Marly Métayer runs for slain daughter’s Coral Springs commission seat

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Marly Métayer, the mother of slain Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Métayer, has filed to run for the commission seat once held by her daughter, according to city campaign finance records. 

Her campaign manager, David Métellus, confirmed to The Miami Herald that she officially filed to run on May 12 for the fall election.

“She wants to earn it,” Métellus said.

The Coral Springs City Commission comprises five commissioners, including the Mayor [seat 1] and four elected at-large by residents to serve as legislative members. The Vice Mayor position, which Métayer’s slain daughter held, is an honorary leadership role that includes one sitting commissioner, appointed by a majority vote, to serve as the Mayor’s substitute when needed. 

The filing comes just over a month after Métayer, a rising political figure in South Florida affiliated with the Democratic Party, was found dead in her home in Coral Springs — a city of more than 134,000 people in the northwest corner of Broward County. Her husband, Stephen Bowen, has been charged with premeditated murder and tampering with evidence in the case in the 38-year-old’s killing

According to Coral Springs’ campaign finance portal, Marly Metayer is listed as an active candidate for Commission Seat 3, along with five others, including Haitian American and local businesswoman Adeline Darius. At least three other candidates have also filed for the race, according to city records.

A mother of four children and a registered nurse with over 35 years of healthcare experience, Métayer does not yet have a campaign website, nor has she spoken publicly since her filing. However, Métayer has updated her Facebook profile, wearing a T-shirt from “Avanse Ansanm,” meaning “Moving forward together” in English—a civic and public education organization that her daughter helped establish.

“If elected, her campaign manager said, “she will continue the work her daughter championed around environmental justice, public safety, economic mobility and mental health.”

The slain vice mayor’s mother has never run for office. But Métellus said she hopes to gain enough community support to succeed. 

The election for Coral Springs Commission Seat 3 is expected on Nov. 3.

Métayer plans to campaign primarily on continuing her daughter’s legacy and advancing her political priorities. No formal campaign platform had been publicly released as of Thursday.

Métayer’s daughter was widely known in South Florida political circles as the first Black and Haitian American woman elected to the Coral Springs Commission. She was first elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024, later becoming vice mayor and serving as vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party. As her seat became vacant following her death, the successful candidate in the upcoming election will serve the remainder of the unexpired term, which is slightly more than two years. 

On April 1, police said officers discovered Métayer dead after colleagues requested a wellness check when she failed to appear at scheduled city meetings. Authorities later arrested her husband, who prosecutors say confessed to relatives before being taken into custody.

Court records show has since pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and evidence tampering. Prosecutors allege he fatally shot his wife inside their home and attempted to conceal evidence afterward.

The killing shocked both the Coral Springs community and Haitian Americans across South Florida, where Metayer Bowen had become a prominent voice on civic engagement, environmental justice and Haitian outreach.

Her death also renewed conversations around domestic violence, including how abuse can remain hidden even among public officials and community leaders. Advocates say the case underscores the broader national crisis of intimate partner violence affecting women across racial, economic and professional backgrounds.

In the weeks following her death, memorials and vigils were held throughout Broward County, drawing residents, elected officials and members of the Haitian diaspora. Community members remembered Métayer Bowen as a compassionate public servant with a growing political future.

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