text: Several Municipal Hopefuls Lack Local Voting Records - tribunedigital-sunsentinel
  March 2, 1990|By JOSEPH C. NUNES, Staff Writer
  If you heed the advice of some candidates urging you to vote for them this March, you may be spending more time at the polls in Palm Beach County than they ever did.
  Potential political leaders in three municipalities never voted against the incumbents. In fact, they haven`t voted at all since registering as county residents. Two opponents for council seat 5 in Lake Clarke Shores have no local voting record.
  Lake Clarke Shores candidates Timothy Newton and Joan Marks haven`t voted locally because they haven`t been locals very long.
  Both moved to Palm Beach County in August and both are running for Seat 5 on the Town Council.
  ``There was an open seat and I feel I can do some good,`` said Newton, adding he has attended every council meeting since moving from Orlando. ``It`s not just a matter of, `Hey, I`m going to run.` I`ve been involved.``
  Political newcomer Marks moved to Florida from New York with her husband after they both retired.
  ``I like the small-town atmosphere,`` said Marks, who decided to run because she felt there was too little local involvement.
  Lantana candidate William Coakley and Highland Beach challenger Harold Chambers also haven`t punched a ballot since moving to their towns, according to supervisor of elections records, which date back 12 years.
  Coakley, a 43-year-old music teacher at Palm Beach Community College who has lived in Palm Beach County for 20 years, said he never had any interest in voting.
  ``I`ve never felt comfortable judging anybody,`` said Coakley, who wants people to select him as Lantana`s next Group 3 commissioner instead of incumbent John Vivian.
  Coakley said he registered to vote Feb. 5 only in order to run in March`s election. Opponent Vivian has voted 33 times since March of 1978, records show.
  ``I`ve never felt inspired enough to go out and vote, but I am inspired enough to go out and make a difference,`` said Coakley, referring to a volunteer study he conducted into drug and alcohol treatment centers. ``I don`t think you have to be a voter to make a difference.``
  Building a company and raising a family kept computer company president and Highland Beach political newcomer Harold Chambers from punching a ballot since he moved into the town in 1984.
  Chambers, 40, said he frequently has traveled worldwide on the spur of the moment over the past few years and has been out of town for every election. An avid supporter of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Chambers said he hasn`t missed much locally.
  ``We haven`t had a whole lot of choices on anything in Highland Beach,`` said Chambers, who said one of his priorities is to get rid of cronyism.
  Doris Rome, Chambers` opponent for the Highland Beach commission, has voted 24 times since September 1978, records show.
  In West Palm Beach, candidate and former School Board member Art Bougae hasn`t voted since 1987, but Bougae canceled his registration in June 1989. He re-registered in February 1990. He could not be reached for comment.
  Bougae opponent Pat Pepper has voted 23 times since she registered in 1982 and Helen Wilkes 39 times since March 1978, voting records show.
  Other longtime resident candidates who have lengthy track records of voting include Boynton Beach candidates Veoletta Wright (41 times at the polls) and Dee Zibelli (39), along with Lake Worth`s John Jordan (40) and Boca Raton`s Alan Alford (35).
  Several longtime residents of Palm Beach County who are candidates in the March 13 municipal elections have voted consistently over the years, records show. Elections office records don`t show if they voted in every election. But these candidates have voted frequently since the supervisor of elections began keeping computerized voting records in 1978.
  CANDIDATE CITY REGISTERED TIMES VOTED
  Veoletta Wright Boynton Beach 7/17/76 41
  John Jordan Lake Worth 12/20/78 40
  Dee Zibelli Boynton Beach 4/30/65 39
  Helen Wilkes West Palm Beach 10/01/71 36
  Alan Alford Boca Raton 6/2/70 35
  Several candidates who are on the ballot in the March 13 municipal elections have no voting history in Palm Beach County, according to the county`s computerized elections records, which date back to 1978.