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Riviera Beach council elects Shirley Lanier chair; Kishamba Miller Anderson named pro tem and CRA vice chair
Summary
Council elected Shirley Lanier as chair for 2025–26, named Kishamba Miller Anderson pro tem and vice chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency; clerk set mayor-appointment application window March 26–April 4 under Code section 2-30.
The Riviera Beach City Council voted March 19 to make Councilperson Shirley Lanier the council chair for 2025–26, with Councilperson Priscilla Davis Pannier casting the lone dissent. The council also unanimously selected Kishamba Miller Anderson as chair pro tem and approved Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) leadership: Shirley Lanier as CRA chair and Kishamba Miller Anderson as CRA vice chair.
Why it matters: the council’s choices determine who will lead meetings and represent the city on the CRA board during the coming year and set the process for filling the mayor vacancy.
Nominations and votes: when the floor opened for nominations, Councilperson Kachamba (Kishamba) Miller Anderson nominated Shirley Lanier for council chair and Councilperson Glenn Spiritus nominated himself; the council took a vote and Lanier won. The clerk recorded that the chair vote “passes with Councilperson Davis Pannier dissenting.” Recorded roll-call names for the chair vote were Shirley Lanier (yes), Kachamba Miller Anderson (yes), Glenn Spiritus (yes), Bruce Guyton (yes) and Priscilla Davis Pannier (no). The tally was 4–1 in favor of Lanier.
The council then nominated and unanimously confirmed Kishamba Miller Anderson as council chair pro tem for 2025–26.
On CRA leadership, the council nominated Shirley Lanier for CRA chair and carried the nomination unanimously. For the CRA vice-chair slot the council voted between Glenn Spiritus and Kishamba Miller Anderson; the council approved Miller Anderson’s nomination with a 3–2 vote (yes: Lanier, Guyton, Miller Anderson; no: Davis Pannier, Spiritus).
Mayor appointment process and schedule: during discussion the city manager and acting city clerk outlined the process to fill the mayor vacancy. City Manager Jonathan Evans said he would bring an agenda item at the first meeting in April to obtain council direction on interviews and scheduling. Acting City Clerk (name as recorded in the meeting) stated that applications — a resume and letter of interest submitted in person — will be received at the Riviera Beach City Clerk’s office beginning Wednesday, March 26 at 8 a.m. and ending Friday, April 4 at 5 p.m. The clerk also said applicants must show proof of residence (government ID or voter registration card) and the city code reference cited for the appointment process is section 2-30 of the Riviera Beach Code of Ordinances. Senior staff clarified that the 30-day vacancy clock begins the next business day and that the city interprets the period as 30 business days.
What the clerk and staff said about eligibility: the clerk said applicants must be Riviera Beach residents and show proof of residence; the clerk said the code did not specify a minimum number of years of residency.
Ending: The council’s leadership votes set who will preside over meetings and represent the city on redevelopment matters, and staff published a timeline and eligibility requirements for prospective mayor appointees. The city manager will present a formal item in April to seek council direction on interviews and final steps.
