Andy Thomson Wins Boca Raton Mayor's Race After Recount

Andy Thomson will become the next mayor of Boca Raton after a manual recount confirmed he defeated Republican political newcomer Mike Liebelson by five votes, the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections announced Friday.

Thomson, a Democratic lawyer, electrical engineer and adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University, finished with 7,572 votes. Liebelson ended with 7,567. The margin, razor-thin from the moment polls closed, survived two additional rounds of counting to hold.

The race drew intense scrutiny throughout the week as vote totals shifted with each new count. Initial results Tuesday night showed Thomson ahead by six votes. Because Florida law mandates an automatic machine recount whenever the margin falls at or below 0.5 percent of the total vote, Palm Beach County election officials launched that process Friday morning. The machine recount tightened the gap even further, leaving Thomson up by a single vote and triggering a manual review of overvotes and undervotes. That hand examination of ballots where voters marked too many candidates or none at all ultimately pushed Thomson’s margin back to five, sealing the result.

Liebelson did not concede quietly. Before the recount concluded, he sent a letter to the Supervisor of Elections flagging concerns about vote-by-mail ballots added after polls closed and warning that he could pursue legal action if the final count confirmed his loss. Whether he follows through on that threat will be the next chapter in a race that refused to settle easily.

The three-way contest centered on sharp disagreements over how Boca Raton should grow. Thomson campaigned on tax restraint, responsible development, improved traffic management and keeping public land out of private developers’ hands without meaningful public input. Liebelson ran as an outsider aligned with, though not formally endorsed by, the Save Boca movement, which has pushed back against plans to redevelop the city’s downtown. He pledged to cut taxes, shrink spending and end what he characterized as developer-driven decision-making at City Hall. Vice Mayor Fran Nachlas finished third with 3,967 votes, ending her time on the City Council.

Thomson’s fundraising advantage was significant. His campaign account and political committee combined to collect more than $619,000. Nachlas raised roughly $490,000 across her campaign and a political committee. Liebelson brought in more than $203,000, much of it from his own pocket.

The Democratic National Committee weighed in on Friday, celebrating Thomson’s win and noting it had supported his campaign with volunteer recruitment for get-out-the-vote efforts. That kind of national party investment in a city commission race reflects how closely Democrats have been watching municipal contests in South Florida, where local elections increasingly carry outsized political significance.

Thomson will succeed outgoing Mayor Scott Singer. The new mayor has not yet issued a public statement on the confirmed result.

Five votes in a municipal race of more than 15,000 ballots cast is the kind of outcome that makes voters stop and think about whether their participation matters. In this case, the answer is clear. The result also underscores why recounts exist. The margin shifted at each stage of the count, and the manual review of overlooked ballots changed the picture again. The system, for all its frustrations, caught votes that machines nearly missed.

For Boca Raton residents who want slower growth and more accountability over development decisions, Thomson’s win offers at least a partial answer. Whether he can deliver on those promises while managing a city that sits in the middle of one of the most intensely developed corridors in South Florida will define his tenure. Liebelson’s next move, whether legal or political, will also shape the conversation.

What is certain is that Thomson heads into the mayor’s office knowing exactly how close he came to losing. Five votes have a way of keeping a politician humble.