President's Message - February 2026

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC) is Florida’s oldest, independent, non-partisan, political organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. We promote equality through education, advocacy, direct action, impact litigation and community outreach. For the foreseeable future, the LGBTQ+ community across the country will continue to face greater challenges at the federal and state levels than we have in decades. Elections have consequences, and our community is being targeted in an unprecedented manner.

Fortunately, over the years, PBCHRC has secured exceptional countywide and municipal victories which assure LGBTQ+ individuals and families in Palm Beach County are entitled to equal rights, privileges, benefits and protections.

Unfortunately, Governor Ron DeSantis and his legislative lackeys in Tallahassee have enacted – and continue to attempt to enact – some of the nation’s most abhorrent anti-LGBTQ+ laws. They have also made Florida the #1 state in the nation in banning books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes. His administration’s threats to withhold transportation funding from municipalities has resulted in the destruction of all of Florida’s LGBTQ+ Pride crosswalks and streetscapes. However, public officials in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach currently are working to recognize the LGBTQ+ community through new displays of public art. In addition, public officials in Boynton Beach have pledged to do the same; however, no steps have been taken yet to work on this project.

In Palm Beach County, the LGBTQ+ community will not be erased! 

PBCHRC VOTERS ALLIANCE

Throughout the years, Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance (PBCHRCVA) has interviewed close to 1,000 candidates and have endorse hundreds who support LGBTQ+ initiatives.

On December 9, 2025, a Special Election for District 90 of the Florida House of Representatives, which covers parts of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, was held to fill the vacancy which resulted from the passing of longtime LGBTQ+ advocate Joe Casello. PBCHRCVA endorsed Rob Long, an outspoken and passionate supporter of our LGBTQ+ community.  He handily won the election and currently serves in the Florida House.

Another vacancy in the Florida House was created when Governor DeSantis appointed Mike Caruso to serve as Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for Palm Beach County. After interviewing candidates, PBCHRCVA endorsed Emily Gregory, who won the Democratic Primary for District 87 with more than 88% of the vote on January 13, 2026. A Special Election will be held on March 24, 2026, to determine who will fill the seat.

Municipal Elections will be held throughout Palm Beach County on March 10. Following our face-to-face interviews with candidates last month, the following endorsements were made:

Boca Raton Mayor - Andy Thomson

Boca Raton City Council (Seat A) - Christen Ritchey

Boca Raton City Council (Seat B) - Meredith Madsen 

Boca Raton City Council (Seat D) - Stacy Sipple 

Delray Beach City Commission (Dist. 2) - Judy Mollica

Greenacres City Council (Dist. II) - Olga Sierra

Greenacres City Council (Dist. III) - Judy Dugo

Lake Park Mayor - Roger Michaud

Palm Beach Town Council (Group 1) - 

CO ENDORSEMENT - YOU MAY ONLY VOTE FOR ONE OF THE TWO CANDIDATES

John David Corey OR Lew Crampton 

Palm Beach Gardens City Council (Seat 3)  - Rachelle Litt

Palm Beach Gardens City Council (Seat 5)  - Dana Middleton

Royal Palm Beach Village Council (Seat 1) - Selena Samios

Wellington Village Council (Seat 2) - Tatiana Yaques

Wellington Village Council (Seat 3) -  Lauren Brody

West Palm Beach City Commission (Dist. 1) - Cathleen Ward

West Palm Beach City Commission (Dist. 3) - Christy Fox

With regard to the March 10, 2026 Municipal Elections:

• the deadline to request that a Vote-by-Mail ballot be mailed to you -Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 5:00 pm
• the deadline to return your Vote-by-Mail ballot is Tuesday, March 10, 2026

However, the Village of North Palm Beach will hold their Municipal Election on March 24, 2026. PBCHRCVA interviewed and endorsed Kendra Zellner for the Village Council (Seat 4).

