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When Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer announced his run for U.S. Congress, it was not met with excitement across the city he governs. For many residents, Singer’s entry into national politics feels less like an elevation and more like an escape – an attempt to rebrand a local record that has left South Florida voters deeply frustrated and scornful.
While Singer labels himself an “America First” Republican, his actions tell a very different story, including endorsing Jeb Bush for President over Donald Trump for the 2016 Presidential Primary, saying Bush was not “running on anger.” In Boca Raton, Singer has earned a reputation not as a conservative leader, but as a Republican In Name Only (RINO).
A Mayor Obsessed With Proclamations
One of the defining features of Scott Singer’s tenure has been his fondness for issuing proclamations – symbolic gestures that often align more with progressive activism than conservative principles. Time and again, Singer has deliberately used the authority of his office to bestow official legitimacy on leftist and dangerous organizations and causes, often without regard for community backlash or broader implications.
These proclamations are not benign ceremonial acts. They are politically charged and controversial, and they have consistently affronted the Republican base he now seeks to court in a congressional primary.
Embracing Anti-Gun and Anti-Trump Activists
Perhaps no example better illustrates Singer’s ideological drift than his enthusiastic embrace of the activist group Moms Demand Action (MDA). MDA is a nationally coordinated, anti-gun group that openly supports firearm bans, promotes the transgender movement, enthusiastically endorsed Kamala Harris for President, and routinely denounces President Trump.
Singer has issued annual proclamations honoring MDA. In June 2018, a widely circulated photo posted by the group on social media depicts Singer presenting such a proclamation to two of its representatives, at MDA’s “Wear Orange” campaign event. All of the participants, including the Mayor, are respectively dressed in orange.
That same year, Singer helped lead the MDA-affiliated March for Our Lives rally, where attendees proudly hoisted anti-gun and anti-Trump signs. At least one sign targeted Republicans themselves, stating, “THE ONLY THING EASIER TO BUY THAN A GUN IS A G.O.P. CANDIDATE.” The irony of this quote is unmistakable – Singer aligns himself with activists who openly ridicule the party he now claims to represent.
Furthermore, Singer used his position as Mayor of Boca Raton, to join the effort to sue the State of Florida for the right to enact local gun control measures. Boca’s taxpayers footed the bill for Boca’s part in the lawsuit, which included other cities and which ultimately was lost in Florida’s Supreme Court.
Selling Out Boca’s Public Lands?
Singer’s troubles at home go far beyond symbolism. Boca Raton residents have long expressed outrage over his record on public land use – particularly his support for proposals that critics say would hand over irreplaceable community assets to private developers.
Most notably, Singer backed efforts to privatize Memorial Park, the largest park in downtown Boca Raton and a site dedicated to World War II veterans, for the construction of high-rise apartments and condominiums. The proposal ignited fierce backlash from residents who viewed it as a betrayal of both the city’s history and the public trust.
Critics have warned that these plans would worsen congestion and would permanently damage Boca Raton’s quality of life – essentially stripping the city of vital green space while ignoring overwhelming public opposition.
To most Boca residents, Singer is not seen as a steward of public lands, but as a facilitator for developers – willing to sacrifice parks, memorials, and community assets in pursuit of backroom deals. That resentment has not faded, and it now follows him into his congressional campaign.
A “Republican” Who Courts Democrats
Despite claiming the Republican label, Singer’s own social media tells a different story. He has publicly posted photos of himself with Joe Biden and members of the Biden administration.
When he was running for Mayor, in 2018, Singer posted a big photo of extreme liberal Congresswoman Lois Frankel (along with his logo) on his social media and said he was “honored” to have her endorsement.
In October 2022, Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Mike Barnett condemned Singer for allegedly endorsing Democrat Andy Thompson over Republican Peggy Gossett-Seidman for Florida State House. Barnett described Thompson as a “woke, tax and spend Biden Democrat” and threatened Singer with Republican “censure.” He stated, “By endorsing Thomson, Singer is endorsing open borders, bloated government budgets, and all of Thomson’s tax hike votes during his tenure on Boca’s City Council.”
Jack Furnari, the founder and publisher of the conservative Florida Jolt and President of BizPac, wrote, regarding Singer’s support for Democrats, “I’ve met a lot of slimy, lying politicians, but none of them were as bad as the current Mayor Of Boca Raton, Scott Singer…” Furnari said that his publication has been “documenting Singer’s lies and half-truths.”
Bowing to Radical Islam
Most alarming is Singer’s documented engagement with radical Islamic figures and institutions.
In June 2022, Singer issued an official City of Boca Raton proclamation declaring July “Muslim Heritage Month” on behalf of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton (ICBR) – a mosque with a long and widely reported record of terrorist ties. The proclamation did not merely recognize the group; Singer personally encouraged residents to “visit ICBR.”
ICBR received approximately $600,000 in seed funding from the Global Relief Foundation (GRF), an organization designated by the U.S. Treasury Department for ties to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. ICBR’s own website previously featured violently antisemitic essays, including material describing Jews as “people of treachery and betrayal,” labeling them “enemies,” and invoking calls for Muslims to “fight the Jews and kill them.”
ICBR’s leadership history is equally disturbing. Co-founder Syed Khawer Ahmad worked as a website developer for Hamas while attending Boca’s Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Founding imam Ibrahim Dremali was placed on the federal no-fly list and, during a May 2021 live interview, openly urged viewers to financially support Hamas while calling for jihad, saying “[I]f the Arab leaders open the borders of Palestine… the Jews, they’ll be inside that ocean.”
Another ICBR founder and current Secretary, Bassem Alhalabi, previously served as an assistant to Sami al-Arian, a convicted leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Alhalabi collaborated with al-Arian on written materials and even listed him as a professional reference when applying for a teaching position at FAU. In 2003, Alhalabi was charged by the U.S. Commerce Department for illegally exporting a $13,000 thermal imaging device to Syria.
According to the South Florida Muslim Federation – of which ICBR is a member – Alhalabi played a key role in securing Singer’s mayoral proclamation.
Singer has repeatedly posed for photographs with Alhalabi. He has also been photographed next to Hasan Sabri, a radical South Florida imam who has publicly denounced the United States as an “enemy” and threatened Muslims who accept American assistance.
When confronted directly by this author at a synagogue event in East Boca, Singer dismissed all concerns, insisting that I was mistaken and that Alhalabi was a “good man.”
Alhalabi, for his part, has returned the favor – publicly and repeatedly urging his followers on social media to vote for Singer.
A RINO with a Record He Can’t Escape
Scott Singer’s congressional ambitions rest on the hope that Republican voters will ignore his record. But the citizens of Boca Raton and South Florida remember. They remember the proclamations. They remember the developer deals. They remember the photo ops with anti-gun activists, Biden officials, and Islamic extremists.
Singer’s problem is not messaging – it is a record that contradicts it. His record reflects a politician far more comfortable with progressive causes, Democrat leaders, and radical Islamic associations than with the conservative principles he now claims to champion.
In Congress, voters deserve clarity, courage, and conviction. Scott Singer has shown none of these. What he has shown, repeatedly, is that when given power, he uses it to please the Left, alienate his community, and legitimize the unacceptable. Republican voters don’t need another dishonest RINO in Congress pretending to be a conservative. They should take him at his record – because it tells the truth he would rather run from.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
