As is often the case for the Town of Indian River Shores, the island municipality of 4,500 residents will not have a contested election to add to the already-packed Nov. 5 ballot.
Incumbents Bob Auwaerter and James Altieri will serve another four-year term on the Indian River Shores Town Council joined in November by newcomer William Dane, a Bermuda Bay resident who rounded out the field last week as the third candidate qualifying for the three seats up for election.
“Although I had other calls and inquiries, no one (else) actually filed the paperwork. All three candidates were elected unopposed. So, Mr. Dane will be the newest member of Council,” Town Clerk Janice Rutan confirmed shortly after the noon Friday deadline.
Dane, a Wisconsin native who spent his teen years in Miami after his family moved to Florida in the 1950s, graduated from Florida State University School of Law and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1986. After being appointed to the bench by Gov. Jeb Bush, Dane served as an administrative law judge in Jacksonville from 2003 to 2009, specializing in worker’s compensation cases.
According to statewide news reports from his tenure, Dane was known as a tough judge, and was seen as being pro-employer by the public safety unions whose members appeared before him in court.
Dane’s practice areas of expertise include mediation and dispute resolution – skills that may come in handy as Indian River Shores attempts to renegotiate its water-sewer utility franchise with the City of Vero Beach.
“I am delighted to have a future colleague with William Dane’s experience and skills joining us on the Council,” Mayor Brian Foley said. “Mr. Dane’s background speaks for itself and I am confident he will be ready to hit the ground running. The town is indeed fortunate to have such a deep pool of talent to draw on when Council seats turn over.”
Dane will make the third attorney on the council, along with Foley and Altieri. Counting Town Manager Jim Harpring and Town Attorney Pete Sweeney, there will be five lawyers in attendance at town council meetings when all members are present.
Vice Mayor Sam Carroll and Councilman Auwaerter both have a finance background, Carroll as a wealth manager with Morgan Stanley and Auwaerter as an analyst and portfolio manager with the Vanguard Group.
Councilwoman Mary Alice Smith, a 26-year Shores resident and dedicated volunteer on many nonprofit boards, chose not to seek a second term.
“My 4 year tenure on the Indian River Shores Town Council has been an extraordinary experience. I will miss working with my fellow Council Members,” Smith said.
“It was wonderful to participate in the renewal of the town leadership and staff, with the hiring of our town manager and his assistant, our new town clerk, the head of public safety and our town attorney. They are a very effective team. I am pleased that we did not increase the property tax millage rate during my term.”
Smith said she will also miss serving as the town’s representative on the county’s Beach and Shores Preservation Committee.
“It was satisfying to be involved and help move along the Sector 4 dune restoration project,” she said of the engineered beach sand project on the town’s beaches set to begin this fall.
When Smith concludes her term in November, the makeup of the town council will shift a bit, as there have been four John’s Island residents on the dais, plus Auwaerter of Ocean Colony. After Dane is sworn in there will be three John’s Island residents, plus Auwaerter, and Dane of Bermuda Bay representing the balance of the Shores communities.
