Theresa Booker, candidate for Seat 3 in Margate. {Facebook}
By Bryan Boggiano
As the 2022 election cycle enters its final month, Theresa Booker discussed with Margate Talk her campaign priorities and top issues.
Booker does not consider herself a politician, and the Seat 3 race is her first election.
Before the election, Booker worked in the medical field. She became a registered nurse in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
She initially thought about running in 2018 but ultimately decided against it. At the time, her ex-husband ran a campaign and threw her support behind him.
Booker held off on running in 2020, citing COVID, making running a campaign and raising funds difficult for non-incumbents. She was also going through a rough time in her personal life.
But after getting to know residents more and having residents approach her to run, Booker ultimately decided to launch her campaign for Seat 3.
Booker also cited what she sees as negativity on the commission between individual members. She stated that she would bring a different aura.
“I’m positive, energetic, and educated,” she said. “I’m running a very positive campaign.”
In his interview, Arserio denied the negative accusations.
On the issues most important to her, Booker stated that she would give more power to the individual city departments and leaders.
She said that the commission took power, decision-making, and finance responsibilities away from the city manager and other department heads, such as police and fire, through a change in the charter.
She would like to give the department heads more power once again.
Booker also discussed the importance of infrastructure improvements in the city.
She also spoke in favor of responsible development along Margate Blvd. within the city’s community redevelopment agency.
Booker said that development in this part of Margate is necessary and that the city must have clear, cohesive plans and conversations with developers to reinvigorate the area.
She also stated that residents should have more freedom regarding certain home renovations, such as roofs. She says that the current city charter is too strict on related regulations.
After the final results were certified, Booker said she would accept the election’s outcome.
Regardless of the outcome, she hopes to secure her legacy as somebody there for Margate residents.
She invoked “The Dash,” a poem by Linda Ellis. It depicts the two dates shown on somebody’s funeral, the day they were born, followed by a dash, and then showing the day they died.
Their legacy, she stated, is everything between those two dates, the dash.
Booker said, “I want my dash to say a lot about me as who I am as a fighter and a winner,” she said. “And I want to add being there for Margate residents to my dash.”
Related: Margate Candidate Antonio Arserio Discusses Important Issues Ahead of Seat 3 Election
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