Coral Springs heads into the November 3, 2026 municipal election in the middle of one of the most consequential cycles in its history. The northern Broward city — a deliberate planned community when Coral Ridge Properties incorporated it in 1963, today home to roughly 134,000 residents — will fill four of the five seats on its City Commission, decide whether to extend the Mayor's term from two years to four, and weigh four other proposed charter amendments.
Two of those four seats are currently vacant. Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, the first African-American and Haitian-American woman elected to the Coral Springs Commission, died in April 2026 in a domestic-violence incident; her husband Stephen Bowen has been charged with murder. In tribute, the commission decided at its April 22 retreat to leave the Vice Mayor position vacant until after the November election. Her Seat 3 will be filled in a special election to serve the remainder of her unexpired term, with her mother Marly Metayer among five candidates qualified to run.
The Mayor's race itself is also on the ballot, with incumbent Scott J. Brook facing current Commissioner Joshua Simmons. Because Simmons is leaving Seat 4 to run for Mayor, that seat is open as well — three candidates have qualified. Only Seat 2 was settled before voters weighed in: incumbent Commissioner Shawn Cerra qualified unopposed and was automatically re-elected. Behind the elected board, Catherine Givens has run city operations as City Manager since the early 2025 retirement of longtime City Manager Frank Babinec, a 30-year city employee who had served as Fire Chief before being elevated to manager.
Boca Post covers Coral Springs City Commission meetings, the City Manager's office, the November 2026 election and its charter amendments, the city's budget and tax decisions, the Community Redevelopment Agency, and the major development and zoning matters before the commission. Our reporting draws on commission agendas, the City Clerk's election records, public-records requests, and direct attendance at meetings.
For broader regional coverage, see Broward County government. For all Coral Springs coverage across topics, see Coral Springs news.
The Coral Springs City Commission meets twice a month at City Hall, 9500 W. Sample Road. Agendas and meeting video are posted at coralsprings.gov.
Latest Coral Springs Government News
Inside the Coral Springs Commission
Coral Springs operates under a commission-manager form of government with a five-member City Commission elected in nonpartisan, citywide races. The Mayor sits in Seat 1; the other four commissioners are elected to numbered seats. Commissioners serve four-year terms in staggered cycles, while the Mayor's term is currently two years — a structure voters will reconsider through a charter amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The Vice Mayor is appointed annually by the Commission from among its members.
Day-to-day operations are run by an appointed City Manager who reports to the Commission and oversees roughly 920 full-time employees across all city departments.
Scott J. Brook
Role: Mayor (Seat 1)
Incumbent Mayor of Coral Springs. Qualified for re-election to the Mayor's seat in the November 3, 2026 municipal election, where he faces challenger Joshua Simmons, currently the city's Seat 4 Commissioner. The Mayor's term is presently two years; voters will simultaneously decide whether to extend future mayoral terms to four years.
Recent Coverage of Mayor Brook
VACANT
Role: Vice Mayor, Vacant since April 2026
Following the death of Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen in April 2026, the Coral Springs City Commission voted to leave the Vice Mayor position vacant in her memory until after the November 3, 2026 municipal election. Under the City Charter, the Commission is not required to fill the Vice Mayor's role; the position is normally an annual appointment made from among sitting commissioners.
Coverage of Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen
Shawn Cerra
Role: Commissioner (Seat 2)
Re-elected to a new four-year term in November 2026 after qualifying without opposition for Seat 2 on the City Commission. Under city election rules, candidates who qualify unopposed are elected automatically and do not appear on the general election ballot. Cerra has served on the Commission since November 2022.
Recent Coverage of Shawn Cerra
VACANT
Role: Commissioner (Seat 3), Vacant since April 2026
Seat 3 has been vacant since the death of Commissioner Nancy Metayer Bowen in April 2026. The seat will be filled by voters on November 3, 2026, with the elected candidate serving the remaining two years of Metayer Bowen's unexpired term. Five candidates have qualified to run: William "Bill" Capplis, Kohy Holmes, Marly Metayer (mother of the late commissioner), Erick Nyatenya, and Terry Ann Williams Edden.
Coverage of Commissioner Nancy Metayer Bowen
Joshua Simmons
Role: Commissioner (Seat 4)
Elected to Seat 4 of the Coral Springs City Commission in November 2022 for a four-year term ending in 2026. Qualified to run for Mayor in the November 3, 2026 election against incumbent Scott J. Brook, leaving Seat 4 open in the same cycle. Three candidates qualified for his current seat: Jeffrey Adelman, Tristan Celestin, and Jennifer Levi.
Coverage of Commissioner Simmons
Joseph McHugh
Role: Commissioner (Seat 5)
Elected to Seat 5 of the Coral Springs City Commission in November 2024 with 51.4% of the vote, defeating Jose "Joe" Morera in a race decided by fewer than 1,500 votes. McHugh is a retired administrative captain for the Coral Springs Police Department, having joined the agency as a road patrol officer in 1996 and risen through the traffic, training, and public information units. His current term runs through November 2028.
Coverage of Commissioner McHugh
Catherine Givens
Role: City Manager (Appointed)
Selected by the City Commission as Coral Springs City Manager in early 2025, succeeding longtime City Manager Frank Babinec. Babinec, a 30-year city employee who served as Fire Chief of the Coral Springs–Parkland Fire Department before becoming City Manager in December 2019, retired after notifying the Commission of his plans in January 2025. As City Manager, Givens leads daily operations across the city's roughly 920 full-time positions and reports directly to the Mayor and Commission.
Coverage of City Manager Givens
How We Cover Coral Springs Government
Boca Post covers Coral Springs as part of its broader Broward County beat, focusing on the commission decisions, elections, and accountability stories that intersect with the regional issues we already track in Palm Beach County.
For commission actions, we work from the published agenda, the meeting itself, and the adopted ordinance or resolution. For election coverage, we source from the Coral Springs City Clerk's office, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, and candidate filings. For charter amendments, we read the proposed ballot language and the underlying memos from the City Attorney. Where the City Manager exercises operational authority, we report it with attribution to the underlying directive or memo.
Where information comes from a public record, we identify the record and the date. When we report on a commissioner's vote, we cite the meeting and the motion. Coral Springs municipal elections are nonpartisan, and we report candidate party registrations only when relevant to the public record. Boca Post corrects errors promptly — see our policies page for more information.
Coral Springs Government coverage is reported by the Boca Post News Desk. About our newsroom →
