Former Palm Beach Architectural Commissioner John David Corey is challenging incumbent Lew Crampton for the Group 1 Town Council seat in the March 10, 2026, municipal election.
Corey filed candidacy papers on Wednesday, followed by Crampton on Thursday, with the Palm Beach Town Clerk’s office.
Corey is a Midtown resident, real estate investor and former developer who served on the Architectural Commission from 2016 until 2024.
In his first bid for elective office, Corey was narrowly defeated by Bridget Moran in the March 2024 town election for the Group 3 council seat vacated that year by Margaret Zeidman, who retired.
Crampton joined the council after defeating Harris S. Fried in the March 2018 town election. He was re-elected without opposition in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Crampton is a South End resident and former president of the Citizens’ Association of Palm Beach.
Before joining the council, he was vice chairman of the Palm Beach Planning and Zoning Commission.
Crampton is a former president and CEO and an emeritus trustee of the Cox Science Center and Aquarium. He is a former official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Crampton is one of three council members whose two-year terms expire in April. The other two are North End residents Bobbie Lindsay, serving her fifth term in the Group 2 seat, and Moran, in her first term in the Group 3 seat.
Neither Lindsay nor Moran has announced plans to seek an additional term. As of noon Friday, no one had filed to run for the Group 2 or the Group 3 council seat, according to the town clerk’s website.
To qualify for placement on the ballot, candidates must be nominated by registered town voters at the Town Caucus. This year’s caucus will be the 114th annual New England-style town meeting where political candidates are chosen. It will be held on Tuesday, December 2, in the council chambers at Town Hall. The time has not been determined, according to the town’s website.
The Civic Association will host a public forum on Monday, February 23, at 10 a.m. at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea for candidates running for a council seat in the March 2026 election. You can RSVP for the Forum HERE.
The Civic Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It does not endorse political candidates.
In a press release posted to his campaign website on Wednesday, Corey pointed to his experience on the Architectural Commission and his founding of the resident groups Palm Beach Walks and Friends of Lake Drive Park as among his qualifications to be a council member.
Palm Beach Walks promotes safe streets and pedestrian safety, while Friends of Lake Drive Park pushed for the preservation of open space next to the Town Marina when it was under construction.
Corey also cited his “Residents First!” platform, created in 2023 during his political campaign against Moran.
“I’m incredibly proud of launching the ‘Residents First!’ platform, which priorities Palm Beach residents’ interests over all else before Town Council deliberations,” he said in the release.
Corey has been a Palm Beach Civic Association director since 2019.
In an interview with the Civic Association, Corey cited commercial overdevelopment, traffic congestion, intensification and zoning reform as the critical issues facing Palm Beach.
Asked why he chose to run for the Group 1 seat, Corey responded, “That is all art and less science. It just felt right. Seat 1. Who doesn’t want to be number one?”
“For me, it’s about talking to as many people as I can,” Corey said. “I want to give the voters one more look at me. The voters will decide.”
In a press release announcing his re-election bid, Crampton said he is the only council member who keeps regular office hours for residents.
“These last eight years have brought major changes to our lives,” he said in the release. “But thanks to continued collaboration between the council and residents, we have made vital gains.”
Crampton said examples of those gains include the development of a six-point parking plan, which he spearheaded on the council, to alleviate traffic congestion on the island. Other examples he cited included the new Town Marina and rebuilt recreation center.
Crampton said he has voted to cut the town’s property tax rate a total of 23 percent during his tenure on the council – most recently at a September 8 public hearing for the fiscal 2025-26 budget year, when he was the lone dissenter in a 4-1 council decision to retain the existing rate. Keeping the same rate means taxpayers will pay more because of an average 8 percent increase in taxable values on the island. Crampton said the town is in excellent financial shape and doesn’t need the additional revenue.
This will be Crampton’s first race as a Town Council incumbent, after being re-elected three consecutive times without opposition.
Traffic and construction impacts are the most salient issues on the island this election year, he told the Civic Association. The growth pressures facing the town were brought about by its popularity, the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, and by President Trump having a residence on the island, he said.
“Things definitely are more intense,” Crampton said. “But I believe, by and large, people still love living in the town of Palm Beach.”
Political challenges are healthy for democracy, he said. “It’s probably very good that we elected officials get called to account for ourselves. I’m actually looking forward to this opportunity.”
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