Letters in support of Julie Araskog for Palm Beach Town Council

We are writing in support of Julie Araskog for re-election to the Town Council this Tuesday. A couple of years ago, we were in the opposing camp, and while we may disagree with Julie on occasional issues, she researches each one thoroughly and sounds out the community before casting her vote.

The negative comments by her opponent have bounced off her as she continues to run a positive and uplifting campaign. She truly represents the community and deserves our support. We hope you’ll join us in voting for Julie!

Jeanne and David Rosow

Palm Beach

Editor's note: David Rosow is a former Town Council president

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As a longtime Palm Beach family with deep roots in the town, and  owners of two retail business locations in Palm Beach, we are writing in support of Julie Araskog in the upcoming elections for Town Council.

Araskog has sought to make decisions that support the kind of retail businesses Palm Beach has always been known for. Notably, she has worked with businesses to host business workshops and make our lives easier. She has also tried to reduce the empty storefronts, which can ultimately sound the death knell for retail businesses such as ours.

As residents, we also wish to highlight the commendable efforts Araskog has made to protect our unique and greatly appreciated quality of life in Palm Beach. We take a great deal of comfort knowing she will be tirelessly and conscientiously working to promote our interests, which we believe significantly benefit our community. As supporters of many charitable organizations, we have also been impressed by her willingness and energy to serve our community.

Lastly, we believe her legal background and training provides an additional helpful perspective that is important for our Town Council and the interests of our community.

Gregory and Kimberly Dryer

Palm Beach

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For the past two years, the town of Palm Beach has been fortunate to have Julie Araskog serve our community most capably, humbly and untiringly as a member of our Town Council.

Her thoughtful and educated voice on our behalf has consistently and continuously proven extremely valuable in keeping Palm Beach the place we want to live and call home. I urge all citizens to continue her record of proven performance by casting your very important vote for Julie Araskog on March 12.

Dudley Moore

Palm Beach

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[We] are hoping Julie Araskog will be re-elected on the Town Council. We feel all towns need transparency in decision making, and a Town Council that puts us residents first.

We have been residents of Palm Beach for many years. We enjoy the quality of life here, and want the town to continue to be a wonderful place to live. Let’s not turn our town into a magnet for non-residents, and focus on what is best for Palm Beach.

We feel Julie Araskog will try to contain the commercialization of Palm Beach, as well as the careful use of our tax dollars. We have again voted for Julie Araskog as the candidate who cares about us.

Dale and Kenneth Pincourt

Palm Beach

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Thank you to the editorial board for your detailed and informative endorsement of Julie Araskog for Town Council. I am supporting Julie Araskog not because we are friends but because of the work she has done for our town and the reasons you stated you are supporting her. Julie works diligently to make informed decision and asks the tough questions to find the right solutions. She cares deeply for our town and all of our town residents. She is beholden to no special interest groups and makes decisions purely on what is best for all of us. Julie is truthful and vigilante about transparency.

Whether it is public safety turnover, unfunded liability, shore protection, tightening our budget, or undergrounding issues, Julie understands the issues facing our town and has been a leader in finding resolutions to them.

As chairman of the Underground Utility Task Force, I have had a chance to work with Julie. She is astute, attentive to detail and attends all of our meetings. We have all worked together to tighten the budget and to make the disruption the least it can be for our residents, including Julie.

Julie is not anti-development but is anti-oversized development of our small island. She brings her legal wisdom to zoning issues, policy discussions and contractual negotiations. I believe having a lawyer like Julie on the council is important.

Jeffrey W. Smith

Palm Beach

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We support re-electing Julie Araskog for the Town Council because her vote represents us, the residents.

She takes time to dig into the complex issues the town faces. Although she is very polite, she is not a go-along-to-get-along council member. We do not need "groupthink" when it comes to the budget, various legal issues and police force turnover. She is bringing real honest analysis into the unfunded pension liabilities problem.

As a fiscal conservative, she tries to tighten our budget. She has earned our vote by her responsive, responsible, and civic demeanor. We have been town residents since 2000 and she is one of the strongest council members we have witnessed.

Eric and Lucinda Stonestrom

Palm Beach

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I was pleased to see your very thoughtful endorsement of Julie Araskog for Town Council this past Sunday.

As one who served on the Town Council for seven years, I know the challenges of the various issues our council members face regularly can be difficult and sometimes controversial. Julie handles her position with dignity and thoroughness. She truly strives to make the best decisions for all members of our community.

