Monday, December 19, 2022

PBCHRC Voters Alliance Endorsements for 2024 - Updated 9/19/24

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance has made a endorsements in the following races: 

President and Vice President
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

U.S. Senator
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell

U.S. Representative
(Dist. 20) -  Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
(Dist. 21) -  Thomas Witkop
(Dist. 22) -  Lois Frankel
(Dist. 23) - Jared Moskowitz  

State Attorney
Alexcia Cox

State Representative
(Dist. 89) - Debra Tendrich
(Dist. 90) - Joe Casello
(Dist. 91) - Jay Shooster
(Dist. 93) - Katherine Waldron
(Dist. 94) - Rachelle Litt

Clerk and Controller
Joseph Abruzzo

Sheriff
Ric Bradshaw

Supervisor of Elections
Wendy Sartory Link

County Commissioner
(Dist. 3) - Joel Flores
(Dist. 5) - Maria Sachs
(Dist. 7) - Bobby Powell

Port of Palm Beach Commissioner
(Group 3) - Jean Enright

County Court Judge
(Group 2) - Lourdes Casanova

School Board Member
(Dist. 1) - Matthew Jay Lane
(Dist. 5) - Mindy Koch

Northern PBC Improvement District
(Seat 4) - Ellen Baker

Amendment 1 - Partisan School Board Races - NO
Amendment 3 - Recreational Marijuana Legalization - YES
Amendment 4 - Freedom of Choice/Abortion - YES

The following elected officials endorsed by The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance currently hold office: 


President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris 
U.S. Congresswoman Lois Frankel 
U.S. Congresswoman Sheila C. McCormick
U.S. Congressman Jared Moskowitz
State Senator Lori Berman 
State Senator Tina Polsky 
State Senator Bobby Powell 
State Representative Joe Casello 
State Representative Jervonte "Tae" Edmonds
State Representative David Silvers 
State Representative Kelly Skidmore 
State Representative Katherine Waldron 
County  Mayor Maria Sachs 
County Commissioner Mack Bernard 
County Commissioner Gregg Weiss
Clerk & Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo 
Constitutional Tax Collector Anne Gannon 
Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks 
Public Defender Carey Haughwout 
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw 
Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link 
School Board Member Marcia Andrews 
School Board Member Alexandria Ayala 
School Board Member Frank Barbieri, Jr. 
School Board Member Karen Brill 
School Board Member Barbara McQuinn 
School Board Member Erica Whitfield 
Port Commissioner Joseph Anderson 
Port Commissioner Blair Ciklin 
Port Commissioner Jean Enright 
Port Commissioner Wayne Richards 
Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Dana Gillen 
Circuit Court Judge Jaimie Goodman 
Circuit Court Judge Dina Keever-Agrama 
Circuit Court Judge James Martz 
Circuit Court Judge Lisa Small 
County Court Judge Ted Booras 
County County Court Judge Marni Bryson 
County Court Judge Frank Castor 
County Court Judge Edward Garrison 
County Court Judge Debra Moses Stephens 
County Court Judge Ashley Zuckerman 
Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor Eva Webb 
Northern PBC Improvement District Member Ellen Baker 
Boca Raton City Mayor Scott Singer 
Boca Raton City Council Member Yvette Drucker
Boca Raton City Council Member Monica Mayotte 
Boca Raton City Council (Member Andrew Thomson
Boynton Beach Mayor Ty Penserga 
Boynton Beach City Commissioner Angela Cruz 
Boynton Beach City Commissioner Woodrow Hay 
Boynton Beach City Commissioner Aimee Kelley 
Delray Beach City Commissioner Angela Burns
Delray Beach City Commissioner Rob Long
Greenacres Mayor Chuck Shaw
Greenacres City Councilwoman Paula Bousquet 
Greenacres City Councilwoman Suzy Diaz 
Greenacres City Councilwoman Judith Dugo 
Greenacres City Councilman John Tharp
Haverhill Town Councilman Ray Caranci 
Lake Worth Beach Mayor Betty Resch 
Lake Worth Beach City Commissioner Sarah Malega 
Lake Worth Beach City Commissioner Christopher McVoy 
North Palm Beach Village Mayor Susan Bickel 
Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Hickox Moore 
Palm Beach Town Councilwoman Julie Araskog 
Palm Beach Town Councilman Ted Cooney 
Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Chelsea Reed 
Palm Beach Gardens City Councilmember Marcie Tinsley 
Riviera Beach City Councilwoman KaShamba Miller-Anderson 
Royal Palm Beach Village Mayor Fred Pinto 
Royal Palm Beach Village Councilwoman Selena Samois 
Wellington Village Mayor Michael Napoleone 
Wellington Village Councilman John McGovern 
Wellington Village Councilwoman Tanya Siskind 
West Palm Beach City Commissioner Christina Lambert 
West Palm Beach City Commissioner Joe Peduzzi 
West Palm Beach City Commissioner Cathleen Ward 
West Palm Beach City Commissioner Shalonda Warren 

