November 20, 2025 • 28 mins
Newt talks with Mayor Scott Singer of Boca Raton, Florida. Boca Raton has a strong business presence, with a focus on attracting businesses from high-tax states like New York, leveraging its low property tax rate and business-friendly environment. Mayor Singer’s leadership style focuses on nonpartisan collaboration, pushing bold ideas, and maintaining a cordial city council environment. Key issues in Boca Raton include development, infrastructure, and affordability. The city is working on introducing affordable housing to ensure accessibility for middle-class families and young professionals. Mayor Singer also chairs the America First Policy Institute's Mayor's Council, aiming to implement common-sense solutions at the local level. The Mayor's Council supports the America First agenda and emphasizes collaboration between federal, state, and local governments to address issues like keeping cities safe and affordable.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
On this episode of News World. Mayor Scott's Singer has
served as a strong voice for Boca Raton, Florida's resident
since he was first elected to the city council in
twenty fourteen. Scott was elected as mayor in twenty eighteen
and re elected in twenty twenty with eighty nine percent
of the vote, receiving the two highest vote totals in
(00:27):
the city's history. He was re elected without opposition in
twenty twenty three. This year, the city of bok Raton
is celebrating its centennial year, founded in nineteen twenty five.
I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, Mayor Scott Singer.
(00:56):
So welcome and thank you for joining me on Newtswork.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thank you to speaker. A pleasure to be here, I have.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
To say, in addition to being mayor, you've done some
interesting things. You are a Jeopardy champion and you appeared
on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? How did those
things happen?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Both fun experiences. I always loved trivia as a kid
and watch Jeopardy growing up. Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire was more luck than anything else. They were restarting
the syndicated version with Meredith Vieira. I happen to come
down from lunch saw a flyer posted on a street
light in New York City at lunchtime. They were having auditions.
The next day when over, and two weeks later I
was on the show, and that helped pay for part
(01:36):
of law school. And then Jeopardy. I tried out multiple
times over the years and finally got the call that
I'd been selected and got the flatt la and tape
some episodes.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
When you do Jeopardy, I don't think fast enough to
do a show like that. I would just freeze up.
How do you manage to get in the rhythm of
that kind of a show.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, first, I have to respectfully disagree, mister speaker. I've
seen you think fast on your feed for thirty years plus,
and your term as Speaker and the revolution you set
off in nineteen ninety four made a formative impression on me.
That's the first time I got to vote in nineteen
ninety four. I turned eighteen that year, so still remember
with great excitement that day and saw how well you
thought over the time and how well you still think.
(02:17):
I'm sure you would do great, But in terms of
that show, the rhythm is the hardest thing because you
have three competitors who know almost all the answers, and
you're all vying to ring in first. And it's hard
because even in my episodes, I felt the timing was
a little bit different, whether the lock in to let
you buzz in was slightly different in the second game
(02:40):
than the first. They say what distinguishes the good champions
from the great champions is to have that machine like timing.
You can see it sometimes the people who win five
games or more, they're really good on their timing.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
That's interesting. I hadn't even thoughtow that part of it,
so I'm curious. I mean, you've clearly done with the
people of Voca Utan want when you look at the
level of support you're getting. We live in an age
when it's very difficult to have citizens be happy. What
is it you think that you've done that have enabled
(03:13):
people to rally around you so that, despite years in office,
you ran unopposed. I mean, I think this is a
real tribute to something you're doing that other local elected
officials or local candidates might learn from.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Well, thank you, that's very kind. I think it's a
lot of circumstances first, local elections in Florida, like the
majority of states, are nonpartisan, so you don't naturally have
two parties vying to put up a candidate, So that
actually makes it easier than other state or federal offices. Second,
I think it's very easy to get re elected time
and time again if you don't want to do anything.
(03:50):
The challenges when you're trying to push bolder ideas, and
I think in twenty twenty three, I was fortunate. I
worked hard to build up good alliances, but I had
a very cordial and collegial council. When you're able to
work collaboratively with people, it keeps the temperature down, and
that's one of the things when I first ran for office,
wanted to lower the temperature. We had some groups that
were really trying to one candidate who was running a
(04:12):
blog and then trying to use that to propel himself
for further office. I think was really trying to encourage
more dissatisfaction. I think the bigger picture is just getting
out the accurate information, and it's harder nowadays in this
euro of social media to try to communicate all of
the facts. And I wouldn't say necessarily my approval rating
(04:32):
is eighty nine percent. Now that's a snapshot in time.
I would say in the last year there's more anger generally.
I think the way media can spin things, can polarize
different views, has of spill over effect over at the
local level, and that's one of the things I'm trying
with the America First Policy Institute Mayor's Council, which I
have the privileged to chair and work with other mayors
(04:53):
to try to find common sense solutions, but take common
sense solutions from Washington and the Trumpean administration and bring
them down to the local level as well.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
What would you say when you're out talking with your
fellow citizens in Boca Raton, what are the two or
three things that come up again and again that they
really want to say solved?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Sure, in local government it's often development issues. Development is
a concern throughout the country because local governing bodies often
focus on development, zoning, where things go, how you're planning
for infrastructure. In Boko Roteon, we do a fantastic job
of planning for infrastructure, and I think that spills over
to a lot of resident satisfaction. We've got great police
(05:33):
and fire, we've got great city services, soup to nuts.
We've invested in infrastructure, so we use new technology to
even move traffic, which is always a concern, even in
an area where we've got South Florida growing at more
rapid paces around us, but not so much in our area.
We're a pretty built out, lower density city, but you
feel that so development is a concern. I think affordability
(05:54):
continues to be a concern. Boca Ratone still is an
affluent area, relatively affluent with a higher income, but we
have a whole variety of workers and we want to
ensure accessibility and affordability for everyone. That's why the city
is embarked on introducing affordable and attainable housing for middle
class workers, to try to make sure that the employers
(06:14):
who were trying to attract and young professionals, employers have
places for their employees. Young professionals have an opportunity to
move into the city and then continue their life there.
