PAHOKEE — The terms of two city commissioners, Felisia Hill and Benny L. Everett III, are expiring and will be on the ballot for the March 17, 2021, municipal election.

Commissioner Everett reportedly has said he will decline to run again. Along with two other current commissioners (not including Commissioner Hill), Everett may be facing a recall election regardless, sometime in the new year. (A recall effort has been under way directed at him, Mayor Keith W. Babb Jr. and Vice Mayor Clara Murvin for several months that may result in a special election. Babb’s and Murvin’s terms expire in 2022. Signatures reportedly are still being gathered in a second round of gathering petitions to a circuit judge for a special recall vote on the three commissioners.)

The qualifying period for candidates in the 2021 election was Nov. 17-24; however, no official list of candidates has been made public by the city as yet, and city hall has not responded to requests for information as late as Friday, Dec. 18. A request was made via the city’s website, submitted to the clerk, and an email that day sent to City Manager Chandler Williamson has evinced no reply.

(A public records request was submitted to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections’ Office, or SOE, during November and is being processed, according to an email from SOE staff member Renato De La Rosa, received Dec. 9. His reply to a follow-up email on Thursday, Dec. 17, revealed it is still being processed.)

Commissioner Regina Bohlen, reached by telephone Friday, Dec. 18, said she had received a brief response to her question on Nov. 25 of who were the candidates who filed before the deadline the previous day.

The email reply from Williamson that Saturday morning indicated there would be four: “Candidates opposing are... Sanquetta Cowan, Juan (Johnny) Gonzalez Jr., Josefa Hernandez and Sara Perez, for the two seats that are up for election March 17.” (Names rearranged to equate with how they will appear on the March 17 ballot.)

Commissioner Bohlen then asked, “And the resumes?” She said Dec. 18 she has received no further reply from the city manager. At the last city commission meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 8, which was supposed to have been livestreamed but went offline for the majority of the time as it was happening, she said he made no mention of the candidates for office next March.

Commissioner Felisia Hill, who has been on the city commission since 2012, also served previous terms as vice mayor in 2016-17 and 2013-14. She confirmed on Friday, Dec. 18, that she is not running for a new term but said, “I do have future plans.”

A cellphone call Friday afternoon to Commissioner Everett was not answered except with the voice message: The person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time.”

A caveat about the March 17 election: The City of Pahokee has exempted itself from the early voting provisions of state law via a 2005 ordinance, so the only voting will take place as specified during the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 17, 2021, at one location in the city (under a 1984 ordinance), to wit:
“Until otherwise directed by the city commission there shall be one voting place in all city elections and that voting place shall be at the cafeteria building at the recreation complex located at 360-C East Main Street, Pahokee, Florida.”