Regarding to the March 24, 2026 Special Elections:

• the deadline to register to vote – Monday, February 23, 2026
• the deadline to request that a Vote-by-Mail ballot be mailed to you - Thursday, March 12, 2026, by 5:00 pm
• Early Voting is from Saturday, March 14, 2026, through Sunday, March 22, 2026
• The deadline to return your Vote-by-Mail ballot is Tuesday, March 24, 2026, by 7:00 p.m.

For a list of more than 70 current (or recently elected) officeholders endorsed by PBCHRCVA, click here.. 

AWAITING U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION ON CONSTITUTIONALITY OF BANS ON CONVERSION THERAPY 

Conversion therapy encompasses a range of discredited counseling practices by which therapists seek to change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression through “talk therapy” and aversion treatment.  

In 2016, PBCHRC began a successful campaign to prohibit this quackery throughout Palm Beach County. Miami Beach First Assistant City Attorney Rob Rosenwald, former PBCHRC Board Member Trent Steele, and then West Palm Beach Assistant City Attorney Zoë Panarites and I drafted a model ordinance to ban conversion therapy on minors by licensed physicians and therapists.

PBCHRC Board members and volunteers appeared at public hearings throughout Palm Beach County and by the end of 2017, bans were enacted in West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Riviera Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, and Boca Raton. Our campaign culminated when Palm Beach County Commissioners enacted the first countywide conversion therapy ban in Florida.

However, Liberty Counsel, an anti-LGBTQ hate group, filed suit in federal court to nullify the bans enacted by Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton.

While we prevailed in federal District Court, in 2020, the order was reversed by the Trump appointees on the Court of Appeal, who found that the bans infringed on the First Amendment free speech rights of the therapists. As a result, no conversion therapy bans are allowed in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. However, more than twenty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and well over 100 counties and municipalities have banned conversion therapy on minors by licensed therapists.

The law banning conversion therapy in Colorado made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court and on October 7, Zoë and I were invited to observe oral argument at the Supreme Court. Although it is often impossible to predict how judges will rule, following oral argument Zoë and I agreed it is extremely unlikely the Court will uphold the ban on conversion therapy as constitutional.

If the Supreme Court rules the law infringes on free speech, the justices could send the case back to the lower court for further consideration, which would give us some hope. However, the Court may well declare the law unconstitutional, which would strike down all conversion therapy bans in the United States.

As always, we will keep you posted. 

PBCHRC CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

The PBCHRC Charitable Foundation, which was established in 2015, awards scholarships and provides funding to nonprofit organizations.

Each year the Foundation presents our Social Justice Awards – $2,500 scholarships – to graduating LGBTQ+ and allied high school seniors who have been advocates for our community. For more information about the 2026 PBCHRC Social Justice Awards (including a link to the application), click here.  The deadline for applications is April 2, 2026.

To date, we have awarded 31 Social Justice Award To view the biographies of the Social Justice Award recipients and to learn more about the PBCHRC Charitable Foundation, click here.

The Foundation also provides need-based scholarships to LGBTQ+ college students through the Norman L. Stern and August R. Venezio Scholarships, to second and third year law students through the W. Trent Steele Legal Advocacy Awards, and to students from Palm Beach County who are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math through the Charlie Fredrickson Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Scholarships. advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion.

For more information about the Foundation's various scholarship programs, click here. 

PBCHRC and the Charitable Foundation have recently made significant contributions to:

