The Nov. 6 general election brought a number of changes to the Palmetto Bay Village Council that likely will affect future actions on some key issues as well as ongoing policies.
Three “new” council members will be sworn in on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 6:30 p.m., in the Village Council Chambers. All were elected by a wide margin of votes.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting the results were as follows:
Mayor: Karyn Cunningham, 60 percent, 6,903 votes; Eugene Flinn, 32 percent, 3,712 votes, and Tim Schaffer, 6 percent, 745 votes.
Council Seat 1: Patrick Fiore, 59 percent, 6,145 votes, and Anthony Gorman, 40 percent, 4,167 votes.
Council Seat 3: Marsha Matson, 52 percent, 5,460 votes; Robert Buzzelli, 28 percent, 2,955 votes, David Soderholm, 19 percent, 2,044 votes.
Karyn Cunningham, who previously had served as Seat 1 council member, will become the new mayor.
“I am humbled by the results of the election and honored to continue my service to the community as Village of Palmetto Bay Mayor,” Cunningham said. “I will continue to strive to earn the people’s trust each and every day I serve. Now that the election is past, we need to turn our attention to coming together as a community and focusing on the issues and challenges that lie ahead.
“I look forward to fostering a community-centric environment where ideas are valued and will continue my hallmark of meeting the residents where they are through neighborhood meetings, After Hours coffees and Saturdays in the Park. My door will always be open to hear from our residents so that we can make our village an even better place to live, work, learn and play.”
Patrick Fiore, who had served as Seat 1 council member prior to Karyn Cunningham, will be returning to that seat on the council.
“My family and I are very humbled and thankful to the voters of Palmetto Bay, who by an overwhelming margin, have given me the opportunity to serve the residents of our wonderful village once again,” Fiore said.
“I am excited to have this chance to serve, and look forward to working with our new Mayor-elect Karyn Cunningham, Councilmember-elect Marsha Matson, and with Vice Mayor [John] Dubois, and Councilmember [David] Singer. I have some very important legislation that I want to put forward right away, that I believe, will help the residents, and hope to secure the support of all my colleagues in doing so.”
Marsha Matson, a longtime community activist who is new to the council, will become the Seat 3 council member.
“I am excited, happy, and grateful to the voters for their confidence in me.” Matson said. “For the last nine months, I knocked on thousands of doors and spoke to many voters who shared their concerns about Palmetto Bay with me. I intend to work hard to faithfully represent their wishes. I am passionate about preserving and improving about our unique community.”
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