Amid political fallout, the West Palm Beach downtown development authority has announced this week its new board leaders.
New selections are Florida Atlantic University ethics professor Dr.Peter Cruise as Chair, nonprofit leader Daryl Houston as Vice-Chair, and DDA Executive Director Teneka James-Feaman as Secretary.
The leadership rollout comes amid deep controversy over who gets a seat at the city’s development table.
Earlier this month, commissioners voted 4-1 to appoint Jordan Rathlev to the seven-member board. Rathlev is an executive at Related Ross, the downtown area’s largest office landlord. He replaced DDA board member Timothy Harris, a downtown resident and realtor.
While supporters call the developer’s presence good for business, residents and activists have protested the move, claiming swapping a seat for a major developer reduces community representation.
Neighborhood advocates argue it's a glaring conflict of interest, loss of resident representation, and creates long-term tension over Flagler drive and waterfront development projects. Residents are furious, worrying a developer-packed board will spend public money to boost corporate projects instead of neighborhood needs.
READ MORE: West Palm Beach Commission votes 4-1 to appoint Related Ross exec to Downtown Development Authority
"Our concern is not about Related Ross. It is about the concentration of the representation," said resident Atima Fowler, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, during a July 6 meeting.
The commission largely shot down cries of potential "conflict of interest," including the lone dissenting board member, Commissioner Shalonda Warren. But Warren expressed similar concerns of the possibility of it in the future.
"Mr. Rathlev working for Related does not in and of itself present a conflict of interest. It is not a conflict of interest," Warren said. " But the question then is what happens if there is? Because I don't know if the bylaws have that type of specificity that states that they would abstain."
She said she doesn't feel "comfortable" with the Rathlev decision unless another logistical step was made to clear all skepticism.
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James shot back at her concerns, saying "The DDA has their own board, they have their own counsel, and they take the advice of their counsel."
While the DDA doesn’t approve buildings, it does control a massive budget funded by local taxpayers.