This paid electioneering communication, which is independent of any party, candidate or committee, is produced, sponsored and paid for by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance.

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Your Vote-By-Mail Ballot Request Is Expiring. Please Re-Enroll Now!

 

YOUR VOTE-BY-MAIL
REQUEST WILL EXPIRE
ON DECEMBER 31, 2022 

PLEASE RE-ENROLL NOW!
For decades, PBCHRC supporters have been Super Voters, participating in every federal, state, and local election, year after year. As a result,candidates have courtied our votes and elected officials have enacted laws ensuring LGBTQ+ people in Palm Beach County are provided with equal rights, benefits, and protections.

When the Florida Legislature began to enact laws to make voting more difficult, PBCHRC Voters Alliance introduced our "Vote Naked" campaign, encouraging people to vote by mail. In the recent election, more than seventy percent of our supporters voted by mail.
In an attempt to further suppress the vote, the Florida Legislature recently enacted a new law causing Vote-by-Mail requests to expire at the end of the year in which a General Election is held. So, your vote-by-mail ballot request will expire at year's end.

So, if you want to continue voting by mail in 2023 and 2024, you need to complete a new Vote-by-Mail ballot request.

You may do this online easily
by clicking here.

In the alternative, you may do this:


You can download the form HERE to email, fax, or return in person.

The vote-by-mail request must include your driver's license/Florida tate ID number OR the last 4 digits of your social security number, whichever you provided when you registered to vote. (If you do not remember which you used, PBCHRC recommends you provide both numbers to ensure your vote by mail application can be processed.)

Don't wait! Municipal elections
are a few months away!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RAND HOCH
President and Founder

MEREDITH OCKMAN
Vice President

SEAN CONKLIN
GEMMA TORCIVIA
Co-Treasurers

RAE FRANKS
RHONDA WILLIAMS
Co-Secretaries
JANIECE N. DAVIS
MICHAEL DUQUETTE FOWLER
G. JOSEPH GARCIA
CHAUNCEY GRAHAM
JASMIN LEWIS
TAMARA SAGER
J.P. SASSER
GEMMA TORCIVIA




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, gender identity and gender expression. 

We promote equality through education, advocacy, direct action, impact litigation, and community outreach. Over the years, PBCHRC has been responsible for the implementation of more than 160 laws and policies providing equal protections, rights, and benefits for the LGBTQ community.  


Palm Beach County Human Rights Council
Post Office Box 267
West Palm Beach, Florida 33402
(561) 358-0105


Please follow "PBCHRC" on Facebook and Twitter
and sign up for the PBCHRC blog - pbchrc.blogspot.com/

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.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE NOVEMBER 2022

 

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.

Since 1990, PBCHRC has been responsible for the enactment of more than 160 laws and policies providing equal rights, protections and benefits for the LGBTQ community. Our work never stops. Even during the height of the pandemic, elected officials throughout our county enacted several new LGBTQ+-inclusive municipal civil rights ordinances. For a list of the laws and policies enacted as the result of PBCHRC’s efforts, click here and select "Laws & Policies."
VOTERS ALLIANCE
Our success in enacting pro-LGBTQ laws is directly related to our community’s participation in electoral politics.

