WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County has a new commissioner.
Michael Barnett, the chair of the Republican executive committee of Palm Beach County, was sworn in during Tuesday's commission meeting.
Barnett takes over as the commissioner of District 3 after he was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis following the departure of Dave Kerner.
Kerner is set to become the next head of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Barnett admitted he was a bit nervous about his first day on the Palm Beach County Commission, but it may be Democrats who are more nervous.
"I am not abandoning my political philosophy," Barnett said. "I'm going to carry that with me to the county commission and govern best as I know how for people in District 3 based on my principles."
Barnett's appointment has been met with pushback from Democrats since Barnett lives in District Four, which they said violates the state constitution.
The commissioner disputed that notion saying the residency requirement only applies if he's running in an election.
Barnett's appointment gives Republicans a majority on the county commission. He joins three other Republicans — Maria Marino, Marci Woodward and Sara Baxter — that serve Districts 1,4,6.
Before the 2022 midterms, the commission's political breakdown was 6-1 in favor of the Democrats.
During Tuesday's meeting, it seemed Republicans were willing to test their new influence by raising objections to the approval of one section of the state legislative agenda that supported county control in approving gun legislation.
"I think that's a nonstarter, being realistic," Marino said. "I think we should remove that from this agenda."
That was met with pushback from Commissioner Maria Sachs, a Democrat.
"As someone who led 6,000 people after the Parkland tragedy, we have an interest in gun regulation in this county," Sachs said.
There were also some brief remarks about belt-tightening when it comes to county spending, which Barnett agreed with.
"It's kind of scary to all of us," Mindy Koch, the new chair of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, said. "There's a lot of land they are in control of and there are a lot of people that want to build on that land."
Palm Beach County Mayor Greg Weiss, a Democrat, thinks the commission can get along despite their political affiliations.
"We don't have a lot of the issues that you see in Washington or up in Tallahassee," Palm Beach County Mayor Greg Weiss said. "We're fixing potholes, picking up garbage, trying to keep people safe and grow our economy here."
Barnett's term as commissioner ends in November 2024.
