The Boca Raton City Council appointed Deputy City Manager and CFO Jim Zervis as the city’s interim city manager following the resignation of Mark Sohaney two weeks ago.
The decision was made by a unanimous 4-0 vote; Councilmember Jonathan Pearlman was absent.
Zervis will take over day-to-day operations to ensure a smooth transition once Sohaney’s resignation takes effect on Nov. 11. On Nov. 30, Sohaney will take over as senior vice president for global military operations at University of Maryland Global Campus.
Zervis is the sensible choice. He’s served as the city’s CFO since 2024 and was promoted to deputy city manager in March 2025. As such he has a deep understanding of the city’s finances, operations, and goals. There is currently no timeline for finding a new, permanent city manager. It wouldn’t be a surprise for Zervis to be appointed to the position permanently, given his expertise.
Zervis was also now-Mayor, then-City Councilmember Andy Thomson’s first choice for the job of city manager when he applied for the position last year. The 4-1 vote that appointed Sohaney to the job was made along support lines for the Terra/Frisbie proposal. Thomson, the only councilmember who opposed the project, favored Zervis, while the rest of the council voted for Sohaney. It was the first time in nearly 40 years that a city manager was not promoted from within.
Like Zervis’ appointment to interim city manager, Sohaney’s departure makes sense. At the time he was hired, there were two major developments in the pipeline—the Terra/Frisbie redevelopment of the downtown campus and the new police station—both of which were rejected by voters in March. Both of these developments would have benefited from Sohaney’s background, which included overseeing multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects during his time serving as CEO of two military bases. With both projects starting over from scratch and being significantly scaled back, Sohaney’s talents were arguably wasted.
Boca sends police station bond to voters
In March, Boca Raton voters will decide to approve or reject a $125 million bond item to finance the development of the city’s new police headquarters.
The city council approved the bond referendum by a unanimous 4-0 vote. The bond does not specify the location of the new station, leaving open the possibility of either a central or downtown location, a concession for the benefit of Councilmembers Stacy Sipple and Pearlman, who have championed the latter. The Boca Raton Police Department prefers the former for strategic reasons; the central location puts the station right next to I-95 and leaves room for future expansion.
If approved, the bond would cost the average homeowner nearly $101 per year.
Details on Memorial Park outreach strategy
Representatives from Chen Moore and Associates—the organization tasked with the redevelopment of Memorial Park—presented their plan for the next few months of community outreach.
Over the next month, a series of conversations with stakeholders (veterans organizations, the Historic Preservation Board, Boca Raton Historical Society, homeowners associations, and more) will take place, as well as a series of public workshops on Nov. 14, 17, and 19.
Chen Moore will then host a design charette at the Studio at Mizner Park over three days, Dec. 10 to 12, for the design and concept development.
Following this period of community outreach, which is expected to run through January, a master plan will be developed and available for public review before going to the council for a vote. For more information about public meetings, click here.
Campaign financing for Singer and Moskowitz
Incumbent House Rep. Jared Moskowitz has raised more than double the funds of challenger Scott Singer, former mayor of Boca Raton, for the period between July 1 and Sept. 30.
Moskowitz has raised $2.4 million to Singer’s $937,000 for the third quarter. Total, Moskowitz has raised $5.7 million to Singer’s $3.2 million. Unlike Moskowitz, Singer lent his own money to the campaign—$724,000. Singer has also raised considerably less than Moskowitz from political action committees—$216,000 to $945,000.
Moskowitz has also outspent Singer, spending more than $4.8 million to Singer’s $2.8 million. Conventional wisdom is that whoever spends the most wins.
Singer’s candidacy is also likely hindered by the fact that he’s hitched his political wagon to President Donald Trump, whose approval rating is hovering around 32 percent due to his wildly unpopular war with Iran that has caused higher inflation and costs for goods. However, an internal poll of 400 voters conducted by the Singer campaign and the National Republican Congressional Committee shows him seven points ahead of Moskowitz.
