Arlene R. Schwartz

Arlene R. Schwartz serves as the Commissioner for Seat 2 on the Margate City Commission, a nonpartisan municipal office in Margate, Florida, to which she was most recently reelected for a four-year term running through November 2028. She stands as one of the longest-serving figures in the city's legislative history, having first won election to the city commission in 1991 and completing multiple non-consecutive terms spanning 1991–1994, 1997–2004, 2016–2020, and 2020–2024. During her expansive public service career, she achieved a historical milestone as Margate’s first female mayor from 1999 to 2001 and completed a recent mayoral rotation ending in late 2025. Outside of city hall, Schwartz spent her professional career in public education, first as a Broward County Public School teacher and later as a Community School Director and administrator focusing on underserved minority populations. A 41-year resident of Margate, she holds a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from the City College of New York (1971), a Master of Arts in American History from Binghamton University (1973), and an Educational Specialist degree in Administration and Supervision from Florida Atlantic University (1988). Highly recognized for municipal governance, she was awarded the Silver Certificate of Leadership by the Florida League of Cities University in 2023 and currently lends her expertise to the statewide Florida League of Cities Municipal Operations Committee.

The City of Margate Commission is the governing legislative body of the City of Margate, a municipal government in Broward County, Florida. Commissioners are responsible for setting city policy, adopting the municipal budget, enacting local ordinances, and providing oversight of city operations and services.