Former Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams

Boca Raton Mayor Steve Abrams will be term-limited out in March 2008. His seven years of mayoral contributions and 20 years of civic contributions to the city of Boca Raton will not go unnoticed and his legacy will be remembered for many more years.

Steven Abrams Performance Scoring for the period of 2001 through 2008

Character: Uncompromising.

Competency: Stellar.

Contribution. Impressive.

Abrams Accomplishments

• Mayor Abrams biggest accomplishment was clearly his leadership while handling the AMI building anthrax attack in October 2001. With the world watching the first bioterrorist attack in America, Abrams spoke with a cautious but confident tone and manner. He chose not to use the limelight for grand standing and self prophecy but instead to share well coordinated responsibility with federal authorities and play a participative role in a national emergency. He made Boca proud and was later nick-named the "Rudy Guiliani of the Tropics."
• Mayor Abrams has been a people's mayor. He accessibility and approachability are unmatched. He has also been voted the "Best City Official" each year since 2002 by the readers of the Boca Raton Times newspaper.
• Abrams has not backed away from the tough or unpopular decisions that needed to be made. As an example, due to the state property tax mandate, Abrams and the city council made the tough but correct choice to lay off 48 staff and suspend 100 unfilled positions. Similarly, Abrams and the city council opened the door and evaluation process toward outsourcing services in order to respond to upcoming budget constraints.
• Despite the recent tragedy at Town Center mall, Boca was ranked the third safest city in Florida. This is a clear testament to our elected officials focus on safety and crime prevention.

Steven Abrams History

Steven Abrams began his political career in 1987 as a member of the city's Planning and Zoning Board. In 1989 Abrams became a city council member and served in that capacity for 10 years. In March 2001, Abrams became Boca Raton's 32nd mayor. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2005.

Before relocating to Boca, Abrams served as a law clerk in the White House to President Reagan and Chief Justice John Roberts. Abrams is a member of the District of Columbia and Florida Bars and a practicing attorney at the law firm of Blank Rome LLP. Abrams graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1980 and earned his law degree from The George Washington University in 1985.

Boca Raton Government

The City of Boca Raton is governed by a five member City Council elected on a non-partisan basis. The Mayor and four Council Members are elected to three-year terms. Members who have served two consecutive terms are not eligible to be elected to that office for the succeeding term.

The Mayor presides over all city Council meetings and other public functions and is the ceremonial head of the City. The Deputy Mayor presides in the absence of the Mayor. The Mayor and Council members set policy legislatively and appoint a City Manager to fulfill policy and manage the City’s many departments. The City Manager appoints all city staff and is responsible for departmental activities and successful completion of city council directed programs. The City Council also appoints a City Attorney who provides legal advice to the mayor, council and city staff. City Council meetings are normally held in the City Council Chamber at City Hall at 6:00 PM on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Workshop meetings are generally held on the preceding Monday's at 1:30 PM.

Posted: February 12, 2007
Keywords: Boca Raton Mayor