AW Stories of the Month
An Interview with Michael Drahos – The Home-grown Candidate Hoping to serve with the Wellington Village Council
By Sabeen Faquir
AW: What motivated you to run for the Wellington Village Council?
Drahos: Well, I have a strong love for Wellington. My family history dates back to 1986 so I have a lot of memories and a lot vested in the town both economically and socially. For me, it was the next natural step. As a child, my father was very involved. He taught me the importance of advocating for your community and the difference you can make; I’ve had that ingrained in me since I was young. It’s something I’ve always been interested in since my wife and I settled back down in Wellington.
AW: What are some of the factors about your background that make your perspective unique?
Drahos: I will be the first candidate on the ballot to have gone to Wellington Elementary School. When I moved here in 1986, Wellington Elementary was the only school in town. I started there and then they built Wellington Landings and I went there, then they built Wellington High and I went there. So, I went to new schools my whole life and grew up competing on our ball fields. As a community advocate, when I’m out talking about the importance of our school system and the greatness of Wellington’s athletic fields, I’m actually speaking from the perspective of having grown up in our schools and in our parks. I think with that unique component to my campaign, people are more accepting of what I have to say.
AW: How long have you lived in Wellington?
Drahos: We moved here in 1986 so, I grew up here. I went to college in 1995 to Florida State University. I would come home on college breaks and that’s how I met my wife. I was working as a camp counselor at Wellington Elementary School and she was in charge of the camp counselors. We started dating that summer and I recruited her to Florida State with me. Then we got married and moved back. I’ve got a good 30 years of my life invested in this town.
AW: How did you decide to become a member of Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board?
Drahos: I believe wholeheartedly that you have to earn your way up the ranks. I started as a member of our Education Committee. I was chosen for that because I was a product of the school system. I put two years into that. I learned how to be a board member. I learned how to listen to other people and other viewpoints. From there, I was invited to join the Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board. I’ve been doing that for six years. The board is the only board required by law. It is the next step to the council.
I got to listen to a lot of issues. It prepared me for a lot. I don’t believe you should just jump into a leadership position. I believe you should work your way up and I’ve done that. I’ve spent eight years doing that. That’s why I feel I’m ready for this council position.
AW: What did you learn from your experiences with the Board?
Drahos: I’ve learned that you have to be open minded and fair. From my point of view, for far too long decisions in Wellington have been made based on the names involved and not the actual content. That is something that offends me deeply. I have vowed that when I take office and serve as a Village councilman, I’m going to bring balance back to Wellington. From my point of view, it doesn’t matter who’s involved, it matters whether it’s good for the community and whether or not all the residents benefit. That’s the way I’m going to make decisions as a councilman.
AW: What are three of your most important issues?
Drahos: My first is bringing stability to the council. In recent years, there have been public declarations of the council being “broken” and they had to come in and hire experts to teach them how to get along. I don’t think that inspires confidence. If anything, residents in Wellington have been embarrassed by that type of behavior. The first thing I want to do is come in as a stabilizing force. I’ve been in the community a long time and plan to be a part of it for a long time. That brings a balanced overall approach.
My second objective is to bring balance to Wellington. In the last four years we’ve spent way too much time and emphasis on trying to resolve infighting within the equestrian community when other issues in Wellington have been neglected. I believe issues at Sugar Pond and Eastwood are just as important as issues that we’ve been fighting on Pierson Road. So, things like having canal banks turn up and peoples’ landscaping ripped up like at Sugar Pond would never happen at Pierson Road, and that’s not right. I want to make sure everyone is heard equally in Wellington.
My third objective is preventing the infighting in Wellington. There’s been too much division. I think most people elect a councilman who can establish an open-minded opinion. It’ll settle some of this infighting. Once everyone feels like they’re being treated fairly, we can get back to the issues that are important to all Wellington residents. I’m hopeful that once elected, I can get us back on track and get everyone on the same page. We can start working in things that are going to improve everyone’s quality of life.
AW: As a dad, what are the most important things you’ve tried to teach your children? (And how do you think Florida measures up to the rest of the country in terms of education?)
Drahos: Education is everything. It’s your entire future. Your future is based on what you do in school. My daughters bring their papers to me every Friday. We go over them, together. I understand they’re not going to get 100 on every paper and that there will be some subjects that are more challenging than others. We talk about it and if they need help on something, I’m always there to help them. At the end of the day, your education is going to drive your future. So, in my house their performance in school is the number one priority. I try to implement creative ways to motivate them but they know every Friday, we are going to go over their papers together. They are doing very well in school and I’m proud of them.
As a product of the public education system, I couldn’t be more satisfied with what I received. Now, there is always room for improvement and with my wife being a public school teacher, I hear a lot from her about some of the strengths and weaknesses of our public school system. People come to Wellington in large part because of the reputation of our public schools. That’s another thing I want to work hard at.
Having been a member of the Education Committee, I understand their importance and I want to grow their influence. We have an opportunity to do that. There is a Wellington Community Foundation that has been recently reinitiated. It is made up of community leaders with a tremendous amount of influence. I want to get those two, the Education Committee and the Wellington Community Foundation, together. We have a tremendous amount of resources in this town and a lot of people who want to do good. It was what I was talking about before about getting everyone back on track. What more of an important goal than to advocate for our schools. I think this initiative (The Education Committee and Wellington Community Foundation working together) can produce some great things. They just need the right direction.
