Jon Pearlman was elected to the Boca Raton city council on March 17 after leading a campaign against Terra and Frisbie Group’s proposed redevelopment of the city’s government campus, known as One Boca. Pearlman, 37, is the founder of Save Boca, an organization that spearheaded efforts opposing the development.
The election followed months of debate over the One Boca proposal. The March 10 vote resulted in a decisive rejection of the project and saw Pearlman, along with two other Save Boca-backed candidates, Michelle Grau and Stacy Sipple, win seats on the council. This outcome shifted the council majority toward an anti-development stance.
Pearlman spent more than $250,000 of his own money on his campaign and political committees linked to Save Boca. Despite having never voted in a local election before, he said he became involved in public advocacy after observing what he described as decisions made by the previous council “clearly in the interest of the developer.” “I’m not a career politician, I just love my city,” Pearlman said.
Pearlman works in investment management and holds a real estate license with LoKation Real Estate. He grew up in New York City and is a former Harvard tennis player. He founded Mission Lean with his wife Lyudmila Bouzinova. Records show he lives in Downtown Boca Raton at a property assembled through three acquisitions totaling $3 million between 2018 and 2023; he completed construction on his home there last year.
Last summer, Pearlman launched petitions against One Boca that quickly gathered thousands of signatures and led developers Terra and Frisbie to agree to a referendum. He then ran for City Council Seat B against incumbent Marc Widger, who called him “a one-issue opponent.” Although Pearlman’s proposed Save Boca laws were ruled unconstitutional by a judge in December and internal divisions emerged within Save Boca leadership before the election, he won with 52.9 percent of the vote. In total, 74.5 percent of voters rejected One Boca out of nearly 19,000 ballots cast.