Since 1988, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance (PBCHRCVA) members — all volunteers —, have conducted close to 1,000 face-to-face endorsement interviews — and close to 100 interviews via Zoom and phone — of candidates seeking public office. We have done this to educate public officials, make endorsements and take action to elect people who will take steps to change laws and policies to provide equal treatment and equal benefits for the local LGBTQ community.

Throughout the year, PBCHRCVA supporters worked to identify more LGBTQ-supportive residents and get them registered to vote. We also worked on early voting, vote-by-mail and get-out-the-vote campaigns. So, it came as no surprise that LGBTQ and allied voters in Palm Beach County turned out in record numbers in the General Election . Our supporters continue to be "super-voters," as we have been for decades.

Thanks to your votes, the following PBCHRCVA-endorsed candidates were elected or re-elected in the General Election.

Congresswoman Sheila McCormick
Congresswoman Lois Frankel
Congresswman-Elect Jared Moskowitz
  
State Senator Bobby Powell, Jr.
State Senator Lori Berman
State Senator Tina Polsky

State Representative Jervonte "Tae" Edmonds
State Representative David Silvers
State Representative Joe Casello
State Representative Kelly Skidmore
State Representative-Elect Katherine Waldron

County Commissioner Gregg K. Weiss

Port of Palm Beach Commissioner Blair Ciklin
Port of Palm Beach Commissioner-Elect Deandre Poole

School Board Member Marcia Andrews

PBCHRC welcomes Brad Jackson as our newest member of the Voters Alliance
PBCHRC'S WINTER FÊTE
PBCHRC supporters will celebrate our 35th anniversary of LGBTQ+ advocacy in Palm Beach County at the 2023 Winter Fête. The event will be held the evening of January 14, 2023, at a private home in Palm Beach. Sandy James Fine Food & Catering will provide hors-d'oeuvres, Echo will provide sushi boats. and, as always, there will be a premium open bar.

At this time, we are seeking members of the Host Committee to contribute $1,000 to help underwrite the event and PBCHRC initiatives. Host Committee for the Winter Fête will receive two tickets to the event. To join the Host Committee, please go to PBCHRC.org/events or mail your check, made payable to PBCHRC, to Post Office Box 267, West Palm Beach, Florida 33402

Host - George Albrecht

Host Committee

Champagne and Vodka Sponsor: Pernod-Ricard
Decor Sponsor: Bruce Sutka Event Design
Sushi Sponsor: Echo
Wine Sponsor: Table 26

Jason Arbuckle
Alexandria Ayala and Rob Long
Lori Berman
Paul Bernabeo and David Cohen
Mack and Shawn Bernard
Ric Bradshaw
Terry Bowie and William Feldkamp
Karen Brill
Pamela Buchmeyer and Shellie Crandall
Castle Wealth Management
Shawn Cherry and Vincent Ruisi
Blair Ciklin
Gil Cohen and Paul Gervais
Peter Conn, Jr., and Oscar Garza
Cornerstone Solutions
David Crespo and Nicholas Coppola
James Curtis and Jason Colin
Joseph Paul Davis
Arlen Dominek and A.J. Young
Brent Feigenbaum and Frank Morgan
Mark Foley and Ryan Ruark
Edith Hall Friedheim and Peter Cruise
Dr. James Goad
Clifford Hertz and Paula Ryan
Rand Hoch
Tom Holton
Lawrence  Jacobs and Steven Snapp
Keith and Lorna James
Gerald Jarosinski, Jr.
Michael Judd and Ben Small
Michael Kagdis
Aimee Kelley
Wood Kinnard and Alberto Arias
Christina and Monte Lambert
Gregg Lerman
Rachelle and Jeff Litt
Joseph Marino, Jr. and Anthony Sibilia  
Mittleman Eye
Dr. David Mittleman and Michael Duquette Fowler
James North
Joe and Erin Peduzzi
Ty Penserga
Steve Potanovic
Scott Rixford and Jose Mena
Roosters
Rick Rose and Mitra Esmailzadah
SandyJames Fine Food & Productions
W. Trent Steele and Douglas B. Andrews
James Swope and Scott Robertson
Don Todorich - Corcoran Group R.E.
Richard Triggs and William Jennings
Scott Velozo and Stephen Mooney
Katherine Waldron
Shalonda Warren
A.J. Wasson and Randy Christensen
Dr. Donald Watren and Anthony Jaggi
Charles Williams
Gregg and Rebecca Weiss


