EIGHT RESIDENTS EXPRESS INTEREST IN VACANT ISLAMORADA COUNCIL SEAT; DECISION WILL COME AT SPECIAL MEETING

Several more Islamorada residents entered their names for the vacant village council seat, bringing the total number of hopefuls to eight. 

The village council, with four current members, will decide who takes the post vacated by Buddy Pinder earlier in the month during a special Jan. 30 meeting at the Founders Park Community Center. Candidates must be registered voters in Florida and residents of Islamorada. 

Four additional village residents submitted their paperwork before the Jan. 27 deadline: Larry Zettwoch, Tom Raffanello, Beth Kamenstein and David Epstein.

A 15-year resident, Raffanello told Keys Weekly he has executive management experience, having spent 30-plus years with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He was special agent in charge for the Miami field office, commanding offices in Florida and the Bahamas. 

Raffanello has run for village council the previous two elections. He said no one is looking out for taxpayers, and he wants to make the sacrifice for one term to “put this thing on track” with a strategic plan and a “budget system that works.”

“I don’t feel anyone represents the residents and taxpayers,” Raffanello said. “As one gentleman pointed out at a previous council meeting, taxes are going up every year. My question is why? Why are we buying things?”

Epstein grew up in Islamorada and worked as an emergency management director for the Homestead Air Force Base. He’s the owner and CEO of Islamorada Luxury Carts, and he’s also a real estate agent with Coastal Realty of the Florida Keys. 

“In the next decade our great village needs strategic thinkers, so the new village manager can properly manage the great employees of Islamorada,” Epstein said. “Council leadership should not be influenced by one specific organization.”

Zettwoch is a former U.S. Air Force colonel and volunteer firefighter and paramedic with Islamorada Fire Rescue. He ran for a council seat in 2020. 

“I would like to help this council move forward because we seem to be in an area of turmoil right now with ROGOs and traffic and big business coming in,” he said. “I sort of hopefully can get some consensus on what we’re trying to do. I’m invested in Islamorada. I’ve been here since 1987.”

Kamenstein has been a village resident since 1989. Her late husband, Ron Levy, spearheaded the “Go Local” Islamorada incorporation movement. She said she’s been involved in many projects, including the playground behind the library in the early 1990s. She was also on a four-person team which built the Montessori Island School in Tavernier. She’s an artist who has a flexible schedule and said she will commit her energy and time, if chosen. 

“I think being a council person is bringing vision to make people’s lives better in the town,” Kamenstein said. “I don’t believe one has to have experience other than being a good human being.”
As previously reported by Keys Weekly, four other residents submitted the necessary documentation last week to be considered for the seat. They include Anna Richards, Stephanie Scuderi, Greg Dully and Van Cadenhead.

Jim McCarthy
Jim McCarthy is one of the many who escaped the snow and frigid temperatures in Western New York. A former crime & court reporter and city editor for two Western New York newspapers, Jim has been honing his craft since he graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 2014. In his 5-plus years in the Keys, Jim has enjoyed connecting with the community. Jim is past president of the Key Largo Sunset Rotary Club. When he's not working, he's busy chasing his son, Lucas, around the house and enjoying time with family.