John David Corey to seek Town Council seat held by Zeidman

John David Corey, a member of the town’s Architectural Commission, announced Thursday his intention to run in the March 19 town election for the Group 3 Town Council seat.

The Group 3 seat is held by Council President Margaret Zeidman, whose two-year term ends in March. The Midtown resident is serving her fourth term and has not announced if she will seek re-election.

Corey said he’s running on a “Palm Beach residents first” platform that would give residents priority over other considerations before the council.

“Commercial overdevelopment, traffic congestion, and intensification are critical town issues that I care about deeply,” he said in a press release. “I am strongly committed to the ‘Palm Beach residents first’ principles, which will guide all of my decisions and votes on the Town Council if elected.”

A Midtown resident, Corey has lived in Palm Beach since 2012.

Shortly after moving to the island, he founded Palm Beach Walks to advocate for better crosswalks, sidewalks and shade trees to enhance the town’s quality of life. His achievements included raising funds with the Palm Beach Civic Association to plant trees along North County Road and spearheading the replenishment of the palm tree canopy in Midtown in celebration of the Civic Association’s 75th anniversary. He also had a bicycle rack installed at Town Hall.

In 2019, Corey and several neighbors created Friends of Lake Drive Park to promote the preservation of green space in the park while the adjacent Town Marina underwent renovation.

Corey is serving his seventh year on the Architectural Commission, where his three-year term ends in February. He is certified by the University of Florida as a master gardener. He sits on the Architectural Commission’s “landscape seat,” and has advocated for the protection of landmark trees and the use of native plants to promote sustainability.

Corey is a Palm Beach Civic Association director.

He was raised in Milton, Mass. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Boston College and a master’s degree in real estate development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to his press release.

To qualify to run in the March 19 election, candidates must be nominated for a specific seat by registered town voters at the Dec. 5 Town Caucus.

Zeidman is one of three council incumbents whose terms expire in March. The others are Lew Crampton in the Group 1 seat and Bobbie Lindsay in the Group 2 seat. Only Crampton has announced that he is seeking another term.

Asked whether she intends to run again, Zeidman said, “Right now I occupy that [Group 3] seat. The council has things to consider for the good of the town. I’ll make that decision when it’s time to make that decision.”