IN OTHER NEWS

PBCHRC congratulates the Village of Wellington for hosting the Inaugural Florida LGBTQ+ Liaison Summit in October. The event, sponsored by Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, drew dozens of people from across the state who serve their communities as LGBTQ+ liaisons. Thanks go out to Nathan Bruemmer, Commissioner Fried’s LGBTQ+ liaison who ran the event. Special thanks go out to Wellington Village Manager and CEO Jim Barnes and Kim Gibbons, the Village's LGBTQ+ liaison, for their work in pulling everything together. 

CURRENT INITIATIVES
 
PBCHRC is currently working to persuade:
  
  • The Health Care District of Palm Beach County to provide trans-specific healthcare services to indigent patients.
  • The School District of Palm Beach County to adopt a resolution opposing conversion therapy on students.
  • 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 close to thirty-five years, 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.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RAND HOCH
President and Founder

MEREDITH OCKMAN
Vice President

SEAN CONKLIN
GEMMA TORCIVIA
Co-Treasurers

RAE FRANKS
RHONDA WILLIAMS
Co-Secretaries
JANIECE N. DAVIS
MICHAEL DUQUETTE FOWLER
G. JOSEPH GARCIA
CHAUNCEY GRAHAM
JASMIN LEWIS
TAMARA SAGER
J.P. SASSER
GEMMA TORCIVIA




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, gender identity and gender expression. 

We promote equality through education, advocacy, direct action, impact litigation, and community outreach. Over the years, PBCHRC has been responsible for the implementation of more than 160 laws and policies providing equal protections, rights, and benefits for the LGBTQ community.  


Palm Beach County Human Rights Council
Post Office Box 267
West Palm Beach, Florida 33402
(561) 358-0105



Wednesday, August 24, 2022

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE – POST-PRIMARY ELECTION UPDATE – AUGUST 2022

August 2022

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.


Since 1990, PBCHRC has been responsible for the enactment of more than 160 laws and policies providing equal rights, protections and benefits for the LGBTQ community. Our work never stops. Even during the height of the pandemic, elected officials throughout our county enacted several new LGBTQ+-inclusive municipal civil rights ordinances. For a list of the laws and policies enacted as the result of PBCHRC’s efforts, click here and select "Laws & Policies."

PBCHRC VOTERS ALLIANCE

Our success in enacting pro-LGBTQ laws is directly related to our community’s participation in electoral politics.


Since 1988, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance (PBCHRCVA) members — all volunteers —, have conducted close to 1,000 face-to-face endorsement interviews — and close to 100 interviews via Zoom and phone — of candidates seeking public office. We have done this to educate public officials, make endorsements and take action to elect people who will take steps to change laws and policies to provide equal treatment and equal benefits for the local LGBTQ community.


Throughout the year, PBCHRCVA supporters worked to identify more LGBTQ-supportive residents and get them registered to vote. We also worked on early voting, vote-by-mail and get-out-the-vote campaigns. So, it came as no surprise that LGBTQ and allied voters in Palm Beach County turned out in record numbers in the Primary Elections, while general turnout was less than 25%. Our supporters continue to be "super-voters," as we have been for decades.


While most of the candidates endorsed by PBCHRCVA did exceptionally well in our county, others were not elected because of election results in other parts of the state.


Thanks to your votes, the following PBCHRCVA-endorsed candidates won their primary elections on August 23:


School Board Members Karen Brill and Erica Whitfield

County Court Judge Paul Damico

Circuit Court Judge-Elect Caryn Siperstein


In addition, the following PBCHRCVA-endorsed candidates moved forward in the Primary Elections, but face opposition in the November 8, 2022, General Election.


Val Demings, candidate for U.S. Senate

U.S. Representatives Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick

Jared Moskowitz, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives

Aramis Ayala, candidate for Attorney General

State Representative Kelly Skidmore

Katherine Waldron, Candidate for State Representative

Deandre Poole, candidate for Port of Palm Beach Commissioner

School Board Member Marcia Andrews

Corey Smith, candidate for School Board


To view a list of all of the candidates endorsed by PBCHRCVA in the General election, click here.