And I'm always focused on retaining talent and growing our
job base. Because we have a strong economy in Boca Ratone,
we punch above our weight when it comes to business.
We probably have a business presence of a city of
(06:37):
maybe three hundred thousand people and roll only one hundred thousand.
We've got more than half the corporate headquarters of all
upon Beach County, President Trump's home county. So I'm always
trying to focus on how we can bring more jobs
here and ensure the talent coming out of Florida Atlantic University,
Lynn University, and pom Beach State College, all in our
city can find places to work and live.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Fascinating maybe if you've got all these things going on,
and yet you actually wrote a letter to New York
business leaders saying that to consider coming to Florida given
the election of a big government socialist like Mundami, do
you think you're actually going to see a substantial increment
(07:15):
that's been a continuous migration now for like thirty years.
Do you think it's going to dramatically accelerate with Mundami's
effect on the New York economy.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I think it will substantially accelerate, yes, mister speaker. And
we've been targeting New York and other key markets Chicago
and San Francisco for years. We've had strategic and targeted
outreach to businesses. We can't accommodate all the people who
might want to flee the high taxes, but we can
try to and are focusing on business growth because we've
got great Class A office, lots of availability, and a
(07:47):
great business ecosystem. So that's why in June we reached
out to business leaders and we've continue that. We knew
that the Mandami election was coming, and we actually advertised
some strategic advertising New York. We launched a website and
wide to Boca dot com, which saw thousands of hits
in just the first few weeks, and we've continued follow
up messaging with businesses who've wanted to come. I'd gotten
(08:09):
some positive response to the email we sent right after
the election. We followed up with calls, and we're continuing
to work on bringing businesses here. I've talked with residential
realtors throughout the community in Boca Raton and elsewhere, and
their call volume has dramatically increased, So that's people looking
to move here. That's not necessarily new construction. But we've
got Class A availabilities too, so I expect a lot
(08:31):
of people to move, and it's not just New York.
I think we need to be concerned about socialist ideas
taking root in some of our nation's biggest cities. New
York is one, but now Seattle two. Their mayor was
ousted an election just this month as well, and that's
going to be, I think, a challenge for that city,
which already faced challenges with public safety and business flight.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I think all of these very large, heavily unionized, very bureaucratic,
left wing cities, I think they're going to continue to
shed people who flee basically. But I'm curious specifically about
New York because Mondomie, of course wants to raise saxes.
Apparently Governor huckle has just reversed herself and said she
(09:29):
would consider a tax increase, which during the election she'd
said she would not. But isn't there already a huge
gap in how much you pay if you're a Floridan
or a New Yorker.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Absolutely, if you're at the top marginal rate in New
York City, it's nearly fifteen percent between state and local
income taxes. That's on top of your federal that's on
top of the high cost of living, that's on top
of all the other expenses. You move to Florida, it's
zero percent. And I'm proud that's saying Boca Raton, We've
got the lowest property tax rate of any full service
city in Florida. So coming to Boca Ratone is a
(10:03):
real economic advantage for a lot of people. That's why
business leaders and C suite executives have been moving here.
And it really picked up after COVID. People saw the
shutdown city, the high crime, the high tax, the high
regulation jurisdictions and wanted something better. So you mentioned, mister speaker,
our growth that's been steady over decades, and it has
it picked up after COVID. I think this will be
(10:24):
another accelerator as well. Now Bondani is talking about a
seventeen percent marginal rate and further taxes at the higher
higher ends. I think that's just going to give job
creators and innovators an opportunity to say why am I
staying here? And we're welcoming their opportunities to bring high
paying jobs to Boca Ratone.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Apparently, people like Mundommi is a big government socialists. I
think that people who are successful aren't smart enough to
figure out how much they're paying. I talked to somebody
and palm beef. This was probably ten years ago. He
said it time. It cost him about five million dollars
a year to retain a New York residence. He is
(11:07):
obviously really wealthy, but nonetheless there is a morning new
work around and think what is it I'm getting for this?
And it doesn't seem to sink in at all to
the Mondomis of the world that you can literally drive
people away. I mean they just pick up and leave.
And of course Florida has been an enormous recipient of
(11:30):
people from all over the country, both because it's a
great place to live, us a great quality of life,
and the differential between a Chicago or a New York
or New Jersey is just staggering. Now, when you talk
to people, how do they rationalize it?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, the ones I talk to don't because they've moved.
After the pandemic started, we saw a lot more growth
of people moving from Chicago who traditionally went to the
West Coast. I have a lot more constituents who came
from Illinois because of their high taxes as well, So
it's not just York ats Illinois's other places as well.
I can't rationalize the irrationality of some of these policies,
(12:07):
and I'm not going to attempt to, but I think
there's a parallel you're seeing people advanced socialist ideas that
have failed time and time again throughout history and every generation.
I guess we need another dose of how bad it is. Mom.
Donnie isn't old enough to remember the Soviet Union and
the fall of it. I remember, I know you remember
a lot more and could lecture at great length about
(12:28):
the perils of communism. I think people are going to
have to see that firsthand. So I think it's that
same misunderstanding about these unrealistic, unworkable, Unamerican ideas that are
causing people to think, well, we're static and people are
just going to pay whatever tax rate we set. We're
an in an era of mobility. We've got technology that
is far different than even five years ago. The fact
(12:50):
that you and I are being able to do this
podcast on two continents and in live time has now
become the standard, not an outlier. And I think businesses
are recognizing that talent will go where it wants to go,
and there is no more stranglehold on why New York
has to be the capital of capital. As an American,
I'm sad to see it, but as a Boca Raton mayor,
(13:11):
I'm going to try to benefit from the opportunities to
bring high paying jobs to my city.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Wellings, I did not know. That I think is very
impressive is that Boca Raton has consistently worked to lower
the tax rate. You now have the lowest property tax
rate of any full service city in Florida, which is
a statewey with no income tax. That is an amazing achievement.
