A South Florida man who looks like Jeffrey Epstein makes big announcement
From cruising on I-95 to the campaign trail: Palm Beach Pete is running for mayor of Palm Beach, he announced on social media Wednesday.
In March, the South Florida man who bears a resemblance to Jeffrey Epstein broke the Internet after a video of him driving in a convertible went viral. The cameraman who spotted him on the road says in a voiceover: “Epstein is alive.”
No, he’s not. The disgraced financier was found dead by suicide in his cell in August 2019 awaiting sex trafficking charges.
To clear up the matter due to all the negative hoopla, the driver created an Instagram account to calm all the conspiracy theorists down and introduce himself as “Palm Beach Pete.”
Now, some two months later, he is looking for more attention — in the political arena. The wannabe politician wrote on Instagram to his 263,000 followers that he gave the move to run in the upcoming 2028 elections “much thought.”
In the post’s accompanying pictures, Pete smiles widely wearing merch raring to go, a hat that reads, “Palm Beach Pete for Mayor ’28.” The party affiliation is unclear as the cap is both red and blue. You can buy one for $35 on his campaign website to support his endeavor.
He did not respond to a request for an interview. It wasn’t clear on Thursday whether he has filed any paperwork with the town or county for a mayoral candidacy.
Other snaps in the carousel show him posing with folks who ostensibly endorse him, including Mikey the Magician and Fat Nick, hosts of YouTube’s risqué “Nicky Gordo Show”; fitness influencer Togi; and an untagged buxom brunette in a blue bikini.
“My campaign will be built around the issues that truly matter to the people of Palm Beach,” says the post. “I’m excited to use my platform to do what’s right for the community I’ve come to love so dearly.”
Qualifications? As far as we know, none besides 15 minutes of infamy.
Palm Beach Pete’s full name is Peter Simel, originally from New York. According to LinkedIn, the 71-year-old graduated from Syracuse University in 1977 and worked in commercial real estate.
The Miami Herald reached out to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office to see if and when Simel filed and are awaiting a response.
The current mayor is Palm Beach native Danielle Moore who took the seat in 2021, following six years as Town Council President. Her mother, Lesly Smith, was mayor from 2000 to 2005 and her stepfather, Earl E.T. Smith, was mayor from 1971 to 1977.
“I think it’s an amazing legacy,” the Duke University alum told Palm Beach Illustrated magazine in 2023. Moore succeeded Gail Coniglio, who served five terms as the town’s mayor, in 2021.
