'Hometown dream come true': Palm Beach Gardens appoints Chelsea Reed as mayor

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Chelsea Reed, who grew up in Palm Beach Gardens, has been appointed mayor of the city for the next year, according to a unanimous vote by the City Council Thursday evening. 

Reed has been a city council member since 2020 and served as the vice mayor last year. Palm Beach Gardens tends to rotate its mayoral appointment, instead of asking voters to elect a mayor separately from town council members. 

Reed joins leadership in northern Palm Beach County during what others in local government have called "the year of the woman." 

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Three other municipalities elected women to the mayoral office this year: Deborah Searcy in North Palm Beach, DD Halpern in Juno Beach and Molly Young in Tequesta. Lake Park and Jupiter both elected two women to the town's regular commission and town council, respectively. 

Former Mayor Rachelle Litt nominated Reed on Thursday, saying she "has been at my side the entire year learning (and) absorbing as much as she could … knowing that one day it would be her turn and she would need to be ready."

In turn, Litt was appointed as the city's vice mayor. It will be her final year on council, as city council members in Palm Beach Gardens are allowed to serve up to two three-year terms before they are forced out of office due to term limits.

Reed has already launched her re-election campaign for 2023.

"This is a hometown dream come true, and I look forward to our year ahead together," she said about her appointment.

Reed is known as a vocal member of the city council who sends out email updates and uses social media most regularly to connect with constituents about city business.

On Wednesday, she shared a video where she appeared to help relocate a turtle away from a busy street.

About Palm Beach Gardens new mayor

Reed was born on an Air Force base in Tampa and grew up off PGA Boulevard and Military Trail. She recalled to The Palm Beach Post being advised by her parents not to cross Military Trail because it was "the busy street in town." 

PGA Boulevard, in the mid 1970s, was fine to cross on foot, she said with a laugh.

Reed graduated from The Benjamin School and then Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1992.

Professionally, she has worked as a business manager for physical therapy organizations such as the Palm Beach Spine Institute and the North American Spine Foundation. She has been vice chair of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency's governing board since 2020.

Reed has been married to her husband, Michael, for 28 years and the couple has two sons, Taylor, 22, and Dylan, 19. She is a marathon and ultra-relay runner, and enjoys traveling and cycling.

Palm Beach Gardens' mayor is a largely symbolic office — the city manager is in charge of the city staff and the mayor cannot make a motion from the dais. 

As mayor, Reed will be paid $24,000 for the year. City council members are paid $22,000 per year. 

kkokal@pbpost.com

@katikokal