West Palm Beach mayoral election, 1991
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Jeff Koons
Nonpartisan
Nancy Graham
Nonpartisan
The West Palm Beach mayoral election took place on November 5, 1991, to elect a mayor for West Palm Beach, Florida. Officially, elections for mayor of West Palm Beach are nonpartisan. Prior to this election, the city operated under a council–manager government system since 1919, with the city commissioners choosing the mayor, a mostly ceremonial office that had less power than the city manager. However, in March 1991, voters approved a referendum to allow a strong mayor and to transition the city government to a mayor-council structure. Thus, it was the first direct election for mayor of West Palm Beach since 1919.
Candidates for the general election included attorney and former state representative Joel T. Daves, senior city planner Jim Exline, former city commissioner Nancy M. Graham, Josephine Stenson Grund, property management company owner and former mayor Michael D. Hyman, and former Palm Beach County commissioner Bill Medlen. With no candidate obtaining a majority of the vote, Graham and Hyman, who received 33.4% and 24.9% of the vote, respectively, advanced to a run-off election held on November 19. Graham prevailed over Hyman by a margin of 55.8%–44.2% and became the first strong and popularly elected mayor in over seven decades.
In the early history of West Palm Beach, mayors were elected by a direct vote, beginning with John S. Earman in 1894. However, a movement to transition to a council–manager government gained enough momentum to allow a vote in 1919. Under the proposal, the citizens would elect members of the city council, who would in turn select the mayor. On August 29, 1919, voters approved the proposal by 201–82. The proposal also called for a primary for the election of city commissioners to be held within three weeks. The rules for the primary stated the top three vote-getters were elected to the city council. Eventually, the city commission expanded to five members. In 1978, candidates for commission began being elected by district, rather than at-large.
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