City Manager Michael Bornstein, “City Elections Are Over: Full Speed Ahead”.

Below is the title of Michael Bornstein’s newsletter published on March 29th, 2016, following the elections in March of that year:

“City Elections are Over: Full Speed Ahead”

Words from last year that are just as relevant today, almost a year later, following the election results from yesterday. Here is an excerpt from that article written a year ago:

“City elections are over, the results are in, and now we move to the next chapter.
     The Mayor and Commissioners have wasted no time in laying out several ambitious items for the City staff to get to work on. Along with the ones we are currently implementing, the new list of projects will take a lot of effort and will require everyone to work together to ensure the best outcomes. 
     Therefore, in the coming months, Lake Worth will be a place alive with activity and debate.
     We will be a community striving to explore exciting and wonderful opportunities and resolve longstanding and difficult problems. I encourage you to get involved and help create the best version of Lake Worth possible.”

Here is how the newsletter ends:

Yours in Public Service,
Michael Bornstein
City Manager

When Chris McVoy was first elected in 2010, two years before Mr. Bornstein was hired, he promised to help resolve problems like our crumbling roads but instead did nothing of the sort. In 2012 he faced a serious challenger, Jim Stafford, but McVoy won that election. Stafford got the Post endorsement but McVoy’s promises won the day. Promises that were quickly ignored following the election.

In 2013 McVoy got a reprieve when the referendum passed to move elections to March from November. McVoy’s next election was put off until March of 2015. That’s when the monkeywrenching began: false allegations of Sunshine Law violations and accusations that the mayor and other commissioners were unethical, and worse, corrupt too. Remember the “baked ziti” nonsense?

McVoy drew a weak opponent and won that election in 2015. But with McVoy’s bag of tricks empty he ran straight into another election this year against a strong candidate with big ideas, Omari Hardy, and the rest as they say is history.

In 2014 and again in 2016 the City needed Commissioner McVoy to help us find a way to fix our roads. But he did the opposite both times. He fought the City using all sorts of tactics, even leaking emails and saying that volunteers on the Finance Advisory Board, the Neighborhood Road bond oversight committee, couldn’t be trusted.

The Palm Beach Post endorsed Omari Hardy. Even the editor of the Post had enough. The editor called McVoy an ineffective “gadfly”.

McVoy said he would “build long-term stability in Lake Worth.” After 7 years as a commissioner he said, “I ask for your vote on March 14th.” The people spoke and said, “No. It’s time for you to go away.”