Who is Richard Ryles?

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March 19, 2019

I attended the recount of the mayoral race that was conducted by the canvassing board who consisted of H. Carson (WPB City Clerk)  D. Miller (City Administrator) and Wendy Link (Supervisor of Elections) and have information I will share with WPB Watch readers. The results are final and Keith James will be the mayor for the city of WPB. Below are the final results.

Keith James  5,746 votes=50.38%

Paula Ryan  3,289 votes=28.84%

Priscilla Taylor  2,370 votes=20.78%

Under votes  69  “Under vote is when a voter cast a ballot but doesn’t vote in one of the contests on the ballot.”

Over votes  6  “Over votes occurs when one votes for more than the maximum number of selections allowed in a contest. The result is a spoiled vote which is not included in the final tally.

There are 68,240 registered voters in WPB and only 11,420 folks bothered to vote. What happened to the other 56,820 voters? Obviously they don’t care who oversees their city.

The day before the election City Commissioners met and both James and Ryan voted to rezone the property at 1309 So. Flagler Dr. which included a waver to allow a 24 story building to be constructed on 1.136 acres where previously 10 acres of land was required. Developers won—again. Residents lost–again.

Here are the Commissioner results:

Clint Fowlkes  1,976 votes=18.03%

Christy Fox   5,046 votes=46.04%   (A Related girl)

Richard Ryles   3,938=35.93%

under votes 517   That figure is not an error.

over votes 3

On March 26 we will be asked to vote for a commissioner in district 3 because no candidate received 50% of the vote.

I originally supported Clint Fowlkes because he wanted to change the commission votes to a “Super Majority” meaning it would take 4 commissioners to vote approval instead of 3, and he actually listened to residents needs. I loved his idea. I spoke with Clint and he told me he was throwing his support behind Richard Ryles and he’s asking his supporters to do the same.

A group of us met with Mr. Ryles on Monday night and he answered all our questions and I was convinced he is the commissioner we need to stop what is happening to our city. He listed a number of his ideas and I will mention a few in order of importance to me.

Develop a cooperative relationship with the PB County Commission.    Mayor Muoio used her “Strong Mayor” form of government to divide WPB from the County Commission, Palm Beach and the Dept. of Transportation. We need each other to survive and I believe Mr. Ryles can make that happen through communication.

Traffic and Transportation. If you live in WPB you know the problems with traffic. Enough said.

Increase and improve affordable housing. The average rent for an apartment in WPB is $1,456.00 for 983 square feet of living space. There’s a popular rule of thumb that states your income should be 3 x your monthly rent or $4,368.00.

Police Officers: Average base pay is $53,911.00 or $4,492.00/month

School Teachers: Average Annual Wage is $50,325.00 or $4,193/month

Homelessness: Re-Read Increase and Improve affordable housing.

Revitalize the great Northwest Community. Imagine an elected official wanting to improve an area outside of Clematis St. or Flagler Dr. It boggles the imagination. Boggles, according to Google: To be astonished or overwhelmed when trying to imagine something.

Please take the time to vote on 3/26/2019. Poll’s are open from 7:00AM until 7:00PM.