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They Mayoral race is on, and Coral Springs has two very strong candidates that know they can do the job. Currently, Roy Gold is serving as Mayor but cannot run again due to term limits. Both Vincent Boccard, who has been serving on the city commission since 2006, and political newcomer and businessman John Arnold will run for the open seat. Both candidates own their own businesses and can bring a lot to the table.

John Arnold

John Arnold has been a resident of Coral Springs since 1982 where all three of his children attended Coral Springs public schools before graduating from college. Two of his three grown children now own homes here and all three of his grandchildren live here.

“ I love our city and I am running for Mayor because I want to be sure our city is economically vibrant for their future. I want to bring the strong business skills I have been using with business leaders and their organizations to our city.” – John Arnold

Arnold says he needs them to go to the next level as a community. “With all of the turnover in or city government over the past 18 months or so, I do not believe we can afford to continue to have a revolving door at key city leadership levels. It’s just not healthy for any company or organization,” said Arnold.

Currently serving as the President of The Taste of Coral Springs, Inc. as well as providing pro-bono consulting service to such organizations as, The Coral Springs Museum of Art, Junior Achievement of South Florida and Chapman Partnership of Miami, Arnold believes he has his fingers on the pulse of what is happening in our community as well as other communities in South Florida.

Arnold’s Priorities are:

Encourage higher collaboration between Economic Development Foundation, Community Reinvestment Agency, Chamber of Commerce and business leaders to increase revenue to keep taxes low and create more jobs.
Ensure that Code Enforcement has the manpower & tools needed to enforce ordinances to maintain and enhance property values. This includes ALL rental properties.
Ensure that Police & Fire Depts. Have all the funds & manpower necessary to protect our families.
Work with the School Board to see that the needs of our schools are met.
Facilitate and accelerate the presence of Broward College in our city to provide more job opportunities for our residents.
Work diligently to see that our city leaders provide our City Manager with both the financial and human resources necessary to live up to our, the citizen’s, Vision for Coral Springs.

Vincent Boccard

First elected to City Commission in 2006 and reelected in 2010, Boccard is now a candidate for Coral Springs Mayor. Besides his busy position as a City Commissioner, Boccard works as a general contractor and co-owner of Boccard Homes and Kessler Construction. Boccard and his wife Terry have three children ages 25, 23 and 4.

“I love being a public servant, and no one had to coax me to run.” Said Boccard.

Public Service runs in the Boccard family: His father served as both Mayor and Commissioner in Miami-Dade County for 20 years. Boccard said he practically lived at city hall and would help his father during election time. His mother was politically active as well and helped start Crime Watch back in 1975 along with former Attorney General Bob Butterworth. Before moving to Coral Springs in 1997, Boccard served eight years as Vice Mayor and Village Commissioner of El Portal in Miami-Dade County.

Coral Springs is about families. I raised my two kids here and now I’m watching my youngest, as well as my granddaughter grow up here as well.” – Vincent Boccard

Boccard says he truly loves the city and believes that it’s at a crossroads where the city needs to reinvest in the looks and curb appeal of its public spaces. One of the things Boccard wants to see is improvement to the parks and medians. “We have old parks, old equipment and old restrooms,” said Boccard.

Soon, Pride Park which is located on Riverside Drive will be having a ribbon cutting ceremony after its recent renovations. Boccard would drive by and see children playing in the street but not in the park. He said that the park was once overrun with thugs and the equipment was old and needed repair. Now the park has been cleaned up, has new equipment and the loitering issue has been addressed.

Currently, the commission is working on developing a five year Capital Improvement plan and Boccard says it’s necessary to keep the ball rolling because we can’t afford a learning curve.

“I want to keep the momentum rolling that the city is taking, and we need true leadership for that.”

Besides leadership, Boccard said he has a great vision for the city. One thing he would like to initiate is an amnesty program for new businesses. As Mayor, he would like to see permit fees waived as an incentive to do business in the city.

If residents want to have a meeting with Boccard the Commissioner, or in the future as Mayor, they’ll never have a tough time. Boccard makes himself easily accessible to meet with the public and businesses.

“We’re the most approachable commission. We ask the citizens to get involved with us.”

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The Mayoral election is a nonpartisan race. Note: Vincent Boccard is an advertiser of Coral Springs Talk

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Sharon Aron Baron

Editor of Talk Media and writer for Coral Springs Talk. CST was created in 2012 to provide News, Views, and Entertainment for the residents of Coral Springs and the rest of South Florida.