(13:38):
So what is it that you've done to get the
city of Buca Raton to have the lowest property tax
rate of any full service city in Florida. Amazing achievement.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I think it's three things, mister speaker. First, we have
a very strong business base, and that's where I come
back to it. Because we have a strong business presence,
we've got a lot more businesses who are paying taxes.
Florida as a homestead cap, where if you're a home
setted resident, your property taxes only increase three percent per year.
Businesses don't have that cap, so it helps add a
(14:10):
robustness to our budget. If about half of our budget,
our property taxes come from homesteaded residents, the rest come
from non home setted residents and businesses. So the stronger
business presence actually helps the bottom line for residents. And
that's why it's not just great jobs in great philanthropic environment.
It keeps cost low and pays for great services. Second,
we're very lean, We staff leanly. We don't have programs.
(14:33):
We've never had additional programs talking about ESG and DEI
and where you get big government and liberal government focused
on other projects that are sometimes make work jobs. We
don't have those. We focus on basic services, police, fire water, sewer, sanitation, parks, libraries, roads.
We try to excel in all of those and focus
(14:53):
on good governance there. And the third thing is continuing
to grow revenue bases, so you know, attracting businesses here.
I'm keeping a stable environment where property values rise naturally
helps the fiscal balance sheet. And mister Speaker, I definitely
recall with great tribe, Frankly, when you were a speaker
in nineteen ninety six, when I was in college, I
(15:15):
had the privilege of helping you indirectly when I worked
for Frank Luntz and Frank Luntz was assisting you in
communications and work with House members. So I had the
privilege of trying to as Frank was addressing members weekly,
you know, working with house communications teams, just as a
college intern to try to make sure everyone was on message.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I did not know that story, and Frank of course,
played a huge role in helping us communicate better with
American people. Not only have you been very effective as
(16:03):
the mayor, but you also play a significant role with
the America First Policy Institute, which I've been working with
since its founding, when it launched its Mayor's Council. You
now chair that organization. What inspired you to take on
sort of a national role at a time like this.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
So last year I got the opportunity to work with
some people at AFPI and some education and other issues,
and or heard talk of their governor's council and immediately
struck me, why not a mayor's council Because the same
America First message that we have to get into the
States applies to the cities too, and I saw some
great opportunities there. First, going back to elections, you know,
(16:46):
there's very low turnout and engagement in mayor elections. I
think you're seeing that in some of the elections we
just saw in November and some big cities. There's a
real opportunity to advance, you know, to make sure that
we're communicating the right message and getting people involved. President
Trump was on the ballot in twenty twenty four. He
will not be on the ballot again, but even leading
up to the midterm elections, those mattered greatly. And you
(17:07):
want to make sure that people are engaged on key issues. Well,
there's no more level of government. I think that affect
your daily life as much as the local government level.
I wanted to make sure we were finding ways to
advance common sense, pro growth, pro safety America first ideas
at our cities. And so I'm honored to work with
now nearly fifty mayors across the country, former and current
(17:28):
mayors who are working on the shared vision. And it's
really trying to find out how we can better tie
what President Trump is succeeding and doing in Washington at
the state and then local level with the Mayor's council.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
When you bring together current has forty five members from
all over the country. What is your message to Washington
collectively from the mayors.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I think it's that we're eager to find ways to
work together better. And what's unique about this group is
I think you know we all share a similar outlook. Yes,
we are sharing best practices. But we've got an opportunity
to collaborate and exchange good policy with the federal and
state and the local level. For example, we had one
mayor talk about the opportunities for better law enforcement in
(18:14):
the city working with ICE, and that mayor attributed information
we got from our council to helping multi jurisdictional task
force crack down on gang members in that city. And
that collaboration has an impact at the local level. But
the federal policies more generally, mister speaker, touch our daily lives.
(18:35):
The border is secure in a way that it hadn't
been for years. So what did the unsecured border do
for years? Will It allowed fentanyl to come in. It
allowed the opioid epidemic to ravage cities, and who has
to deal with that are first responders, and it affects everyone.
A secure border has a direct correlation to safety and cities,
to the opoid epidemic and so much more. Human trafficking
(18:59):
is an issue, and I think we've all seen in
the last few years that huge uptake in you know
what we're doing about it? Well, again, a secure border matters,
So what happens in Washington matters and cities. But we
are on the ground too, trying to advance ideas that
maybe percolate up to Washington. Balance budgets. For one, our
city has to balance its budget. We do every year.
A lot of other mayors in that same situation where
(19:21):
you must pass a balanced budget. So we have to
go back to it. And that speaks back to your
earlier question.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
You can bring a kind of digent, old fashion word,
a kind of more frugal policy of not wasting money,
not addy extra bureaucrats. At the same time, it seems
to me that the long term impact of President Trump
and the whole mega movement really has to be dug
(19:46):
in at the city and the county level so that
it becomes more than just the Congress or more than
just a presidential election, but it has to become a
way of thinking. And that the gap that we're seeing
between where leaders like you are taking their cities and
where the really big left wing what I would call
(20:07):
big government socialists models in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore.