• 451 Avengers, a local activist organization challenging library book bans in Palm Beach County,
• ACLU of Florida Foundation, which works to create a Florida free of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,
• Compass, our county's LGBTQ+ community center,
• First Amendment Foundation, which watches over a legislative program to review, and reenact if warranted, each of the hundreds of exemptions to Florida's public records law,
• The Historical Society of Palm Beach County, in support of their 2025 Celebration of Pride recognizing H.G. Roosters. 
• Lambda Legal, a national legal organization representing LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV in court – and in the court of public opinion,
• The Movement Advancement Project (MAP), a nonprofit think tank working to create a thriving, inclusive, and equitable America where all people have a fair chance to pursue health and happiness, earn a living, take care of the ones they love, be safe in their communities, and participate in civic life,
• Night Runners WPB, a local non-profit organization that hosts weekly meetups for the LGBTQ+ and allied runners and walkers,
• PRISM, which works to expand access to LGBTQ+-inclusive education and sexual health resources for youth in South Florida,
• South Florida Queer Jewish Youth Alliance, 
• Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library, which presents exhibitions on LGBTQ+ themes and public programs in South Florida and across the United States,
• Transpire, which provides the resources necessary for LGBTQ+ individuals to create a solid foundation for a healthy and fulfilling life, and,
• Vita Nova, which is a safe bridge to independence for former foster care, LGBTQ+ and other unhoused local youth through supportive housing, education, employment and life. 

2026 WINTER FÊTE

More than 200 PBCHRC supporters partied the night away at an amazing waterfront spec home in West Palm Beach built by Hilary Musser Homes. The event raised more than $100,000 for PBCHRC and the PBCHRC Charitable Foundation.

Thanks go out to Hilary Musser, Sandy James Fine Food & Productions, Echo Palm Beach, event designer Bruce Sutka, and our amazing Host Committee:

Allied Property Management Group, Inc.

Altima Palm Beach

Paul Bernabeo and David Cohen

Senator Mack Bernard and Shawn Bernard

Terry Bowie and William Feldkamp

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw

School Board Member Karen Brill

Pamela Buchmeyer and Shellie Crandall

Delray Beach City Commissioner Angela Burns

Nancy Chanin

Shawn Cherry and Vincent Ruisi

Gil Cohen and Paul Gervais

Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center

Cornerstone Solutions

David Crespo and Nicholas Coppola

Lew Crampton

Crémieux Palm Beach

James Curtis and Jason Colin

Joseph Paul Davis

Arlen Dominek and A.J. Young

Echo

Public Defender Daniel and Amy Eisinger

County Commissioner Joel Flores

Congresswoman Lois Frankel

Charles Freeman and Michael Grattendick

Gallery Charles

Gay Polo League

H.G. Roosters

HSS Florida- James Colongo and Gina Kelly

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County

Sarah and Melissa Hassan

Rand Hoch

Tom Holton

West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James and Lorna James

William S. Jennings and Richard D. Triggs

Michael Judd and Ben Small

Andrea Keiser

West Palm Beach City Commission President Christina Lambert and Monte Lambert

Gregg Lerman

Rachelle and Jeffrey Litt

State Representative Rob Long and Alexandria Ayala

Matthew McWatters and Jeffrey Hurcomb

Bram Majtlis and Nick Gold

Elijah Manley for Congress

Joseph Marino, Jr. and Anthony Sibilia

Anthony and Crystal Marotta

Lake Worth Beach City Commissioner Mimi May

Meat Market - Palm Beach

Burt Minkoff

David and Michael Mittleman

Mittleman Eye

Judy Mollica

Sandy James Fine Food & Productions

Robert Scarborough - SpirePoint Private Client

Arthur Schofield

Julie Seaver

David Silvers

W. Trent Steele

Bruce Sutka

James Swope and Scott Robertson

Eric Telchin and Logan Nolting

Andy Thomson 

Scott Velozo and Stephen Mooney

A.J. Wasson and Randy Christensen

County Commissioner Gregg Weiss and Rebecca Weiss

School Board Member Erica Whitfield

Charles Williams

CURRENT INITIATIVES

PBCHRC is currently working to persuade:  

• The courts, prosecutors, and public defenders to utilize the appropriate pronouns when addressing trans people with business before the courts, and.
• The School District of Palm Beach County to cease doing business with Chick-fil-A and other companies that discriminate against LGBTQ people and other minorities. 

For more than three decades, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has worked diligently on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community. With your support, we will continue to do so in the years to come. As always, we will keep you posted on our progress.

Judge Rand Hoch (retired), President and Founder 

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. PBCHRC'S Registration Number is CH46486. To obtain registration information, you may consult the website or call 800-435-7352.