By Stacy Carchman
Primary elections on Tuesday, Aug. 20 will determine the candidates moving forward in the race to become state attorney for Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit, serving Palm Beach County. Three-term incumbent State Attorney Dave Aronberg is not seeking re-election, which has drawn a number of attorneys into the race to replace him.
Three Democrats are running in a party primary for the seat — Alexcia Cox, Gregg Lerman and Craig Williams. Cox currently serves as deputy chief assistant state attorney in Aronberg’s office. Lerman is a longtime West Palm Beach attorney primarily working in criminal defense. Williams, like Cox, is also a longtime prosecutor working in Aronberg’s office.
Two Republican candidates are also running in a party primary — Forrest Freedman and Sam Stern. Freedman was a prosecutor in Massachusetts before moving to Florida in 1991. He now runs a law firm in Boca Raton. Stern worked as prosecutor in New Jersey before moving to Florida. He worked at the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office before going into private practice. He is currently a partner at a law firm in Palm Beach Gardens.
Independent candidate Adam Farkas is also seeking the position. Farkas will be on November’s general election ballot with the two primary winners.
State attorney for Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit is a high-profile position that leads a team of 115 prosecutors and 180 professional staff in five offices throughout Palm Beach County. The office is responsible for representing the state in the prosecution of criminal charges, ranging from simple traffic offenses to capital murder.
The Town-Crier spoke to each of the primary candidates about their backgrounds and plans for the office.
DEMOCRATS
Alexcia Cox — Cox was born and raised in Palm Beach County. “Growing up in a family of service, with two proud union member parents, gave me a unique perspective on working to protect and defend others,” she said.
She graduated with honors from the University of Central Florida and the Florida State University College of Law.
“Within days of taking the bar exam, I began my legal career as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County, which is the place I have always called home and where I learned to be a fair and impactful leader,” Cox said. “I have risen through the ranks and currently supervise attorneys assigned to our Domestic Violence Unit, County Court Division, North and South County Satellite Offices, and Conviction Review Unit.”
Cox said that it has been an honor serving on Aronberg’s leadership team. “I am running for state attorney because my many years of experience as a prosecutor and leader in the state attorney’s office, coupled with the countless hours I have spent volunteering and serving in various leadership roles around our community, have collectively prepared me to serve as our next state attorney,” she said.
Cox believes that she is the best person for the job due to her many years of courtroom experience and prosecution record. “I have successfully argued complex motions and obtained favorable verdicts in high-profile homicide and attempted homicide cases,” she said. “I am an award-winning attorney and community leader, having served in various leadership roles and receiving over a dozen awards for my advocacy, leadership and community service.”
She also points to her ability to work with others to find solutions, such as, “launching the felony section of our Domestic Violence Unit and working with the PBSO to crack down on domestic abusers who violate no-contact orders.”
Cox noted her many endorsements from elected officials and organizations, as well as her deep ties to the western communities. She grew up in Royal Palm Beach and attended Crestwood Middle School before graduating from Suncoast High School. Among the programs she wants to put in place is a community engagement team.
“Being a state attorney is more than a career; it’s a calling that requires deep commitment — the same level of commitment I’ve given throughout my 18-year career holding criminals accountable,” Cox said. “I know firsthand that public safety is something we work toward together, with residents, law enforcement and our justice system working hand-in-hand, ensuring people from all walks of life feel safe.”
For more information, visit www.alexciacox.com.
Gregg Lerman — Lerman is the only candidate among the Democrats running who does not work in the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor. However, he said, his long legal career in Palm Beach County has provided him with a thorough understanding of the office, where he regularly conducts business and has strong working relationships with its prosecutors and staff in all of its departments.
Lerman has been living and working in Palm Beach County as a criminal defense attorney for 39 years. He wants to bring a new perspective and change to the office, that he believes is in need of an “outsider” to run the office, which he said needs better morale and stronger ethics, adding that he feels that those in the office currently are blind to the problems within it.
“I strongly believe that, as an expert trial attorney and experienced trainer of prosecutors, I have the skills, knowledge and best ideas to improve the state prosecutor’s office,” he said.
Lerman has tried many cases from simple to capital crimes and said he “understands the nature of crime.” He wants to expand the drug court and bring back programs like the Eagle Academy and the Drug Farm designed to help at-risk youth. These are programs typically run by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Lerman added that he has new ideas on how to tackle old issues in the state attorney’s office to fight recidivism and gang violence, in addition to elder fraud issues.
Lerman has two children, two grandchildren and an extended family. He graduated from the University of Florida and then Nova Southeastern University for law school, where he also served as an adjunct professor. He is the author of numerous articles that have appeared in legal publications. Lerman is the founding member and past president of the Palm Beach Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, as well as a founder and member of the board of directors of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In 2016, Lerman ran for a judicial seat on the Palm Beach County Circuit Court, narrowly losing to his opponent, who was later disqualified and removed from the bench.
