestyle, that protect our industry, and that we keep a balance of that as much as possible so that those things are not eroded in the future,” Yaques said.
On village amenities, Yaques supports continuing to invest in services that benefit residents. This includes public schools and recreation. She said one of the best examples of this purposeful investment is Wellington’s Parks & Recreation Department. Through providing these amenities, residents have become active members of the community. “We are extremely fortunate in the Village of Wellington to have the amenities that we have,” Yaques said.
Importantly, Yaques highlighted that communication is essential to achieve these goals. She supports increasing communication by village officials to ensure that Wellington residents understand decisions and to resolve any issues quickly. Part of her plan is to take a multifaceted approach to use all communication channels available to reach the largest number of people. “I’ve always believed that communication can be the key to resolving and preventing problems and conflict,” Yaques said.
With her deep roots in the community and expertise, Yaques believes that she best understands what is important to the people of the village and wants to protect their interests.
“I’m running because I love Wellington,” Yaques said. “I love my community, and I know that I will put my heart into serving Wellington and making the best decisions going forward.”
Learn more about Yaques at www.votetatianayaques.com.