DELRAY BEACH LGBTQ PRIDE

STREETSCAPE VANDAL

STRIKES AGAIN (AND AGAIN)

On June 13, 2022, Judge Scott Suskauer ordered two years of probation for Alexander Jerich, the man who used his truck to deface the Delray Beach LGBTQ Pride Steetscape in June 2021. As part of the Order of Probation, Jerich was ordered to “live without violating any law. A conviction in a court of law is not necessary for such a violation of law to constitute a violation of your probation...”


Apparently, Jerich did not respect the Order.


Within weeks following the sentencing hearing, residents in unincorporated Lake Worth filed complaints with PBSO, reporting Jerich revving up his vehicle, damaging the field adjacent to their homes. After the first incident on July 4, Jerich returned to the same location on July 11, and did it again, this time, damaging both the grass and a small pine tree.


The homeowners provided PBSO with photos and videos taken by security cameras of Jerich and the damage he caused.


Despite the clear photo of Jerich and the identification of his vehicle, Jerich denied being involved when PBSO went to his home to question him. Although PBSO informed Jerich’s Probation Officer of the incident, the probation officer did not find the offense significant enough to report te incident to Judge Suskauer. Therefore PBCHRC sent a letter to Judge Suskauer seeking an investigation regarding Jerich’s possible violation of probation.


Unless Judge Suskauer takes action, it appears that once again, the justice system will fail to hold accountable a man who shows no respect for the property of others — or Judge Suskauer’s admonition and Order of Probation.


CONVERSION THERAPY BAN UPDATE

In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a ruling refusing to reconsider a three-judge panel decision that struck down the conversion therapy bans enacted in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton.


As a result of the ruling, young LGBTQ+ people throughout Florida, Alabama and Georgia are at risk from the psychological abuse caused by conversion therapy.


In order to prevent this case from proceeding to the U.S. Supreme Court, PBCHRC has asked Palm Beach County Commissioners and Boca Raton City Commissioners to repeal their bans, which they have done, thus making the legal issue moot. (We also have requested seven other municipalities throughout the county to repeal their bans as well.)

PBCHRC'S SUMMER SOIREE

PBCHRC supporters had a great time at our biennial Summer Soirée at the National Croquet Center. Thanks go out to the Host Committee for making this event a fabulous success


Alexandria Ayala and Rob Long

Paul Bernabeo and David Cohen

Pamela Buchmeyer and Shellie Crandall

Ric Bradshaw

Karen Brill

Shawn Cherry and Vincent Ruisi

Peter Conn, Jr. and Oscar Garza

Cornerstone Solutions

David Crespo and Nicholas Coppola

Charlie Crist

Joseph Paul Davis

Echo

Christy Fox

Nikki Fried

Dan Hall

Rand Hoch

Keith James and Lorna James

Gerald Jarosinski, Jr.

Wood Kinnard and Alberto Arias

Jeff Koons

Christina and Monte Lambert

Gregg Lerman

Wendy Sartory Link

Katrina Long Robinson

Michelle Oyola McGovern and John McGovern

Joseph Marino, Jr. and Anthony Sibilia 

Mittleman Eye

Dr. David Mittleman and Michael Duquette Fowler

Jared Moskowitz

National Croquet Center

Joe and Erin Peduzzi

Ty Penserga

Bobby and Whitney Powell

SandyJames Fine Food & Productions

David Silvers

W. Trent Steele and Douglas B. Andrews

Andy Thomson

Don Todorich

Scott Velozo and Stephen Mooney

Katherine Waldron

Cathleen Ward

Shalonda Warren

Gregg and Rebecca Weiss

Erica Whitfield

Matt Willhite

  CURRENT INITIATIVES
 
PBCHRC is currently working to persuade:
  
  • The Health Care District of Palm Beach County to provide trans-specific healthcare services to indigent patients.
  • The School District of Palm Beach County to adopt a resolution opposing conversion therapy on students.
  • 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.