It's astonishing how dramatically different these two patterns are. Why
do you think it's so hard for us to break
through in these really big cities, no matter how badly
(20:28):
governed they are.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
That's a tough question, and I think it's one of
those things where some things are going to have to
get worse before they get better. We've had in the
last five years to a number of mayors and mayoral
candidates one on platforms of defunding police or reducing police presence,
not understanding that public safety is at the base of
the pyramid of government services. If you have an unsafe community,
(20:52):
people don't want to live there, Businesses don't want to
be there, and people don't want to stay there. And
I think we're going to have to see some cities
fail when they focus so much on alternative methods of
policing but don't deal with the crime issues that they
have in their city. When you relax on crime, it
has a spillover effect in so many ways. And I
think it's just the ebb and flow of political wins
(21:13):
in some places. And I remember in New York City
in the nineteen eighties where crime was at monumental levels
before Rudy Giuliani was elected and took the murder rate
down sixty seventy percent, and that had a significant impact
and then that caused businesses to come into Manhattan and
to change Times Square from what was not really a
seedy place to a tourist destination. All of these things
(21:35):
are related, but it goes back to just fundamentally sound
policy or unsound policy, and when you don't treat crime
the right way, when you're hostile to business, it spills
over to affect quality of life.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I think you put your finger on you're having your
centennial this year. I think back to with nineteen twenty
five of pre air conditioning must have been like in Boca.
What will you be doing in Boca this year to
celebrate the centennial for the city.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Well, we've done a number of things throughout the year.
We've had a number of public events, participation with other businesses,
some of whom are also Muten milestone years. For example,
we had a large concert that drew thousands of people
to celebrate honor centennial week and it happened to even moreil
Day weekend as well. We also had a drone show
that really was spectacular, the best I've ever seen that
(22:31):
really brought people together. It was a spirit of community
and celebration. We've done other things to recognize our history
of our city, and as we look to the end
of the year, our traditional holiday parade will be centennial themed.
We've had partnerships with the bok Ratona Historical Society to
get out a great volume of our history that residents
(22:51):
have enjoyed. Other local magazines, including Over my Shoulder, the
Boca ratonea Observer, has had their centennial issue. I have
a framed edition of that over my shoulder there. And
we're just going to continue to try to ensure that
we look ahead to the next century, because, as you said,
mister speaker, in nineteen twenty five, this is a very
different place, pre air conditioning, a few hundred people here.
But what made Boca Ratone remarkable then was noted architect
(23:14):
Addison Meisner came to Boca Ratone. He set out to
build the world's premier resort community, and in only seventeen
months here he built what is now the Boca Ratone Resort.
It was the Ritz Carlton Cloister end of the time,
but really envisioned this as a destination for leaders and
prominent figures across America. Nineteen twenty six was a land bust.
(23:36):
Hurricanes come. He didn't reach the full fulfillment of his vision.
But I think one hundred years later, we have been
set out as a special place. We are remarkable as
a city. I think there's no city like ours, and
a lot of mayors would say that. But we have
a great mix of the natural beauty and plan beauty,
and more amenities, businesses and opportunities than a lot of
other cities are size. So I feel great pride for
(23:58):
our city, and I think as we look at for
the next century, we can plan other great things.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
It's a remarkable place. But I remember the very first
time I went down. I was giving a speech in Boca,
and that was actually the first time I had key
lime pie in Florida. To this day, I remember that
it was just exquisite for all of our listeners. If
you get a chance to go visit Boca. It is
a really unique gem situated right there in the middle
(24:26):
of Florida's East coast, and it's almost like it's an island,
and that it has been developed and cultivated and maintained
to be a really high quality of life.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Well, thank you, mister speaker. It is a special place.
I'm happy to say, though we're not an island. We're
in the center of the South Florida metropolitan area, the
seventh largest in America, where we've got great business presence.
You've got a city government focused on trying to make
life easier for residents and businesses. It's not just your
people looking to visit. If you're looking to relocate a
business here, we're happy to help with concierge services, incentives
(24:59):
and again the lowest proper tax to have any full
service city. Going back to the bigger picture, I think
over the coming years, people are going to have an
opportunity more to be more mobile, and I think you're
going to see a continued migration from high tax, high regulation,
high crime cities and states to other places where mayors
like me across America are trying to focus on how
do you deliver services effectively and efficiently, and how do
(25:22):
you allow businesses and individuals to flourish.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I've really known Boka mostly from going to nice residential areas,
but you have forty publicly traded corporate headquarters and fourteen
thousand businesses.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yes, now some of them are small mom at pop
shops like mine. I'm a lawyer, so a solo practitioner,
so that's a business. It's one employee, but it still
counts as a business. But yes, we've got large companies
in healthcare, finance, fintech technology. A lot of people don't
realize that the IBM personal computer was invented in Boca
Ratone and the biggest deal in software history was happen
(25:59):
in Boca Ratone in the nineteen eighties when Bill Gates
came to IBM's headquarters then in Boca Vertone and negotiated
the licensing for Microsoft, which propelled that. Even though IBM
left in the nineties, we still had a great tradition
and continuation of high tech companies. And as we've moved
out to medtech, fintech and now AI and quantum computing,
(26:19):
we're attracting more businesses. The talent is here, and I
think that's important for young people. I ran for city
council because I wanted at the time, I lead one child,
but wanted him to feel what I did not feel
growing up at South Florida, that I had great job prospects.
And I think we're getting there, and I think what
we can do to continue to make sure that young
people have places to work, a great community to live
(26:40):
in helps continue our success.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Oh that's from Mornhule. You're doing a great job both
nationally working with the America First Policy Institute and locally
helping lead your city. People want to know more can
go to my Boca dot Us. I want to thank you, Scott.
This has been fascinating every time you go. I love
the city, and you've no give me a much deeper
(27:04):
understanding of how many cool things are going on and
how much it's a deliberate, purposeful development that focus. So
thank you very much for sharing time with us.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Well, mister speaker, thank you for talking with me. If
anyone else wants to reach out to me, I'm my
Scott Singer USA on all platforms and if you've got questions,
whether it's bringing you business or anything else, please reach
out to me directly. Happy to help and would welcome
you and the ambassador in Boca Ratone anytime. Hope to
see you here soon and hope to see you again
soon regardless of where it is.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Thank you to my guest Mayor, Scott Singer. Newsworld is
produced by Guiningih three sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer
is Guarnzie Sloan Our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork
for the show was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks
to the team at geining Er three sixty. If you've
been enjoying Newsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast
(28:00):
and both wait us with five stars and give us
a review so others can learn what it's all about.