She is not unduly influenced for any reason and cannot be bullied. While some may disagree with one vote or another, all can be assured that she works relentlessly to do the right thing for our community with honesty and civility. We are fortunate to have her as a council member. She has earned re-election.

Robert Wildrick

Palm Beach

Editor's note: Robert Wildrick is a former Town Council president

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As a year-round resident and homeowner, Julie is ready to get that 3 a.m. phone call in a crisis, and has in fact responded immediately to those calls. Julie is available 24/7 to hear our concerns and react to our emergencies.

Endorsed by the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County, Julie is an important advocate for our first responders. With her council colleagues, she is carefully reviewing programs to make their pension plans competitive, increase retention and reduce the deficits of the past. We need Julie’s fierce dedication to keeping our town safe and financially secure.

For all these reasons, we must keep this knowledgeable Town Council member working for us. Facing our current financial, environmental and safety issues, we need a representative who has spent the past two years gaining valuable experience, taking a strong stand and fighting every day for us and for our Palm Beach quality of life.

Susan Watts

Palm Beach

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Two years ago, I had the honor of seconding Julie Araskog for the Town Council of Palm Beach.

As you know, she was elected to the council and has been an outstanding member. Julie has dedicated her time, energy and expertise in a successful effort to be a relentless advocate, protecting the interest of our community and our residents.

That’s why is so important to re-elect Julie to the town council, so she can keep fighting for our interests and providing the balance to protect our town's fragile future.

This year once again, I had the pleasure and honor to nominate Julie for another term on the council, and am more honored today than I was two years ago to do so.

Julie is my friend; but her accomplishments on the behalf of our town over the past two years has demonstrated she is OUR friend. I believe she has earned our support! 

Ann Summers

Palm Beach

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I write this in enthusiastic support of the candidacy of Julie Arakog for a second term as a member of the Town Council for the Town of Palm Beach.

I have been a close observer of the actions of our Town Council, and I have been deeply impressed by the professionalism, thoroughness, and dedication Julie brings to all matters with which the council is confronted.

Julie's votes whether for or against a particular item always reflect her firm conviction of what she has laboriously determined is the best course of action for the citizens of Palm Beach.

In particular, when I complained to Julie that it was ironic that the North End of Palm Beach, the bastion of captains of industry, had spectacularly poor cellular phone service, she advised me of her efforts with AT&T to rectify the situation by the installation of a stand-by cellular tower, which is currently in operation and which has remedied the previous unsatisfactory situation.

For proven dedication and smart application of superior intelligence, I urge my fellow Palm Beach residents to vote for Julie Araskog for Town Council.

Henry McIntosh IV

Palm Beach

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I note with interest that Julie Araskog has been criticized by her opponent for being an independent voice on the Town Council. She is indeed that, which is sorely needed, and a lot more.

She is admirably responsive to citizen concerns and queries.

Let me cite just one example. When the Testa site developers announced the date of massive concrete pours, during which large numbers of noisy cement trucks would traverse Sunset Avenue on a continuing basis, I realized that the announced date coincided with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Palm Beach Synagogue’s sanctuary abuts Sunset Avenue, and the noise would obviously have interfered with peaceful worship.

As president of Palm Beach Synagogue, I called Julie, and she immediately understood the seriousness of the issue. She took immediate action and secured a delay in the concrete pours so the sanctity of our Jewish holiday was preserved. Julie Araskog is exactly the type of Town Council member we need.

Michael Scharf

Palm Beach

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It is laughable that pretty much the only criticism one hears of incumbent Julie Araskog as a member of the Town Council is that she sometimes votes “no”! Who wants more yes-men to amplify the mistakes the majority of this august body sometimes make? Isn’t it far preferable to have on the council the voice of reason of a person who is genuinely intent on protecting the town’s traditional way of life and its financial well-being?

If we ever have a Town Council in which every vote is unanimous, this would be a strong red flag that something is terribly wrong. The town’s affairs and issues are simply too complex to allow only one viewpoint always to exist.

Julie is a lawyer. She is smart. She has sound judgment. She is open, direct, frank, and civil. She understands budgets. She advocates for fiscal prudence. She works hard and intelligently on behalf of the town and its residents and employees. Her objectivity, and unusual grasp of issues, are invaluable to the Council. She has served this community very well as a Council member and should be returned to office in this election.

