West Palm Beach voters could change residency, outside job rules for city mayors
WEST PALM BEACH — A pair of ballot questions next year will give West Palm Beach residents a chance to determine whether they want to prohibit mayors from having outside employment and whether they want to extend the residency requirement for those running for the office from six months to a year.
The West Palm Beach City Commission unanimously approved those ballot questions Monday night. Voters will have a chance to answer them during municipal elections March 19. If a majority of voters approve the changes, they will go into effect 10 days after the certification of the election results.
In addition to approving the ballot questions, City Commission members also changed the city code to require that mayoral and commission candidates provide an affidavit attesting to their residency in the city for at least six months before election day. Candidates must also provide one of three documents — a Florida voter's registration card, a state driver license, or a state identification card along with a recorded deed or title document, a property tax receipt, a lease agreement, a vehicle registration, a utility bill or a homestead exemption document — to back up their claim of residency.
Judge: Mayo can't run for West Palm Beach mayor because of residency requirement
Because the affidavit and document requirement changes the city's code and not its charter, it does not require the backing of city voters. The commission's approval makes it law in West Palm Beach.
The package of election changes were advanced 8½ months after a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge ruled that local businessman Rodney Mayo was ineligible to run for mayor of West Palm Beach because he did not meet the city's six-month residency requirement.
Mayo, who owns businesses on Clematis Street, was the only candidate who filed paperwork to challenge Mayor Keith James.
The two have a history of enmity, and an election between them was likely to be well-funded and hard-fought. That election never came to pass, however.
The mayor challenged Mayo's residency, and Judge Joseph Curley ruled in James' favor, finding that "Mayo owns a substantial water-front house in the Town of Lantana, Florida which this court finds to have been his permanent legal residence for at least several years."
Mayo's disqualification meant another four-year term for James.
The mayor said the longer residency requirement would put West Palm Beach "in line with a majority of other similarly populated municipalities in the state of Florida."
And James said the ballot question about outside employment is "necessary to clarify that outside employment is prohibited and business relationships are limited to better ensure that the mayor is fully dedicated to fulfilling the duties of the office of mayor."
A staff summary of the employment question said it would "prohibit the mayor from engaging in outside employment and limit business relationships to only those that would not impair, or could be reasonably expected to impair, the mayor's independence in judgment or performance of city duties or otherwise violate applicable ethics code regulations."
Commissioner Joseph Peduzzi initially cast the lone vote against the outside employment ballot question when the package of election changes were first discussed Sept. 18. He expressed concern that it was not clear what would constitute prohibited work and relationships.
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Peduzzi voted with his colleagues Monday when the two ballot questions and the document rule change were approved. Mayo said the longer residency requirement is directed at him.
"People are calling it the Mayo amendment," he said.
Mayo, who has been critical of several James administration policies, criticized the proposed changes.
"These tactics are typically Republican-initiated, but they will do anything to hold on to power," he said of city officials. Mayo did not answer when asked if he plans to run for mayor in 2027, when James' second term ends.
Asked to respond to criticism that the rule changes are designed to make it harder for Mayo to run, James said: "This proposed increase in residency from six months to 12 months is in line with best practices observed in municipalities throughout the state of Florida. Moreover, the next mayoral election isn’t until March 2027. There is plenty of time for Mr. Mayo to establish residency in accordance with the then-applicable rules. Furthermore, this ballot question puts the decision-making power on this particular issue squarely in the hands of the voters."
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach voters to weigh in on residency, job limits for mayors