Join me on substack at Gingwish three sixty dot net.
I'm new Gingriish. This is new World
On this episode of News World. Mayor Scott's Singer has
served as a strong voice for Boca Raton, Florida's resident
since he was first elected to the city council in
twenty fourteen. Scott was elected as mayor in twenty eighteen
and re elected in twenty twenty with eighty nine percent
of the vote, receiving the two highest vote totals in
(00:27):
the city's history. He was re elected without opposition in
twenty twenty three. This year, the city of bok Raton
is celebrating its centennial year, founded in nineteen twenty five.
I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, Mayor Scott Singer.
(00:56):
So welcome and thank you for joining me on Newtswork.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thank you to speaker. A pleasure to be here, I have.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
To say, in addition to being mayor, you've done some
interesting things. You are a Jeopardy champion and you appeared
on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? How did those
things happen?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Both fun experiences. I always loved trivia as a kid
and watch Jeopardy growing up. Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire was more luck than anything else. They were restarting
the syndicated version with Meredith Vieira. I happen to come
down from lunch saw a flyer posted on a street
light in New York City at lunchtime. They were having auditions.
The next day when over, and two weeks later I
was on the show, and that helped pay for part
(01:36):
of law school. And then Jeopardy. I tried out multiple
times over the years and finally got the call that
I'd been selected and got the flatt la and tape
some episodes.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
When you do Jeopardy, I don't think fast enough to
do a show like that. I would just freeze up.
How do you manage to get in the rhythm of
that kind of a show.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, first, I have to respectfully disagree, mister speaker. I've
seen you think fast on your feed for thirty years plus,
and your term as Speaker and the revolution you set
off in nineteen ninety four made a formative impression on me.
That's the first time I got to vote in nineteen
ninety four. I turned eighteen that year, so still remember
with great excitement that day and saw how well you
thought over the time and how well you still think.
(02:17):
I'm sure you would do great, But in terms of
that show, the rhythm is the hardest thing because you
have three competitors who know almost all the answers, and
you're all vying to ring in first. And it's hard
because even in my episodes, I felt the timing was
a little bit different, whether the lock in to let
you buzz in was slightly different in the second game
(02:40):
than the first. They say what distinguishes the good champions
from the great champions is to have that machine like timing.
You can see it sometimes the people who win five
games or more, they're really good on their timing.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
That's interesting. I hadn't even thoughtow that part of it,
so I'm curious. I mean, you've clearly done with the
people of Voca Utan want when you look at the
level of support you're getting. We live in an age
when it's very difficult to have citizens be happy. What
is it you think that you've done that have enabled
(03:13):
people to rally around you so that, despite years in office,
you ran unopposed. I mean, I think this is a
real tribute to something you're doing that other local elected
officials or local candidates might learn from.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Well, thank you, that's very kind. I think it's a
lot of circumstances first, local elections in Florida, like the
majority of states, are nonpartisan, so you don't naturally have
two parties vying to put up a candidate, So that
actually makes it easier than other state or federal offices. Second,
I think it's very easy to get re elected time
and time again if you don't want to do anything.
(03:50):
The challenges when you're trying to push bolder ideas, and
I think in twenty twenty three, I was fortunate. I
worked hard to build up good alliances, but I had
a very cordial and collegial council. When you're able to
work collaboratively with people, it keeps the temperature down, and
that's one of the things when I first ran for office,
wanted to lower the temperature. We had some groups that
were really trying to one candidate who was running a
(04:12):
blog and then trying to use that to propel himself
for further office. I think was really trying to encourage
more dissatisfaction. I think the bigger picture is just getting
out the accurate information, and it's harder nowadays in this
euro of social media to try to communicate all of
the facts. And I wouldn't say necessarily my approval rating
(04:32):
is eighty nine percent. Now that's a snapshot in time.
I would say in the last year there's more anger generally.
I think the way media can spin things, can polarize
different views, has of spill over effect over at the
local level, and that's one of the things I'm trying
with the America First Policy Institute Mayor's Council, which I
have the privileged to chair and work with other mayors
(04:53):
to try to find common sense solutions, but take common
sense solutions from Washington and the Trumpean administration and bring
them down to the local level as well.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
What would you say when you're out talking with your
fellow citizens in Boca Raton, what are the two or
three things that come up again and again that they
really want to say solved?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Sure, in local government it's often development issues. Development is
a concern throughout the country because local governing bodies often
focus on development, zoning, where things go, how you're planning
for infrastructure. In Boko Roteon, we do a fantastic job
of planning for infrastructure, and I think that spills over
to a lot of resident satisfaction. We've got great police
(05:33):
and fire, we've got great city services, soup to nuts.
We've invested in infrastructure, so we use new technology to
even move traffic, which is always a concern, even in
an area where we've got South Florida growing at more
rapid paces around us, but not so much in our area.
We're a pretty built out, lower density city, but you
feel that so development is a concern. I think affordability
(05:54):
continues to be a concern. Boca Ratone still is an
affluent area, relatively affluent with a higher income, but we
have a whole variety of workers and we want to
ensure accessibility and affordability for everyone. That's why the city
is embarked on introducing affordable and attainable housing for middle
class workers, to try to make sure that the employers
(06:14):
who were trying to attract and young professionals, employers have
places for their employees. Young professionals have an opportunity to
move into the city and then continue their life there.
And I'm always focused on retaining talent and growing our
job base. Because we have a strong economy in Boca Ratone,
we punch above our weight when it comes to business.
We probably have a business presence of a city of
(06:37):
maybe three hundred thousand people and roll only one hundred thousand.
