WELCOME

Senate President Jeff Atwater calls Lizbeth Benacquisto, Republican candidate for the District 27 Senate seat, “bright, energetic, a problem-solver and a true voice for hardworking Florida families.”

And what earned Lizbeth that reputation – not only on the Wellington Village Council since 2002 but within the community as a whole – is her trademark ability to focus on a particular outcome, to build and nurture diverse coalitions, to bring together all levels of government in Palm Beach County in support of a common goal.

In fact, it was those positive qualities that won her the support not just of Atwater but of so many public officials – from former Senate President Ken Pruitt and Senate Majority Leader Alex de la Portilla to Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos to Sen. Mike Bennett and U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney.

Among Lizbeth’s programs that quickly caught the attention of these public officials is Foreclosure 911—a partnership with the Realtors Association of Palm Beach County to arm Wellington’s estimated 1,400 distressed property owners with information to help them save their homes. “We sponsor informational meetings, teach people how to work with their banks,” Lizbeth explains. “We want them to emerge from this recession, even a threatened foreclosure, stronger and smarter.

“This is why I’m running to fill the Senate seat Dave Aronberg is vacating,” she says. “Governing in tough times like these is all about heart. It’s about getting people back to work in the short term, getting businesses back and thriving again. We have to make ourselves stronger and we must plan accordingly so that we are never in this position ever again.” In fact, as part of her campaign, Lizbeth Benacquisto has launched Neighborhoods of Promise – an effort to connect with residents all across District 27 to find small neighborhoods in which residents have done something unique to “uplift” themselves, to show pride in the place and on the streets where they live. “I want to engage people in my campaign,” she says. “I want them to see that amidst the heartache and loss of these times, there is so much positive going on.”

Born Dec. 23, 1967 in Rockville Centre, New York, Lizbeth was one of four children who learned perseverance, commitment to family and community, and the value of hard work from strong, loving parents. “My mother was the biggest influence in my life,” she says. “She had such a great spirit. She was always helping people. Her example really did give me a calling to public service.” The family moved to Pembroke Pines, Florida when Lizbeth was 10. Later, she attended the University of Florida and Penn State, married in 1993 and moved to Wellington shortly thereafter to start a family. Their son Austin was born in 1994; daughter Gabriella in 1999.

It was Lizbeth’s strong sense of community involvement that pushed her toward Wellington public office. In 2000, at the age of 33, Lizbeth and a group of friends spearheaded an effort to build a Leathers playground at Tiger Shark Cove. In the course of a single week they recruited hundreds of residents, raised $300,000 and built the playground from top to bottom. Residents still point to it with pride as a symbol of the power of volunteerism that lives in Wellington.

“I met a lot of great people while we were working on the playground,” Lizbeth says. “They encouraged me to run for a seat on the Village Council. It just seemed like the right thing to do. The median age in Wellington was 36, and none of our council members had school age children anymore and I thought, being younger, I could provide needed perspective.” In 2002 Lizbeth defeated the incumbent by 4 votes; in 2006 she won reelection handily.

Throughout her two terms in office she embraced five key issues: fiscal responsibility, education, volunteerism, the environment and recreational opportunities.

Fiscal responsibility: Wellington is in a strong financial position today because the council remade its budget model, reevaluating the way the village does business in the community. Wellington has set the standard. Municipalities across the state are trying to copy it. Says Lizbeth, “I have always been a strong fiscal conservative. In Tallahassee I’ll work to see that we use the same Wellington thought process in spending state dollars.”

Education: Lizbeth has always been pro-active, in particular meeting regularly with school principals. Because there are no Title I schools in Wellington, helping K-2 students struggling to read goes unfunded. But, working with one of the school principals, Lizbeth launched a reading challenge program: Wellington gave $25,000 for each elementary school library; then, every year the village provides an additional $25,000 to fund a full-time reading teacher. “It’s been a wonderful thing for hundreds of students,” she said. “The program has changed the course of their lives.”

Volunteerism: “Good government isn’t about spending money, it’s about using the resources we have,” she says. The Village’s Citizen Volunteer Corps is Lizbeth Benacquisto’s baby. It’s a program to inspire residents to give back and it’s working wonders. “We call it ‘time philanthropy,’” she says. “We highlight opportunities to paint houses, conduct food drives, improve our seniors’ quality of life—any way to reconnect people with their responsibility to community. This is a program that brings joy, saves money, and makes our community a better place to live. It’s the kind of good policy I want to build in Tallahassee for use throughout the state.”

The Environment: Wellington, sitting as it does on the edge of the big wetlands, has been in the forefront of Everglades restoration. And over the years Lizbeth Benacquisto has done her homework. She understands the complexities of water quality issues and the importance of Wellington’s effective fertilizer collection program. She has a fundamental and unwavering commitment to a healthy environment, to preserving scarce wetlands and restoring critical habitat. Her intricate involvement in Everglades and groundwater protections will serve the citizens of District 27 well in the Florida Senate.

Recreational opportunities: Lizbeth helped open the village’s Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, a 26-acre wetlands park with 1,500 feet of elevated boardwalks and one mile of walking trails. It features an assortment of displays that represent the variety of animals and plant species native to the park. Wellington also has 87 acres with 26 community parks located throughout the village. “We have a first-class parks and recreation system in Wellington,” Lizbeth says. In fact, few towns or cities in Florida have as much land devoted to recreation as Wellington does. For example, the village has 57 miles of equestrian trails, and every one is designed for multiple uses such as running, biking, inline skating, pedestrian and equestrian activities. She says, “I am particularly sensitive to preserving the rural character of the village and I think that will serve me well in Tallahassee, too.”

A major part of Lizbeth’s campaign is her Work Days with Residents program. “What touches the lives of the people in my district, employees and business owners alike, should touch my life, too,” she says.

Lizbeth Benacquisto graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic College in 2009 with a B.A. degree in organizational management.