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Jay Alperin says good-bye to Delray Beach City Commission
Outgoing Delray Beach City Commissioner Jay Alperin, left, spends a few minutes talking with commissioners Adam Frankel and Tom Carney before Thursday's city commission meeting. Alperin stepped down during the meeting, having completed his term in office.
By Palm Beach Business.com
DELRAY BEACH — Jay Alperin said he lost a little sleep the night before as he thought of what to say during his final moments Thursday evening as a Delray Beach city commissioner.
Turns out they were words he lived by during the past seven months, and years ago during his first tour of duty as city commissioner and later as mayor.
“There are no words of wisdom other than do your job,” Alperin said Thursday evening. “Despite what you hear from people, what emails you get, vote for what you feel is right for the city.”
Minutes later, Al Jacquet, an attorney and chief of staff to state Rep. Mac Bernard, himself a former Delray Beach commissioner, was sworn in to replace Alperin.
Alperin, a dentist who moved to Delray Beach in 1973, joined the city commission in August, appointed to fill the vacancy created when Fred Fetzer unexpectedly resigned. He agreed to serve the remainder of Fetzer’s term but did not seek reelection in March.
He was first joined the city commission in 1990 and served as mayor from 1996 to 2000. He served on numerous boards and in numerous organizations, and in recent years, served as chairman of the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Alperin’s experience enabled him to hit the ground running after taking the oath of office last summer. Alperin played a key role when commissioners voted to kill a regulatory break created in the 1990s to attract restaurants to Atlantic Avenue. He also cast key votes in efforts to create, then kill, a fire service fee, and just before leaving office, he provided the impetus for commissioners to appoint a charter review committee.
Mayor Woodie McDuffie called Alperin “a great friend and servant of Delray Beach.
“We’re going to miss him but I know he’s going to be close by.”