We've got more than half the corporate headquarters of all
upon Beach County, President Trump's home county. So I'm always
trying to focus on how we can bring more jobs
here and ensure the talent coming out of Florida Atlantic University,
Lynn University, and pom Beach State College, all in our
city can find places to work and live.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Fascinating maybe if you've got all these things going on,
and yet you actually wrote a letter to New York
business leaders saying that to consider coming to Florida given
the election of a big government socialist like Mundami, do
you think you're actually going to see a substantial increment
(07:15):
that's been a continuous migration now for like thirty years.
Do you think it's going to dramatically accelerate with Mundami's
effect on the New York economy.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I think it will substantially accelerate, yes, mister speaker. And
we've been targeting New York and other key markets Chicago
and San Francisco for years. We've had strategic and targeted
outreach to businesses. We can't accommodate all the people who
might want to flee the high taxes, but we can
try to and are focusing on business growth because we've
got great Class A office, lots of availability, and a
(07:47):
great business ecosystem. So that's why in June we reached
out to business leaders and we've continue that. We knew
that the Mandami election was coming, and we actually advertised
some strategic advertising New York. We launched a website and
wide to Boca dot com, which saw thousands of hits
in just the first few weeks, and we've continued follow
up messaging with businesses who've wanted to come. I'd gotten
(08:09):
some positive response to the email we sent right after
the election. We followed up with calls, and we're continuing
to work on bringing businesses here. I've talked with residential
realtors throughout the community in Boca Raton and elsewhere, and
their call volume has dramatically increased, So that's people looking
to move here. That's not necessarily new construction. But we've
got Class A availabilities too, so I expect a lot
(08:31):
of people to move, and it's not just New York.
I think we need to be concerned about socialist ideas
taking root in some of our nation's biggest cities. New
York is one, but now Seattle two. Their mayor was
ousted an election just this month as well, and that's
going to be, I think, a challenge for that city,
which already faced challenges with public safety and business flight.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I think all of these very large, heavily unionized, very bureaucratic,
left wing cities, I think they're going to continue to
shed people who flee basically. But I'm curious specifically about
New York because Mondomie, of course wants to raise saxes.
Apparently Governor huckle has just reversed herself and said she
(09:29):
would consider a tax increase, which during the election she'd
said she would not. But isn't there already a huge
gap in how much you pay if you're a Floridan
or a New Yorker.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Absolutely, if you're at the top marginal rate in New
York City, it's nearly fifteen percent between state and local
income taxes. That's on top of your federal that's on
top of the high cost of living, that's on top
of all the other expenses. You move to Florida, it's
zero percent. And I'm proud that's saying Boca Raton, We've
got the lowest property tax rate of any full service
city in Florida. So coming to Boca Ratone is a
(10:03):
real economic advantage for a lot of people. That's why
business leaders and C suite executives have been moving here.
And it really picked up after COVID. People saw the
shutdown city, the high crime, the high tax, the high
regulation jurisdictions and wanted something better. So you mentioned, mister speaker,
our growth that's been steady over decades, and it has
it picked up after COVID. I think this will be
(10:24):
another accelerator as well. Now Bondani is talking about a
seventeen percent marginal rate and further taxes at the higher
higher ends. I think that's just going to give job
creators and innovators an opportunity to say why am I
staying here? And we're welcoming their opportunities to bring high
paying jobs to Boca Ratone.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Apparently, people like Mundommi is a big government socialists. I
think that people who are successful aren't smart enough to
figure out how much they're paying. I talked to somebody
and palm beef. This was probably ten years ago. He
said it time. It cost him about five million dollars
a year to retain a New York residence. He is
(11:07):
obviously really wealthy, but nonetheless there is a morning new
work around and think what is it I'm getting for this?
And it doesn't seem to sink in at all to
the Mondomis of the world that you can literally drive
people away. I mean they just pick up and leave.
And of course Florida has been an enormous recipient of
(11:30):
people from all over the country, both because it's a
great place to live, us a great quality of life,
and the differential between a Chicago or a New York
or New Jersey is just staggering. Now, when you talk
to people, how do they rationalize it?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, the ones I talk to don't because they've moved.
After the pandemic started, we saw a lot more growth
of people moving from Chicago who traditionally went to the
West Coast. I have a lot more constituents who came
from Illinois because of their high taxes as well, So
it's not just York ats Illinois's other places as well.
I can't rationalize the irrationality of some of these policies,
(12:07):
and I'm not going to attempt to, but I think
there's a parallel you're seeing people advanced socialist ideas that
have failed time and time again throughout history and every generation.
I guess we need another dose of how bad it is. Mom.
Donnie isn't old enough to remember the Soviet Union and
the fall of it. I remember, I know you remember
a lot more and could lecture at great length about
(12:28):
the perils of communism. I think people are going to
have to see that firsthand. So I think it's that
same misunderstanding about these unrealistic, unworkable, Unamerican ideas that are
causing people to think, well, we're static and people are
just going to pay whatever tax rate we set. We're
an in an era of mobility. We've got technology that
is far different than even five years ago. The fact
(12:50):
that you and I are being able to do this
podcast on two continents and in live time has now
become the standard, not an outlier. And I think businesses
are recognizing that talent will go where it wants to go,
and there is no more stranglehold on why New York
has to be the capital of capital. As an American,
I'm sad to see it, but as a Boca Raton mayor,
(13:11):
I'm going to try to benefit from the opportunities to
bring high paying jobs to my city.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Wellings, I did not know. That I think is very
impressive is that Boca Raton has consistently worked to lower
the tax rate. You now have the lowest property tax
rate of any full service city in Florida, which is
a statewey with no income tax. That is an amazing achievement.
