Campaign website: RobertWeinroth.com

Date/place of birth: 09 JUNE 1952 – NEW YORK CITY

List, in order of importance, the three most important issues in your community and briefly explain what you would do about each.

1. WORKFORCE/AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Our county has experienced tremendous growth in population (especially post pandemic). The imbalance between the supply of affordable workforce housing and the demand has pushed the cost of housing to unaffordable levels for a large portion of our community. This is choking off the ability of employers to find employees.

Unless and until the imbalance is rectified (in part as a function of market forces but more importantly with the implementation of a plan to incentivize developers to construct additional affordable workforce housing units) our residents will be forced to seek out lower priced alternatives (often causing them to endure long commutes to and from places of employment).

2. VIBRANT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

As chair of the Palm Beach Transportation Agency, it has been my mission to increase our investment in public transportation alternatives to reduce congestion and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.

With the near term opening of a new Brightline station in Boca Raton, we have a great opportunity to induce more drivers to abandon their private passenger vehicles. We need to attract the “choice riders” to Palm Tran, Tri-Rail and Brightline.

To its credit, Brightline instituted services to address the “friction” created by commuters seeking connections to fixed routes (first and last five (5) miles of a trip) with their shuttle service. Tri-Rail has followed with a limited shuttle service at several of their stations.

Palm-Tran needs to be embraced by riders as an inexpensive, dependable alternative to move around the region. To do this, a dedicated funding source will be needed and reduced or no fare trips for students and seniors.

3. A SKILLED WORKFORCE

To be competitive, our region needs to be able to offer (a) affordable housing; (b) a vibrant public transportation system; and (c) a skilled workforce.

The Palm Beach County Schools can proudly point to the number of “A-Rated” schools. However, the literacy rate in our county (measured by the number of children entering 4th grade and reading at grade level) is an embarrassment at less than 60 percent. Children learn to read through the third grade and read to learn thereafter. Absent adequate reading skills, our children are at a competitive disadvantage with their peers, reading a grade level. The Board of County Commissioners unanimously agreed to donate land to the University of Florida to induce them to establish an urban campus in West Palm Beach for multidisciplinary graduate studies.

This action offers great promise as it will offer students an opportunity to attain the necessary skills to be competitive in an ever-changing workforce and will, likewise, serve to attract companies to our county with the promise of a skilled workforce at the ready.

Do you support or oppose declaring a state of emergency for housing affordability in Palm Beach County with a cap on rent increases of 10% per year, and why?

I would oppose this as a solution to our housing affordability issues (already identified, above, as one of the three issues important to our county residents).

Rent Control does nothing to correct the imbalance of supply and demand. In fact, it will likely exacerbate the situation by removing the incentive to add rental units.

Palm Beach County has initiated an ordinance to ensure renters have reasonable notice before rent increases are imposed. But, the increased expenses being faced by landlords for maintenance, insurance and operations mean the pain would merely be transferred onto the shoulders of the landlords.

The solution is creating incentives to increase the number of available units and a comprehensive solution to the shrinking capacity of the insurance market.

Do you support the proposed land swap to allow GL Homes to build nearly 1,300 homes in the Agriculture Reserve? Why or why not?

I am inclined to embrace this idea notwithstanding [Sun Sentinel columnist Randy Schultz’s] declaration such an action would, “decimate,” the Ag Reserve. Clearly, we need much more detail on how the carrot (potential water restoration projects and control of the infrastructure to ensure the water flows as promised), will allow the county to exploit this opportunity. I am mindful of the possibility that state and federal permits might be hard to secure. Would this undermine the rules established to protect the 22,000-acre Ag Reserve and the Arthur R Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge? We need to look holistically at the benefits for the entire county and drill down into the proposal to know exactly what we are going to get before we proceed. By our last two votes (and the statements made by me and my colleagues) it is clear we are interested in the proposal but far from ready to take the next step of “transmittal.”

Do you support the $200 million affordable housing referendum, and why or why not?

Palm Beach County Commissioners voted 4-2 to ask voters in November to approve a $200 million bond issue to address the county’s housing affordability crisis. Commissioners Bernard, Kerner and Weiss joined me in supporting this action. This is a quality of life issue; it’s an issue impacting the economic stability of Palm Beach County. If approved by the voters, the funds will be used to finance the acquisition and construction of condominiums, multi-family rental units, single-family homes and townhomes. The projects can be mixed-income and mixed-use; however, bond financing will only be available for the eligible housing units meeting county requirements.

How would you assess the overall performance of County Administrator Verdenia Baker?

The job of County Administrator takes a special person. By its design, the County Administrator has seven bosses with different agendas. Each Commissioner is pulling for their initiates to be given the highest priority. Complicating the task even more is the fact that the County Administrator is Incident Commander in times of a declared emergency. As we saw during the pandemic, she must respond to the Executive Planning Group as the county response unfolds while keeping in mind the Board of County Commissioners has the ultimate responsibility for county operations. That she has been able to balance the directives from her 7 bosses and meet the needs of our county residents is something few people would be able to accomplish.

Are county lobbyist registration and disclosure requirements sufficient, or would you favor changes, and what would they be?

In my opinion, the county lobbyist registration and disclosure requirements appear to be transparent and adequate to ensure government in the sunshine is maintained.

What factor most distinguishes you from your opponent, and why?

EXPERIENCE – TEMPERAMENT – EDUCATION

List in reverse chronological order colleges or universities attended with years of attendance and degrees.

NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL of LAW; BOSTON MA

1975 – 1978: JURIS DOCTOR

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY; BOSTON MA

1970 – 1975: BS/BA – MANAGEMENT

List in reverse chronological order your work history for the past 15 years.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

2018 – PRESENT: COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 4

CITY of BOCA RATON

2014 – 2018: MEMBER of the CITY COUNCIL (SEAT D)

FREEDOM MEDICAL SERVICES INC

2000 – 2016: PRESIDENT & CORPORATE COUNSEL

Have you ever been a party to a lawsuit, including bankruptcy or foreclosure? If so, provide details of the case and disposition.

DISSOLUTION of MARRIAGE – 2000

Have you ever been charged or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, including an adjudication of guilt withheld? If so, provide charges, dates and terms of sentence. NO

Why should voters elect you instead of your opponent(s)?

EXPERIENCE – TEMPERAMENT – EDUCATION