Oelfke, Patel and Schaefer Win Holmes Beach City Commission Seats

HOLMES BEACH — Voters elected Steve Oelfke, Jessica Patel, and Terry Schaefer to the Holmes Beach City Commission in Tuesday’s municipal election, according to unofficial results posted by the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office at 8 p.m.

Oelfke led the four-way race with 753 votes (32.41%), followed by Patel with 635 votes (27.34%) and Schaefer with 498 votes (21.44%). Incumbent Carol Soustek received 437 votes (18.81%). The top three vote-getters earned two-year terms on the commission.

Voter turnout was 40.77%, with 901 ballots cast from among 2,210 registered voters. Assistant Supervisor of Elections Sharon Stief noted that 496 voters requested vote-by-mail ballots for the city election. Under state law, vote-by-mail requests must now be renewed for each election cycle.

If certified on Friday, Nov. 7, as expected, the new commissioners will be sworn in by City Clerk Stacey Johnston at the City Commission’s organizational meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m.

Schaefer, a retired bank executive, has served on the commission since first being elected in 2019, with re-elections in 2021, 2023, and now 2025. Oelfke, a skilled nursing facility administrator and former planning commissioner, was appointed in February to fill the vacancy left by long-time commissioner Pat Morton and will now serve his first elected term. Patel, a nonprofit executive director and former journalist, was a first-time candidate and will begin her first term in office.

Soustek, a retired corporate accountant, concludes more than a decade of service on the commission, having been appointed in 2014 and elected to consecutive two-year terms since 2015.