Mother of slain Coral Springs vice mayor runs for her commission seat

Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald on May 13, 2026

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MIAMI — Marly Metayer, the mother of slain Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, has filed to run for her daughter’s city commission seat, records show.

Her campaign manager David Metellus said she filed to run for seat 3 on Tuesday. Marly Metayer’s name appears on the Coral Springs campaign finance portal along with four other “active” candidates running for seat 3.

Her daughter Nancy Metayer, who made history as the first Haitian-American and Black woman elected onto the Coral Springs City Commission, was found dead in her home on April 1. Police charged her husband Stephen Bowen with her murder. Her death sent shockwaves through South Florida and the local Haitian community. Nancy Metayer, 38, was planning to run for Congress.

Coral Springs residents will vote on the commissioner seat during the Nov. 3 election. The winner will serve a two-year term.

“[Marly] wants to step forward to complete the work of her daughter, not leave it undone,” said Metellus, who previously worked with Nancy Metayer. “She really feels like she can serve the community.”

Nancy Metayer, known for her environmentalism and social justice advocacy, was first elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024. Her mother plans to pick up the mantel and serve the community the way her daughter did, Metellus said. If elected, Marly Metayer would only serve the two-year term.

“She doesn’t want to get into politics and be a long term politician. She just wants to get this job done and then move on,” Metellus said.

Born in Haiti, Marly Metayer came to the United States at the age of 13. She graduated from Dillard High School and became a registered nurse. She has worked in healthcare for over 35 years. She moved to Coral Springs in 1999 because she fell in love with the tightknit community, Metellus said.

Marly Metayer raised four children in Coral Springs. Just months before the death of her daughter Nancy, her son Donovan died by suicide.

Metellus said she plans to run on a platform similar to her daughter’s, focusing on environmentalism, public safety, economic mobility and mental health. She has never run for office before.

“She thinks she can earn the trust of the community through preparation, service and hard work. She wants to earn it,” Metellus said. “She thinks that she’s qualified to do this through her work as a nurse. She’s very a compassionate person, very loving person, somebody who’s raised a family in the city of Coral Springs.”