Photo by Stephen Luttinger
Andy Thomson bears many titles — attorney, professor, husband, father, coach — and now mayor. After a contentious election to succeed Scott Singer as mayor of Boca Raton earlier this year, a recount confirmed Thomson had edged out his closest opponent, Mike Liebelson, by just five votes. The longtime Boca Raton resident and former city council member was sworn in on March 31. Since taking office, his primary focus has been unifying the city’s officials, staff and residents.
“I’m in charge of representing everybody, not just who voted for me,” says the 44-year-old, who was raised in Boca Raton. “It’s the general welfare of the city that we’re responsible for. With me, they get experience, thoughtfulness and patience. The election was very divisive. We have to come together as a community and unite in a way like we used to. That is probably my biggest priority in the near term, and we’re making steps toward that.”
Thomson truly is a son of Boca Raton. His parents met at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in 1967. Today, he gives back by teaching a course in state and local government each semester, pro bono, as an adjunct professor at FAU.
“Boca has a very special place in my heart, and when you find a place like this that has the quality of life that we have here, and you appreciate that, the least I think we can do is try to get involved,” he says.
“One of the ways that I thought I could best help would be by getting involved in the government. That’s what led me to run for city council back in 2017 [and] 2018, and it’s basically been the ‘why’ ever since. My wife saw the landscape and thought that I would be good for the job and good for the city. She was very encouraging.”
Thomson and his wife, Joanna, whom he met on their first day of law school at the University of Miami, are raising their five children in Boca Raton. Ranging in age from 5 to 14, his kids affectionately call him “Daddy-O.” He is active in their schooling and coaches their basketball, baseball, football and soccer teams. It’s not a surprise he’s heavily involved with sports — while he was earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Georgia Tech, he was a punter for the school’s Division I football team.
Doing Run the City with son Joey
Photo courtesy of Andy Thomson
Photo courtesy of FAU
“I spent a lot of time in parks playing sports with my friends and parents,” he remembers of his childhood. “It teaches great lessons to kids — teamwork, working through failure, how to appreciate the good things and celebrating other people’s wins and successes. Sports programs are also community-building enterprises.”
While the city manager oversees Boca Raton’s day-to-day operations, Thomson’s role as mayor is focused on policy, leadership and representing the city in the community. Between serving in office, teaching at FAU, raising the kids and working as a business litigation attorney at Baritz Colman Richan & Harris LLP, Thomson’s schedule is full. He jokes that he’s never needed much sleep, which helps him keep up with it all.
Despite those demands, he still finds time to log hundreds of miles on Boca Raton’s streets each year. Thomson laces up his sneakers and literally runs the city, covering every street in Boca. What began as a New Year’s resolution in 2019 evolved into his Run the City initiative when he noticed how much trash was on his route. Since then, he has turned his workouts into a community service effort, picking up litter along the way, with the help of his children and more than 1,000 volunteers. Thomson also identifies sidewalks, streets, crosswalks and streetlights in need of repair, essentially using the runs as mobile office hours.
“I care deeply about how our residents think and what they care about and want the city to prioritize,” he says. “I’m doing my best to put those [priorities] into place, because that’s what government is supposed to do. If I’m going to have a legacy, I would like for it to be that I helped guide the city out of a somewhat tumultuous time and back to a place where we build trust.”