Anne Millington Gerwig is an American politician from the state of Florida. She is currently serving as the 6th mayor of Wellington, Florida. Gerwig is also currently a candidate in the 2024 Election for the Florida House of Representatives.
Personal Life
Anne Gerwig is married to Alan Gerwig. The pair has three adult children as well as three grandchildren.[1]
She is currently serving as the Director of Client Communications at her husband's engineering firm, Alan Gerwig and Associates, Inc.[2] She is also an active member of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
Wellington Village Council (2010 - Present)
Councilwoman (2010 - 2016)
Gerwig was initially elected in 2010.[2]
On August 11th, 2015, the Village Council voted 4-1 on an LGBT civil rights ordinance.[3] Councilwoman Gerwig was the sole council member to vote against it. After, she was persuaded to support the ordinance during a later vote. That time, it passed unanimously.
Mayor of Wellington (2016 - 2024)
One of Anne Gerwig's top priorities as mayor is education. She helped implement a summer internship program for rising seniors to help them become ready for the workforce.[4]
Leading into the 4th of July, 2019, the mayor worked with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on a plan to combat illegal fireworks.[5]
Gerwig was the first Wellington mayor to be re-elected without any opposition.[6]
In 2023, she decided not to seek a third term as mayor. Instead, Gerwig would attempt to run for the Florida legislature.
Allegations of Elections Code Violations
In May 2017, Mayor Gerwig came under investigation for potentially violating the elections code during her Village Council re-election campaign from 2014. She was accused of 12 counts that ranged from miscalculating her spending by 20 cents to omitting two contributions totaling nearly $1000 from her campaign's financial report.[7] She was cleared of any wrongdoing shortly after.[8]
Opposition to Conversion Therapy Ban
On June 27th, 2017, the Wellington Village Council voted 3-2 to ban conversion therapy on minors. Gerwig was one of the two votes against the measure.[9] When asked about the reason for her vote, Gerwig stated that she believed that minors and their guardians should have self-determination.[10] The mayor argued that banning the practice would take this self-determination away.
George Floyd Protests
In June 2020, in response to local protests regarding George Floyd's death, Mayor Gerwig posted a statement to Facebook.[11]
The mayor expressed skepticism over the protests: "While I understand the point here, it is not entirely accurate. No peaceful protest was organized by the village or the property owner (the Mall at Wellington Green). It is highly suspect that a group with good intentions would organize a peaceful protest at a retail establishment after the destruction that happened last night, including out own community. Protest by being kind to your neighbor, giving to a food bank, helping those that need it. Gathering during a pandemic which could endanger everyone to protest something that happened very far from here is not helpful at this time."
In response to her statement, a group of protesters gathered outside of the Wellington Village Hall. Gerwig thanked them for turning out and stated that in the post, she was actually referring to a different group of protesters. She later apologized for her comments.[12]
Bellissimo Controversy
In November 2023, the Wellington Village Council met to vote on a plan presented by equestrian entrepreneur Mark Bellissimo.[13] The entrepreneur called his vision "Wellington 3.0". This plan would remove land from Wellington's equestrian preserve in order to make room to build two luxury communities.
During the first reading of the proposal, Gerwig voted in favor alongside council members Michael Drahos, John McGovern and Tanya Siskind.[14] This move drew criticism from some of the village's residents. The Coalition to Protect Wellington began collecting signatures to recall all four council members who voted in favor of the Bellissimo proposal. Mayor Gerwig's term will end before any recall proposals can take effect.
2024 Florida House Campaign
Anne Gerwig filed to run for District 93 in the Florida House of Representatives in the 2024 Election.[1] The seat is currently occupied by first-term Representative Katherine Waldron, who is running for re-election. In the Republican primary, she will face off against Brandon Cabrera and Chris Mitchell.
Within the first 25 days of filing for the seat, Gerwig raised over $80,000, personally contributing $60,000 of that total.[15]
Awards
In 2021, Gerwig received the Global Statesman Award.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig To Run For State Representative". The Town Crier. June 16, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "About Mayor Gerwig". The Village of Wellington: A Great Hometown. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Joseph, Chris (September 11, 2015). "Wellington Unanimously Passes LGBT-Inclusive Civil Rights Ordinance". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Marcellus, Kelley (August 2, 2023). "Meet the Women in Seats of Power". Palm Beach Illustrated. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Sczesny, Matt (July 3, 2019). "Wellington trying fireworks crackdown". WPTV. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Geggis, Anne (June 7, 2023). "Wellington Mayor makes it a 3-person Republican Primary for HD 93 seat". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Lofholm, Andrew (May 15, 2017). "Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig under investigation for possible election code violations". WPTV. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Lofholm, Andrew (May 17, 2017). "Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig cleared of state agency probe". WPTV. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Whitney, Burbank (June 29, 2017). "Mayor talks about opposition of controversial conversion therapy ban". WPBF 25 News. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Matt, Morgan (June 28, 2017). "Councilman flips vote, but Wellington bans conversion therapy 3-2". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Todd (June 9, 2020). "Protesters confront Wellington mayor about Facebook comments". WPTV. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Ryan, Hughes (June 16, 2020). "Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig apologizes for Facebook comments". WPTV. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Palm, Valentina (November 14, 2023). "Decision week in Wellington: Mark Bellissimo's equestrian preserve plan heads to a vote". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Kallergis, Katherine (January 16, 2024). "Wellington coalition seeks ousting of mayor, council over Bellissimo vote". The Real Deal: Real Estate News. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Geggis, Anne (July 19, 2023). "Anne Gerwig bets $60K on moving from Wellington Mayor's seat to Tallahassee". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 22, 2024.