(13:38):
So what is it that you've done to get the
city of Buca Raton to have the lowest property tax
rate of any full service city in Florida. Amazing achievement.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I think it's three things, mister speaker. First, we have
a very strong business base, and that's where I come
back to it. Because we have a strong business presence,
we've got a lot more businesses who are paying taxes.
Florida as a homestead cap, where if you're a home
setted resident, your property taxes only increase three percent per year.
Businesses don't have that cap, so it helps add a
(14:10):
robustness to our budget. If about half of our budget,
our property taxes come from homesteaded residents, the rest come
from non home setted residents and businesses. So the stronger
business presence actually helps the bottom line for residents. And
that's why it's not just great jobs in great philanthropic environment.
It keeps cost low and pays for great services. Second,
we're very lean, We staff leanly. We don't have programs.
(14:33):
We've never had additional programs talking about ESG and DEI
and where you get big government and liberal government focused
on other projects that are sometimes make work jobs. We
don't have those. We focus on basic services, police, fire water, sewer, sanitation, parks, libraries, roads.
We try to excel in all of those and focus
(14:53):
on good governance there. And the third thing is continuing
to grow revenue bases, so you know, attracting businesses here.
I'm keeping a stable environment where property values rise naturally
helps the fiscal balance sheet. And mister Speaker, I definitely
recall with great tribe, Frankly, when you were a speaker
in nineteen ninety six, when I was in college, I
(15:15):
had the privilege of helping you indirectly when I worked
for Frank Luntz and Frank Luntz was assisting you in
communications and work with House members. So I had the
privilege of trying to as Frank was addressing members weekly,
you know, working with house communications teams, just as a
college intern to try to make sure everyone was on message.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I did not know that story, and Frank of course,
played a huge role in helping us communicate better with
American people. Not only have you been very effective as
(16:03):
the mayor, but you also play a significant role with
the America First Policy Institute, which I've been working with
since its founding, when it launched its Mayor's Council. You
now chair that organization. What inspired you to take on
sort of a national role at a time like this.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
So last year I got the opportunity to work with
some people at AFPI and some education and other issues,
and or heard talk of their governor's council and immediately
struck me, why not a mayor's council Because the same
America First message that we have to get into the
States applies to the cities too, and I saw some
great opportunities there. First, going back to elections, you know,
(16:46):
there's very low turnout and engagement in mayor elections. I
think you're seeing that in some of the elections we
just saw in November and some big cities. There's a
real opportunity to advance, you know, to make sure that
we're communicating the right message and getting people involved. President
Trump was on the ballot in twenty twenty four. He
will not be on the ballot again, but even leading
up to the midterm elections, those mattered greatly. And you
(17:07):
want to make sure that people are engaged on key issues. Well,
there's no more level of government. I think that affect
your daily life as much as the local government level.
I wanted to make sure we were finding ways to
advance common sense, pro growth, pro safety America first ideas
at our cities. And so I'm honored to work with
now nearly fifty mayors across the country, former and current
(17:28):
mayors who are working on the shared vision. And it's
really trying to find out how we can better tie
what President Trump is succeeding and doing in Washington at
the state and then local level with the Mayor's council.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
When you bring together current has forty five members from
all over the country. What is your message to Washington
collectively from the mayors.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I think it's that we're eager to find ways to
work together better. And what's unique about this group is
I think you know we all share a similar outlook. Yes,
we are sharing best practices. But we've got an opportunity
to collaborate and exchange good policy with the federal and
state and the local level. For example, we had one
mayor talk about the opportunities for better law enforcement in
(18:14):
the city working with ICE, and that mayor attributed information
we got from our council to helping multi jurisdictional task
force crack down on gang members in that city. And
that collaboration has an impact at the local level. But
the federal policies more generally, mister speaker, touch our daily lives.
(18:35):
The border is secure in a way that it hadn't
been for years. So what did the unsecured border do
for years? Will It allowed fentanyl to come in. It
allowed the opioid epidemic to ravage cities, and who has
to deal with that are first responders, and it affects everyone.
A secure border has a direct correlation to safety and cities,
to the opoid epidemic and so much more. Human trafficking
(18:59):
is an issue, and I think we've all seen in
the last few years that huge uptake in you know
what we're doing about it? Well, again, a secure border matters,
So what happens in Washington matters and cities. But we
are on the ground too, trying to advance ideas that
maybe percolate up to Washington. Balance budgets. For one, our
city has to balance its budget. We do every year.
A lot of other mayors in that same situation where
(19:21):
you must pass a balanced budget. So we have to
go back to it. And that speaks back to your
earlier question.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
You can bring a kind of digent, old fashion word,
a kind of more frugal policy of not wasting money,
not addy extra bureaucrats. At the same time, it seems
to me that the long term impact of President Trump
and the whole mega movement really has to be dug
(19:46):
in at the city and the county level so that
it becomes more than just the Congress or more than
just a presidential election, but it has to become a
way of thinking. And that the gap that we're seeing
between where leaders like you are taking their cities and
where the really big left wing what I would call
(20:07):
big government socialists models in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore.
It's astonishing how dramatically different these two patterns are. Why
do you think it's so hard for us to break
through in these really big cities, no matter how badly
(20:28):
governed they are.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
That's a tough question, and I think it's one of
those things where some things are going to have to
get worse before they get better. We've had in the
last five years to a number of mayors and mayoral
candidates one on platforms of defunding police or reducing police presence,
not understanding that public safety is at the base of
the pyramid of government services. If you have an unsafe community,
(20:52):
people don't want to live there, Businesses don't want to
be there, and people don't want to stay there. And
I think we're going to have to see some cities
fail when they focus so much on alternative methods of
policing but don't deal with the crime issues that they
have in their city. When you relax on crime, it
has a spillover effect in so many ways. And I
think it's just the ebb and flow of political wins
(21:13):
in some places. And I remember in New York City
in the nineteen eighties where crime was at monumental levels
before Rudy Giuliani was elected and took the murder rate
down sixty seventy percent, and that had a significant impact
and then that caused businesses to come into Manhattan and
to change Times Square from what was not really a
seedy place to a tourist destination. All of these things
(21:35):
are related, but it goes back to just fundamentally sound
policy or unsound policy, and when you don't treat crime
the right way, when you're hostile to business, it spills
over to affect quality of life.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I think you put your finger on you're having your
centennial this year. I think back to with nineteen twenty
five of pre air conditioning must have been like in Boca.