AW: You helped found the Young Professionals of Wellington. How did you come up with the idea?
Drahos: Having served on the planning and zoning board, I was seeing some critical issues in town being decided with very little influence from my demographic (the 25-45 young professional in the early-middle stages of their careers also raising families) who may not have time to get involved. I felt establishing a group that would give them reason to pay attention and get involved, even on a limited basis, would help. That group was founded with the initial ideal of simply spreading information around to their colleagues. We could be confident that accurate information was being spread. It’s grown from there. It’s more than that, now. In addition to meeting monthly, we put on a lot of social events that are devoted to helping out local businesses. We’ve raised money for charity and I think now with little over three years of experience, the Young Professionals have become a trusted source of information. I’m quite proud of the direction they’re heading in.
AW: I know you are active in the community. We have talked about you serving on the Wellington Education Committee. Which network or organization has been most valuable to be a member of?
Drahos: I’d have to say the Young Professionals of Wellington because we started it from a basic idea and we were able to build it with a lot of inspiring people. That’s provided a platform for me to meet many different people in Wellington. I’ve gotten a lot of different viewpoints and it’s confirmed my impression that with the right people involved and with the right motivations, you can accomplish a lot of great things.
AW: Why is it important for an individual or business to give back to their community?
Drahos: It’s a sacrifice to get involved in the community, there’s no question about it. Going back to the early ideals that my father instilled in me, when I was a kid and Wellington was a new town, we didn’t have an established recreational leagues and a lot of the more talented baseball players were leaving to go to more established leagues. My father said to me, “You don’t leave your home town for greener pastures. You stick around and you make it better.” So, while it is a sacrifice to get involved in the community, people do have to step up when they feel that it’s time to do so and they have the opportunity to do so. Just one person can make a difference in many peoples’ lives. I’d like to think that what I’ve done in the past few years from the community perspective has helped in some regard and if that inspires one or two people to stand up, the next thing you know we have a movement and we’ve changed the community in a positive way.
AW: What sets you apart from other candidates?
Drahos: Certainly, my history here is unique. I am literally the home-grown candidate. The product of our school system who’s benefitted from our parks and rec program who can speak to the value that provided to life. And now I’m raising a family of my own here. So, not only do I have my roots here in Wellington, but I plan on being here for a long time and I want this community to be better for my kids than even my experience was here, as I was growing up. So, when I go around to residents and I talk to them about what I want to accomplish, I have a family legacy I’m living off of. I’m also a father of two kids growing up in this town, so my reputation means everything to me. I want to make sure the decisions I make are going to make my family proud.
AW: Tell us about your family. You came here in 1986. How old were you and where were you before that?
Drahos: I was born in a small town called Vernon, Connecticut. My father was an engineer at Pratt and Whitney and we had the choice of moving to Saudi Arabia or West Palm Beach Florida, for a promotion. Fortunately, we chose West Palm Beach, Florida. My brother David is three and a half years younger than me and he was in kindergarten when we moved here. Ten years later, my brother Shane was born.
My brother, David, now lives in Jupiter and he has recently had his first child, so I’m an uncle for the first time. My other brother, Shane, is a doctor in Fort Myers. He is in his residency program at Florida State. My brother David is an attorney here in Palm Beach County. He also went to Florida State, so we’re big Seminole fans in my house. My wife went to Florida State too.
And I have two kids. Julia is eight years old and Sophia is six. My in-laws still live here in Wellington, and my parents recently moved into Baywinds, which is nearby. So, every Sunday my family gets together for Sunday family dinner. My father is lucky because his boys have stayed local, so we can see each other frequently. I hope the same for my daughters.
AW: What are your family values?
Drahos: My family is my influence. It’s what motivates me. It’s what gives me direction. My hope is that when my daughters are older, they’ll look back on our experience and have the same thoughts that I had about my upbringing. I am so proud to be the son of my mother and father, who are great people. They instilled the importance of family and community in me. I am trying to follow in those footsteps.
My daughter, Julia, walks with me every weekend to knock on doors, meeting residents. In the beginning when she wanted to do it I said “Julia, it’s a lot of walking. I don’t think you’ll be able to walk for five-six hours.” But she was really gung-ho about it so my wife and I decided we’d let her try it. She has literally knocked on every door with me for the last four weeks. She’s seeing, first hand, how devoted I am to the community. Just this past weekend, I looked at her and said “Julia, you and I will never forget this time in our lives.” Whether or not she has an interest in this, it’s given us the opportunity to spend time together. In some small way, I’m grateful for the opportunity this campaign’s provided because I believe I’ve given my daughters a great example of being a leader and standing up for what you believe.
AW: Do you have a vision for the future of Wellington?
Drahos: Yes. My vision for Wellington is centered on the ideal that we’re all one community, passionate about being Wellington residents. We can all do great things together and enrich the lives of many. So, my focus will always be driven by the importance of family. I want to make sure that the kids in this town continue to go to great schools, continue to compete on the best ball fields in Florida and are living in the safest neighborhoods. Just like any father, that’s what I want for my kids. There are great things on the horizon; A lot of good people getting involved. I think we’re going to restore the community pride that has set Wellington apart from every other community in South Florida.
