Boca Raton’s latest municipal election delivered a dramatic finish, with a recount last Friday deciding the mayoral race by just five votes. Andy Thomson was declared the winner with 7,572 votes to Mike Liebelson’s 7,567, marking one of the closest local outcomes in recent memory.
Photo by Stephen Luttinger
Thomson enters office with a record of fiscal conservatism and resident-focused policy. He voted to cut the city’s millage rate six times and worked to keep utility costs among the lowest in the region. He also stood alone in opposing the government campus redevelopment proposal at every stage.
“As your Mayor, I promise to treat every tax dollar with respect,” Thomson says. “I will never support wasteful spending projects that burden our families.”
Michelle Grau, elected to Seat A, brings more than 30 years of experience as a CPA specializing in governmental auditing. She has built her career on protecting public funds and strengthening transparency. Grau, who grew up in Boca Raton and returned after earning her accounting degree, raised four children here and cultivated deep ties across local nonprofits and volunteer organizations.
Her priorities include reducing unnecessary spending, safeguarding public land and ensuring that residents remain at the center of decision‑making. She emphasizes restoring public confidence through ethical leadership and consistent communication.
Jon Pearlman, elected to Seat B, rose to prominence as the organizer behind Save Boca, the grassroots effort to protect Memorial Park from private development. His campaign focused heavily on preserving Boca Raton’s open spaces and maintaining the character that drew families to the area. Pearlman, a Harvard graduate and former competitive tennis player, often speaks about the role parks have played in his own family’s life.
“Boca is a city within a park,” Pearlman says. He and his family frequent Lake Wyman Park, Red Reef Park, Memorial Park, Spanish River Park and the city’s beaches.
Stacy Stipple, elected to Seat D, joins the council after a lifetime in Boca Raton. A fourth‑generation resident, she has spent nearly 50 years watching the city transform, often in ways she felt did not reflect residents’ wishes. Her campaign centered on responsible development, public land protection, infrastructure improvements and greater transparency.
“I am not trying to bring back the yesterdays of the past but preserve the Boca Raton so many have chosen as their home,” Sipple says. Her decades as a pharmacist, caregiver and volunteer shaped her perspective on service and community stewardship.
Sipple has voiced strong concerns about the pace of development, rising traffic and the long‑term risks associated with leasing public land to private developers. She also emphasizes affordability, noting the growing disconnect between escalating housing costs and the needs of families, employees and essential workers.
Across all races, voters increasingly focused on fiscal responsibility, accountability, workforce housing and the preservation of parks and green space. The election revealed a community deeply invested in how Boca Raton grows and who shapes that future.
The city’s mayor and council members will be sworn in at a City Council Organizational Meeting on Tuesday, March 31.
For more information, visit myboca.us.
The Outgoing Boca Raton Mayor and City Council.
From left to right, Marc Wigder, Yvette Drucker, Scott Singer, Fran Nachlas and Andy Thomson.