Palm Beach has a long history of consistency, order and stability — from the style of its architecture to its well-preserved quality of life and the way it picks its leaders.
Town leaders and residents take pride in preserving those traditions, from their efforts to preserve historically significant buildings to their work maintaining cherished customs.
But as the 2025-26 Palm Beach season draws to a close, whether the island can keep its long-held serenity remains an open question.
For many, the hotly contested March municipal election was a sour note of the season — and one that may not bode well for the future. The increasing, and perhaps long-lasting, changes to island life due to security measures for President Donald Trump and his Mar-a-Lago Club also are cause for concern.
In the race for the Group 1 Town Council seat, incumbent Lew Crampton won a fifth two-year term, defeating former Architectural Commission member John David Corey.
Crampton, the council’s president pro tempore, won the election with 58% of the vote. His voters likely wanted to stick with the council’s current direction, and accepted Crampton’s focus on building consensus to address contentious issues, such as how to handle redevelopment and traffic congestion.
But the campaign’s harsh tone proved too much for many residents. Some have said they are disgusted, disappointed and disheartened by the tone and tenor of it.
A big part of that discomfort came from the involvement of big-dollar political action committees that upturned what had been the low-key nature of town elections.
Crampton was backed by Palm Beach Neighbors PAC, a resident-led PAC formed in December. Corey received support from Fight Overdevelopment, a federally registered super PAC that spent money on the race. Both candidates said they had no communication with either PAC.
Palm Beach may be a small town, but residents take their elections seriously, and many want to safeguard their character. The stakes, they know, are high.
The use of PACs in this most recent election coarsened the town’s electoral tradition and divided residents, mirroring in some ways the divisive politics that have gripped the country.
That’s a shame.
What also should raise eyebrows in Palm Beach is the potential for the measures in place to protect President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago — even when he is not there — to upend island life on a long-term basis.
The security-related closure of South Ocean Boulevard near the president’s private club drastically disrupted the flow of traffic on the island, essentially cutting it in half and causing drivers to detour to and from the mainland.
The town also is contesting federal airspace restrictions over Mar-a-Lago. Because aircraft are diverted from that airspace, they fly over other areas, and residents say the resulting aircraft noise and other effects have affected their quality of life.
The Town Council voted unanimously in April to delay a decision on a request from the Secret Service to allow a planned helipad to remain in place after Mr. Trump’s second term ends. Like the strict security measures at the club, the helipad is needed, a Mar-a-Lago representative has said, because of ongoing and increasing threats to Trump and his family.
The big questions for Palm Beach are whether those security measures could last for years, and if so, how that will change what it’s like to live on the island.
The security measures at Mar-a Lago — and this season’s out-of-the ordinary election cycle — may be signs that Palm Beach’s long-protected quality of life is in jeopardy.
If that’s the case, strong local leaders and residents who take an active interest in the town’s civic life could be critically important, as Palm Beach faces what are likely to be seasons of change.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: PACs, Trump security measures could upend island life | Editorial
Reporting by Palm Beach Daily News Editorial Board, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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