On March 15, the residents of Royal Palm Beach will be asked to vote for village council representatives and a new mayor. In doing so, please look at their past record serving this community.
Jeff Hmara has been a councilman since 2012. His accomplishments include balancing the village budget without raising taxes, correcting the FEMA flood maps and reducing the cost of flood insurance for village residents, and bringing the Aldi regional headquarters to the village, creating many needed jobs. He also worked with residents to address their requests for a scaled-back, more compatible RaceTrac gas station, which brings cheaper gas to the people of Royal Palm Beach. In addition to serving our country in Vietnam, he is a U.S. Army retired colonel, which demonstrates his leadership qualifications, a Palm Beach Atlantic University professor, an FAA senior executive and program manager, and Transportation Security Administration officer. Jeff Hmara has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life here in our village, and I strongly support his reelection to the council.
Richard Valuntas has been your councilman for the last six years. He has worked tirelessly to represent the interests of the residents of our village. His accomplishments include saving village residents $50,000 per year by stopping the improper assessments by the Indian Trail Improvement District, leading the fight to stop the implementation of the red light camera ordinance, opening Commons Park, fighting to keep the State Road 7 extension in the Florida Department of Transportation 2017 budget and creating the stormwater utility to equitably fund the maintenance of the village’s drainage system. Valuntas’ professional experience includes serving as assistant attorney general for the Florida Attorney General’s Office and a litigation attorney for a law firm. His impressive higher education degrees give him the knowledge required to continue representing the residents of Royal Palm Beach. I strongly support his reelection to the council.
Fred Pinto has been a councilman since 2003 and is now running for mayor to replace Mayor Matty Mattioli, who will be retiring. He has been endorsed by Mayor Mattioli and our firefighters. His many accomplishments as councilman include holding the line on taxes, leadership in establishing long-term financial stability for the village, keeping the former wastewater treatment plant site residential and supporting extending SR 7 to Northlake Blvd. to further alleviate traffic in the village, and working on bringing a senior housing facility to the village. His qualifications include work with the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, and he served our country in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel, which demonstrates his strong ethics and dedication to his cause. I strongly support Fred Pinto to be elected the next mayor of Royal Palm Beach. I believe that his experience as a councilman since 2003 qualifies him for the job. I strongly support him.
I ask for your vote also for these three candidates.
Philip Steinberg, Royal Palm Beach