What will you be doing in Boca this year to
celebrate the centennial for the city.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Well, we've done a number of things throughout the year.
We've had a number of public events, participation with other businesses,
some of whom are also Muten milestone years. For example,
we had a large concert that drew thousands of people
to celebrate honor centennial week and it happened to even moreil
Day weekend as well. We also had a drone show
that really was spectacular, the best I've ever seen that
(22:31):
really brought people together. It was a spirit of community
and celebration. We've done other things to recognize our history
of our city, and as we look to the end
of the year, our traditional holiday parade will be centennial themed.
We've had partnerships with the bok Ratona Historical Society to
get out a great volume of our history that residents
(22:51):
have enjoyed. Other local magazines, including Over my Shoulder, the
Boca ratonea Observer, has had their centennial issue. I have
a framed edition of that over my shoulder there. And
we're just going to continue to try to ensure that
we look ahead to the next century, because, as you said,
mister speaker, in nineteen twenty five, this is a very
different place, pre air conditioning, a few hundred people here.
But what made Boca Ratone remarkable then was noted architect
(23:14):
Addison Meisner came to Boca Ratone. He set out to
build the world's premier resort community, and in only seventeen
months here he built what is now the Boca Ratone Resort.
It was the Ritz Carlton Cloister end of the time,
but really envisioned this as a destination for leaders and
prominent figures across America. Nineteen twenty six was a land bust.
(23:36):
Hurricanes come. He didn't reach the full fulfillment of his vision.
But I think one hundred years later, we have been
set out as a special place. We are remarkable as
a city. I think there's no city like ours, and
a lot of mayors would say that. But we have
a great mix of the natural beauty and plan beauty,
and more amenities, businesses and opportunities than a lot of
other cities are size. So I feel great pride for
(23:58):
our city, and I think as we look at for
the next century, we can plan other great things.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
It's a remarkable place. But I remember the very first
time I went down. I was giving a speech in Boca,
and that was actually the first time I had key
lime pie in Florida. To this day, I remember that
it was just exquisite for all of our listeners. If
you get a chance to go visit Boca. It is
a really unique gem situated right there in the middle
(24:26):
of Florida's East coast, and it's almost like it's an island,
and that it has been developed and cultivated and maintained
to be a really high quality of life.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Well, thank you, mister speaker. It is a special place.
I'm happy to say, though we're not an island. We're
in the center of the South Florida metropolitan area, the
seventh largest in America, where we've got great business presence.
You've got a city government focused on trying to make
life easier for residents and businesses. It's not just your
people looking to visit. If you're looking to relocate a
business here, we're happy to help with concierge services, incentives
(24:59):
and again the lowest proper tax to have any full
service city. Going back to the bigger picture, I think
over the coming years, people are going to have an
opportunity more to be more mobile, and I think you're
going to see a continued migration from high tax, high regulation,
high crime cities and states to other places where mayors
like me across America are trying to focus on how
do you deliver services effectively and efficiently, and how do
(25:22):
you allow businesses and individuals to flourish.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I've really known Boka mostly from going to nice residential areas,
but you have forty publicly traded corporate headquarters and fourteen
thousand businesses.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yes, now some of them are small mom at pop
shops like mine. I'm a lawyer, so a solo practitioner,
so that's a business. It's one employee, but it still
counts as a business. But yes, we've got large companies
in healthcare, finance, fintech technology. A lot of people don't
realize that the IBM personal computer was invented in Boca
Ratone and the biggest deal in software history was happen
(25:59):
in Boca Ratone in the nineteen eighties when Bill Gates
came to IBM's headquarters then in Boca Vertone and negotiated
the licensing for Microsoft, which propelled that. Even though IBM
left in the nineties, we still had a great tradition
and continuation of high tech companies. And as we've moved
out to medtech, fintech and now AI and quantum computing,
(26:19):
we're attracting more businesses. The talent is here, and I
think that's important for young people. I ran for city
council because I wanted at the time, I lead one child,
but wanted him to feel what I did not feel
growing up at South Florida, that I had great job prospects.
And I think we're getting there, and I think what
we can do to continue to make sure that young
people have places to work, a great community to live
(26:40):
in helps continue our success.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Oh that's from Mornhule. You're doing a great job both
nationally working with the America First Policy Institute and locally
helping lead your city. People want to know more can
go to my Boca dot Us. I want to thank you, Scott.
This has been fascinating every time you go. I love
the city, and you've no give me a much deeper
(27:04):
understanding of how many cool things are going on and
how much it's a deliberate, purposeful development that focus. So
thank you very much for sharing time with us.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Well, mister speaker, thank you for talking with me. If
anyone else wants to reach out to me, I'm my
Scott Singer USA on all platforms and if you've got questions,
whether it's bringing you business or anything else, please reach
out to me directly. Happy to help and would welcome
you and the ambassador in Boca Ratone anytime. Hope to
see you here soon and hope to see you again
soon regardless of where it is.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Thank you to my guest Mayor, Scott Singer. Newsworld is
produced by Guiningih three sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer
is Guarnzie Sloan Our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork
for the show was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks
to the team at geining Er three sixty. If you've
been enjoying Newsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast
(28:00):
and both wait us with five stars and give us
a review so others can learn what it's all about.
Join me on substack at Gingwish three sixty dot net.
I'm new Gingriish. This is new World
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