Local businessman and grassroots activist Brian Stenberg, a twenty-six-year resident of Boca Raton, filed to run for Boca Raton city council on April 19th against former councilman Andy Thomson. Councilwoman Monica Mayotte, who is terming out, currently holds the seat.
This election isn’t Stenberg’s first. In 2021, he ran and was ultimately defeated by incumbent Councilwoman Monica Mayotte during a time when local seats weren’t as partisan as they are now. Life is about timing, and things have changed in a few years. As a Republican, Stenberg could easily win this seat now.
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Much to the surprise of many long-time residents, Boca Raton went Republican for two important elections last November. Republican Marci Woodward won a county commission seat against former Democrat County Commissioner Bob Weinroth. Republican State Representative Peggy Gossett-Seidman won her seat against Democrat City Councilman Andy Thomson.
Stenberg and his wife live with their four children in the Boca Square neighborhood. Stenberg participated in the Boca Chamber’s Leadership Boca program over twenty years ago, which sparked his interest in how the city works. Stenberg teaches middle and high school kids religious education at his local church. He is a member of the chamber, and he’s involved with the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations. He is a former youth soccer coach with SABR, a baseball coach with COBRA, and a graduate of the Boca Raton Citizen’s Police Academy.
Recently, the Boca city council tried to amend the city charter by extending three-year council terms to four-year teams. Mayor Scott Singer wanted to extend his term and worked hard to get it passed. A group of locals, including Stenberg, led the charge against the charter change to stand for term limits and stop what they saw as a power grab. Stenberg saw this as an anti-resident initiative. The issue was put on a ballot, costing Boca taxpayers over a quarter of a million dollars, but the wannabe politicians for life lost the vote, and the terms remain three years. Stenberg and those who saw things the way he did, won.
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Stenberg is a partner at a real estate management company that primarily handles medical properties. He understands what responsible development means because he works in the industry, but first and foremost, he is a Boca resident. He is deeply entrenched in the community. Two of his four children live at home and go to school locally, where his wife volunteers.
In an interview with Jolt, Stenberg said;
I’ve made it my business to know the business of Boca Raton and how the city works. I’m for growth and development, but sometimes, development in Boca has made life miserable for people already here. We need balance. The way the residents live often isn’t considered. I would say insensitive development is the problem. We’ve made downtown denser to bring more people in, but we haven’t done much mitigation for how people should get back and forth. The city controls how land gets developed. Politicians have changed ordinances over the years, and it hasn’t necessarily been done with the residents’ thoughts in mind. I encourage residents to get involved and hold local elected officials accountable for what they say and do. I have been more engaged in city business than the average resident and feel prepared to get involved as a councilman. – Boca Raton City Council Candidate Brian Stenberg
Stenberg says he was criticized during his last run for not being on city boards. He then applied for Parks and Recreation and Boca Raton Housing Authority. Councilwomen Mayotte and Drucker discouraged civic engagement by saying he was jumping from one thing to another to build his resume. They personalized it instead of encouraging someone like him to get involved.
Stenberg is part of the community and understands its needs, but first and foremost, he is a resident who can work with the whole community. He loves Boca Raton and feels “blessed to live here.” He wants people to know that the little guy can be heard and make things happen. He wants to serve the people in the community.
This is sure to be a race all of Boca Raton will be watching.
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