Government

Boca Raton Council Mulls Whether to Fill Vacant Seat or Wait For Election

by
Daniel Nee
September 25, 2026

Boca Raton, Fla. City Hall. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton city council members are mulling over a decision to fill a soon-to-be vacant seat with an interim appointee, or leave it vacant until the next municipal election.

The city had been ready to begin accepting forms and resumes from residents interested in joining the governing body this week, however council members debated at a meeting Tuesday whether it could prove a better path to simply leave the seat vacant until municipal elections occur in March. A seat will be vacated by Councilwoman Yvette Drucker on Nov. 10, seven days after the general election in which she is running as the Democratic candidate for county clerk and comptroller. Drucker will vacate her seat regardless of the outcome, although she is heavily favored to win the countywide seat after her opponent, Mike Caruso, became embroiled in scandal after being charged in August with kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse. Caruso was removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis, however he has not yet formally withdrawn from the race. Even if he does, and the Republican part nominates a different candidate, the ballot will still bear his name.

City staff had recommended starting the process of appointing an interim council member to fill the seat between Nov. 10 and March 31, 2027. Municipal elections in Florida occur March 9, 2027, and the seat will be up for grabs regardless of who – or if – an interim council member is appointed. A potential interim member could register to run for the full term if he or she chooses. Under Florida law, unexpired terms are filled by a council member appointed by the remaining members of the governing body after an application process and interviews. Nominees would be selected by the council before a vote on the final appointment.

Yvette Drucker (Campaign Photo)

After City Manager Mark Sohaney announced that the city would begin accepting applications this week in anticipation of interviews at a special work session meeting in November, council members debated whether appointing an interim member would “tip the scales” of the municipal election. In contrast, Mayor Andy Thomson said keeping a seat empty for months could result in tied votes with no one to break them, potentially slowing down government.

“I haven’t decided, necessarily, that an appointment is the right decision but I think we should go through it,” said Thomson, referring to the application process. “And if we go through it, I think it will yield an appointee.”

“I think there is a value in having an appointee from the November, December, January and February period, all the way through the end of March,” he continued. “There could be votes that result in a deadlock in that time and that tends to not be good government – if something fails just because of a 2-2 vote. I could see the merit of having, on a temporary basis, someone who could at least break ties, but that’s just one man’s opinion.”

Councilman Jon Pearlman said if the appointment process was to move forward, he would like to see the appointee run for a permanent seat.

“I think we should be able to appoint someone who would be able to then run,” he said. “I don’t think they should be mutually exclusive.”

Councilwoman Michelle Grau urged her colleagues to reconsider appointing a member for such a short period of time.

“This is a very important job, and how many meetings are we going to have – maybe eight meetings – that this person will have to fill?” she asked. “I think it should be what the city of Boca Raton wants, it should go to an election.”

Gavel (Credit: Brian Turner/Flickr)

Thomson and the remainder of council members agreed to consider the matter for two weeks, then tell Sohaney whether or not to move forward with the appointment application process. If the council does, indeed, favor appointing an interim member, Drucker said she will not participate in the interviews – planned for Nov. 9 – as her term will expire at midnight that night.

“The election is November 3, and then by charter law, I have another seven days on the council. I will be here until the 9th and then I will be vacating the seat,” said Drucker. “I won’t be a part of the interviews for the special appointment, and I will not be voting on Nov. 10 because I will no longer be on the council.”