With two weeks to go before the filing deadline, the roster continues to fill out for the 2026 election cycle.
Acreage resident Jay Sweet has become the first person to jump into any of the three available races for the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors.
Sweet is vying for Seat 1, being vacated by ITID President Elizabeth Accomando, who is running in the Republican primary to represent District 6 on the Palm Beach County Commission.
Meanwhile, former State Rep. Katherine Waldron has made it a potential four-way race for the District 6 seat when the Democrats choose their nominee.
An Acreage resident since 1983, Sweet said Wednesday, “I’m concerned about budgeting and expenditures. I’m not sure the right questions are being asked.”
Sweet, a licensed land surveyor and certified urban planner, has worked in both the public and private sectors in connection with engineering and construction. He also has owned his own consulting firm, Sweet & Associates.
“I think [Sweet] would be a good addition to the board,” Accomando said. “He’s intelligent. He’s thoughtful when he speaks. He knows how government works.”
Accomando added that she plans to support him.
Sweet said more transparency is needed regarding budgeting and finance, especially in the district’s use of no-bid contracts.
“The board has to exercise good stewardship and stretch a dollar as far as they can,” he said.
ITID Vice President Patricia Farrell has said she plans to file soon in an effort to retain Seat 3. Supervisor Michael Johnson, who has held Seat 5 for eight years, is yet to file or make a formal statement about his intentions.
The filing deadline is noon on Friday, June 12.
Waldron, an entrepreneur and former Fortune 50 executive, served one term in the legislature from 2022 to 2024, after five years as a Port of Palm Beach commissioner.
“I’m very concerned about the kind of development I see,” Waldron said this week. “I want smart development that takes into account ecosystems and traffic patterns.”
Waldron said the other two issues that particularly concern her are the hyperscale data center known as Project Tango proposed for just off Southern Blvd. near Arden, and the county’s rising cost of living for seniors and recent graduates.
“We’ve got to find a way so our kids can afford to stay here,” she said.
In her announcement press release, Waldron added, “Palm Beach County is at a turning point. Insurance costs are crushing families, the overall cost of living keeps rising, and traffic is getting worse as overdevelopment continues. District 6 deserves a commissioner who will show up, listen and deliver. I’ve spent my career building consensus and getting things done at the Port, in the State House, and in business. I’m running because the families of western Palm Beach County cannot afford a commissioner who continues to ignore their needs.”
Also running as Democrats in the primary are Acreage/Loxahatchee resident Rudolph “Rudy” Tinker, Royal Palm Beach resident Mario Guzman and Mohammad Junaid Akther of Wellington.
On the Republican side, Accomando is trying to unseat incumbent Sara Baxter, who also is serving this year as Palm Beach County mayor. Both candidates are residents of the Acreage/Loxahatchee area.
Accomando announced recently that she has picked up the endorsement of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association (PBC-PBA), which represents thousands of deputies, police and correctional officers across Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.
“Our law enforcement officers put everything on the line to keep our neighborhoods, families and businesses safe,” Accomando noted. “Having the trust and backing of the brave men and women who protect Palm Beach County means the world to me.”
Meanwhile, Baxter said Wednesday that she appreciates the numerous endorsements she has received, including that of President Donald J. Trump, but is not interested in playing the endorsement game — especially one that is “rigged.”
Baxter said she never received a timely invitation to be interviewed by PBC-PBA representatives that would have allowed her to fairly present her views, adding, “I’ve always been pro law enforcement through and through.”
Baxter said that she is, “busy getting things done for the county and my district,” not chasing endorsements, added that, Accomando’s “entire campaign is anti-Baxter, not pro-Acreage. I think the residents of District 6 are intelligent enough to see through it.”
If you want someone that cares about where they live and knows when an incumbent doesn’t, Vote for Accomando. If you want someone who will actually listen and not turn a blind eye to you with an open pocket to developers, vote Accomando. If your blue collar, high class, middle class and worried about your governments wasteful spending and overreaching taxes.. vote Accomando. If your tired of the corruption, and the in the dark deals- vote for Elizabeth Accomando.