Loxahatchee Groves Vice Mayor Ryan Liang defeated attorney Byrnes Guillaume in Tuesday’s election to claim a second three-year term. Liang garnered 272 votes (60 percent) to 183 votes (40 percent) for Guillaume.
Liang asserted during the campaign that the town has improved in many ways over the past three years, including a dramatic improvement in its formerly strained relationship with the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District. He said that the outcome reflects that. “This tells me that most people are happy with the direction that the town is headed,” Liang told the Town-Crier Wednesday. “I think they see that I was part of that.”
Over the next three years, Liang wants to move forward with capital improvements under discussion by the council, which recently earmarked $1 million of its reserves for capital projects.
“Some of the biggest ones would be the red light at D Road, creating an equestrian trail network and better maintenance of our roads,” he said.
In addition, Liang wants to improve relationships with other municipalities and governmental agencies. He believes the relationship between the town and water control district has been increasingly supportive.
“We’re working toward providing better service to the residents of the town,” he said. “I always feel that we can do better, and we should try to.”
Those other governments include Loxahatchee Groves’ neighbors Royal Palm Beach, Wellington and The Acreage. “I’d also like to have a better dialogue with the county and also the MPO [Metropolitan Planning Organization],” he said.
Liang noted that the town now does not have a seat on the MPO. “From what I understand, there are some potential spots that can be put onto the MPO,” Liang said. “I believe the Western Communities Council was talking about trying to get additional seats on the MPO, so that’s always a possibility, but in order to do that, we have to have a better dialogue with the MPO.”
Liang said that after months of campaigning, he is reveling in his victory. “Probably in the next day or so, I’ll get back to work as a town councilman,” he said.