Doug Williamson

Palm Beach

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It is one thing to complain about traffic, and certainly it is a common complaint here in Palm Beach. But when I called Councilwoman Julie Araskog to express my concerns and ideas to address the truck and vehicle congestion that plagues our island, she listened and did something about it.

First, Julie drove around town with me identifying traffic hot spots. Second, she supported my efforts to privately fund a serious traffic study. Third, she helped pass new rules that tightened restrictions on construction worker parking.

This has made a positive difference and reduced congestion on our streets. She voted against special events that would clog our streets, yet provide no specific benefit to our town. And she continues to advocate for tighter restrictions on commercial vehicle access.

With Julie on the Town Council, we will find a way. It is a cliché that politicians only care during elections. Well, Julie Araskog is not a politician; Julie is a true public servant. She cares about residents, she cares about our safety, she cares about our neighborhoods, and she makes serving the residents of Palm Bach her full-time job. We are lucky to have her.

Rick Stone

Palm Beach

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I am voting to re-elect Julie Araskog to the Town Council on March 12.

She offers an independent voice and rigorous review of all matters before the Town Council. Her opponent seeks to denigrate her record by ignoring her 803 affirmative council votes and focusing on her number of no votes. I might expect him to offer an in-depth analysis of her voting record to enhance his argument. He offers no such analysis. He makes no objection to any one of her votes.

He is unable or unwilling to tell us or give a single instance when he might have voted differently than she did. In fact, during the course of the candidate’s debate Feb. 28, when he was asked whether, unlike Julie, he would have voted yes to extend the bar curfew in Palm Beach from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., he did not answer. His silence speaks volumes.

He seeks to place the onus on Julie for causing the two-year delay and increased construction cost in the Rec Center project. Julie was neither a member of the council at the time nor in any way affiliated with the litigation that led to this delay. Fake news.

We are confronted with massive and unrelenting turnover of our police fire and emergency service personnel whose pension, retirement benefits and salaries were drastically cut when a prior Town Council unanimously voted to save money and put our safety at risk. We are confronting massive cost overruns and delays in our town-wide undergrounding project, which was unanimously approved by a Town Council without plans, drawings, blueprints or contracts in place.

Clearly consensus has failed us in these instances. We are in need of an independent voice. A council person who will follow her instincts and satisfy herself that all loose ends are tied up before casting her vote. A council person who will not take yes as an answer.

Julie has served our interests with tenacity and vigor. She has earned our vote.

Ira Smith

Palm Beach

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I would like to explain my reasons for endorsing Julie Araskog for re-election to the Town Council.

Julie is a smart, hard working, exacting lawyer who has helped the town on many critical issues during her tenure over the last two years. Among her many accomplishments, I would like to highlight just a few that are of particular relevance to the sustainability and quality of life of our beautiful island:

Julie cares about the impact of excessive development on town residents. She has worked to help residents better understand the Architectural and Landmarks commissions' roles and regulations providing better ways for affected residents to review and comment on pending applications. She took the initiative to organize tours for city officials and ARCOM commissioners of several areas to illustrate how excessive development was very quickly changing the fabric and livability of many blocks in the North End. She regularly attends ARCOM and Landmark meetings and diligently and thoroughly researches variance applications coming before the Town Council. We need someone that really cares for the quality of life of the residents and is willing to push back if need be.

Julie cares about the environment and the long-term sustainability of the island. She has been the force on the council behind the movement to improve and change the town’s landscape regulations to include a minimum required use of native Florida plants to attract pollinators, birds and butterflies. She also cares about the urban canopy on the island, which provides shade, reduces pollution and enhances aesthetics. She is in favor of banning hat racking, which is an irresponsible practice that for too long has damaged many mature trees on the island. But most importantly, she has advocated for the reduction of dangerous garden pesticides .

Julie cares about transparency and accountability. She does her homework and has helped steer the town council to make better decisions about how contracts for ongoing important initiatives like the Recreation Center and the utilities undergrounding projects are awarded and managed. By carefully analyzing and reading the small print in the contracts, many changes have been included to improve the way both of these projects will be completed in the future, avoiding additional budget overruns and surprises. We need independence, experience and courage to make the right decisions.

On behalf of Miguel Rosales and myself, we enthusiastically endorse Julie Araskog for election to the Town Council.

John David Corey

Palm Beach