Running For: Second District (Three Year Term)
Running Against: Linda McDermott, Willie Puz
Tell Us a Little About Yourself. What Inspired You to Run for Office in Jupiter?
I grew up on military bases across the U.S. with a father in the U.S. Marine Corps and moved frequently until settling in Jupiter with my family. Growing up this way is challenging but rewarding, and you always long for a real sense of “home.” I am incredibly grateful that I can give that to my children here and see their take on things as little locals. I also served in government and communications and did a lot of community outreach in my career before having children. I held a diplomatic passport and traveled to Haiti frequently to help respond to the 2010 earthquake and focused on monitoring and evaluating disaster response programming for effectiveness. With the U.S. Small Business Administration, I traveled to cities and towns to help small businesses navigate available assistance on offer to them.
What Do You Love Most About Jupiter, and What’s One Thing You’d Like to Improve?
I love and have deep affection for our natural environment. It’s calming, and beautiful, and just good for us to spend time with it every day. Many my age prefer a more urban lifestyle, but the built environment and the traffic headaches down south create a baseline level of stress that is too high for me. I want to choose what stressors are in my life and don’t want them imposed on me from my surroundings. I wish I could improve the way we all talk to one another about issues that are most important to us. I helped create “Connect with Council” to have informal gatherings with residents on a regular basis and always work to share details on Town projects.
Describe Your Leadership Style in Three Words
Steady. Direct. Accessible.
What Experience or Skills Make You the Best Candidate for This Role?
My experience on Council over the last three years, my membership and leadership on multiple boards and committees around the County (listed here: https://www.maliseforjupiter.com/about-malise), and my attention to detail have prepared me to effectively:
- Ensure the success of our two local public safety departments.
- Advocate for traffic fixes.
- Make sure the smaller-scale vision for the Inlet Village and Center Street gets implemented (we just recently updated our CRA plan with resident focus groups and meetings and the help of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council).
- Upgrade our playgrounds and parks to make them more accessible and add shade – all projects that started during my last term.
What Is Your Top Priority for the Town If Elected, and How Do You Plan to Accomplish It?
My top priority is ensuring the success of our local fire rescue service, which begins service next year. Public safety is the foundation for all other services. I plan to support the department as fully as I can and work with our dedicated Town staff and Fire Chief to ensure they provide the best service at the best cost for residents and businesses. I have supported them from the beginning and am grateful for the nationally recognized leadership we were able to get for this department and the interest of over 150 firefighters seeking to apply before we even advertise.
How Do You Plan to Keep Jupiter’s Small-Town Charm While Supporting Responsible Growth?
I plan to keep Jupiter’s small-town charm while supporting responsible growth by sharing my principles with the community clearly (it should stay at the scale of the Town we have, not a City like we have to our South) and following the law. If we do not own a parcel of land, we must negotiate with the property owner on what is allowed there based on land use, zoning, etc., or we must buy it if the owner is willing to sell it. Some parcels of land are expensive, and the Town could never afford to buy every parcel of land that exists (nor would it want to), so prioritization and negotiation are a part of life.
We have about $17 million approved by voters to use to buy land, but some parcels of land cost $50 million or more (our entire Town Budget is $147 million). So, when I negotiate, I look for smaller-scale projects and focus on the environment and what the neighbors say. While on Council, I said “no” to a proposal for 520 units at Indiantown Road and Island Way because Jupiter High is already overcrowded and this part of Town has very poor traffic conditions. Other neighboring municipalities are saying “yes” to these types of developments, increasing traffic in northern Palm Beach County and changing traffic patterns in the Town in ways that we’re still working to understand.
What’s One Local Issue That Residents Talk to You About the Most, and What’s Your Stance on It?
Residents talk to me about traffic a lot. It is their #1 issue this election. I agree it’s a major issue, and in a way, this makes sense because with season, the US1 bridge nearing but not yet complete, and Indiantown/95 interchange improvements, it’s kind of a perfect storm. But the bridge will fully open this year, the Indiantown Rd project will finish and add capacity, and things will improve. On top of this, the Town secured $2.4 million from the state for additional improvements on Indiantown, is adding traffic pre-emption on Indiantown to help with flow for emergency response, is adding lighted crosswalks to help pedestrians, is improving Bush Rd/Toney Penna intersection to add capacity, and is working with the County to add a traffic light at Toney Penna/Central Blvd.
If You Had to Explain Your Vision for Jupiter in a Single Sentence, What Would It Be?
Maintain the small scale of the Town and highlight the natural resources that make Jupiter unique from its neighbors: the Loxahatchee River, our beaches, and the Jupiter Inlet.
How Do You Plan to Engage and Communicate With Residents?
I have worked incredibly hard to engage with residents and was the first to add “Communication” items to the Town’s strategic plan in some time. I asked that the Town hold quarterly informal gatherings for Council and residents to meet without the nervousness that comes from a formal dais or microphone. Additionally, I am active on Facebook, regularly attend HOA meetings, and go into detail on the record at Council Meetings, highlighting them on my YouTube channel as a candidate.
What’s a Fun Fact About You That People Might Not Know?
I love travel and have traveled on the Trans-Siberian railroad and visited something like 50 countries.