Lerman is originally from New York, but he moved to South Florida as a teenager. He has been married to Debra Stark Lerman since 1985. His hobbies include painting and sketching, gardening, cooking, fishing and cycling. He is also an avid sports fan.
For more information, visit www.gregglerman.com.
Craig Williams — Williams has worked at the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office for 27 years. He said he wants to help people and is not in it for himself.
Williams explained that his passion for the job is fueled by life experiences that started as far back as when he was a teenager. He experienced the death of his brother in a car accident at the age of 13. He moved to Florida and was involved in a robbery and held up at gunpoint at a gas station at the age of 16. The prosecutor in that case was great, and the perpetrator went to jail. This fueled his own “passion for justice,” Williams said.
“My passion for justice and my work ethic are the reasons that I would make a great state attorney,” he said. “I treat people right and speak to all defendants about their lives. I really care for my clients and their needs.”
Williams left the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office for three years to work as a successful criminal defense attorney. He returned to work in Aronberg’s office in 2013. He said he has a strong drive and passion for the work done at the office, adding that he has helped to turn things around at the state attorney’s office in his time there.
Williams said that he has tried more than 500 jury trials and been involved in thousands of cases, and the community is safer now thanks to his contributions. Currently, he is the chief assistant responsible for the felony trial, intake, organized crime, traffic homicide, white collar crime and mental health units, as well as the Gun Club and Belle Glade offices. Some of his high-profile cases have been featured on “Forensic Files” and “Cops,” such as the Dalia Dippolito and Cathy Lamb murder trials.
Williams said that aside from his more than 500 jury trials, he works every day to teach and train prosecutors. There are 45 prosecutors under his supervision, and he has a 95 percent conviction rate.
Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida International University and a law degree from Nova Southeastern University. His wife is well-known WPEC news anchor Liz Quirantes. They have been married for 37 years and have two adult children.
For more information, visit www.williamsforstateattorney.com.
REPUBLICANS
Forrest Freedman — Freedman has been practicing law for 38-plus years and was a prosecutor in Massachusetts before moving to Florida in 1991. He currently runs a law firm in Boca Raton.
If elected, Freedman said that he will retain many of the prosecutors in the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office but thinks there needs to be a “new set of eyes” to tackle the current problems in the office. He would do a full audit of the office to reassess how things are run and save money.
Freedman wants prosecutors to bring more cases to trial, and not plead them out, as he feels the office has done under Aronberg’s leadership. Freedman said that he believes the whole point of the office is to try cases, and he promised to be “tough on crime” and that “victims’ and citizens’ rights come first.”
Freedman said he will enforce the laws that are on the books and will work to prosecute elderly identity theft, retail theft, cyberstalking, gang crime and hold migrant criminals accountable. However, he said he will try to help first-time offenders, such as non-violent traffic citations, and help reward safe driving. Freedman said that he “backs the police” and wants them to be a friend to citizens.
Freedman is a graduate of Washington University School of Law and received his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University. He has been married to his wife Jamie for 23 years, and they have two children. He is a big baseball fan and can be found coaching travel baseball in Jupiter and serving on the board of Project Beisbol, bringing equipment to Central and South America.
For more information, visit www.forrestfreedman.com.
Sam Stern — Stern currently works at a law firm in Palm Beach Gardens but worked as a prosecutor earlier in his career, both here and in New Jersey.
“I am the most qualified candidate, given my unique background as a state and federal prosecutor, defense attorney, law professor and a published author. As state attorney, my mission will be to recruit, train and run the finest office anywhere,” Stern said. “I have been a prosecutor in the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. This prosecutorial background provides unique experience into how different offices function and insight into optimal investigative techniques.”
Stern noted that he has also been a defense attorney specializing in white collar cases, and this experience provides important perspective and depth in evaluating how prosecutor’s offices can operate more effectively and appropriately.
“I am running to lead my former office because I am passionate about keeping our community safe and protecting the rights of victims,” Stern said. “This is the community where my wife and I are raising our two boys, and where my parents and mother-in-law live. I care about this community and want it to be safe for everyone’s families.”
Stern earned his undergraduate degree at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and his law degree from Fordham University.
“My expertise as a trial advocacy teacher, primarily devoted to sharpening the skills of experienced lawyers at the University of Miami School of Law, the National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law and authoring The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Cross-Examination (Skyhorse Publishing) is significant because one of the most important functions of leading the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office is recruiting, retaining and training high-quality attorneys. A highly trained office leads to better outcomes for the community, even for defendants, and it enhances retention.”
For more information, visit www.votesamstern.com.
