Category: Uncategorized

      Last night, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission took up the proposal by Commissioner Dean Trantalis to pass a resolution to back gay marriage for Florida.

      When the hearing started, around 7 pm, the room was nearing capacity, and filled quickly with over 100 citizens.  

                                         

       Surprisingly, the crowd was almost entirely in favor of the proposal. Only a handful of anti- gay marriage proponents showed, and they proved to be their own worse enemy. They passed out the flyers below, full of over the top statements.

                                          

                                             

       The flyers say Trantalis’s proposal ” goes against the moral teaching of the Bible”, and goes on to say that people that support the resolution therefore “endorse incest sex, polygamy, and group sex”. It goes on to say that “male and female sex organs naturally fit together”, says” the “same cannot be said for male-male or female-female”. The flyers ramble about pedophilia, race, and producing babies.

                                   Here is a recap of the hearing from my notes

        …..  Bobby looks concerned  …….   Roberts seems engaged….  speaker says he’s getting married with his partner on Labor Day – in Mexico City  …..  another speaker says he got married last September, in NYC.……  Michael Albetta says passing the resolution would be a smart thing to do  ….. reminds Commission he helped many of them get elected.….  anti resolution speaker says he doesn’t think he should check his religion at the door ( of City Hall) ...says it is immoral …says “we are made male and female   …… female Rabbi says you can read the Bible many ways …. says you could “kiss your bacon cheeseburger goodbye” [if you read it literally] ….. says if you object to gay marriage she suggests you not marry anyone of the same sex ….. clinical psychologist says he prayed to God as a teen to make him straight …..  anti speaker says this would lead to brother and sister marrying, and that the proposal says God, Moses and Jesus are wrong …. gay chamber of commerce speaker talks of economic impact to Fort Lauderdale by gay tourists  …..

                  ……..  Public hearing closed  …..   Comm. Roberts starts  …..  is going to back the reso  ….Comm. Dubose declines to make comments  …..Comm. Rogers says he will vote against it ….says he has to lean on “the sanctity of marriage” ….. Comm. Trantalis makes his case for the reso  …..Mayor Seiler finishes by reminding crowd that he “signed first domestic partnership” law in Wilton Manors, has been a supporter of civil unions …… but goes on to tell the crowd that he would not be backing the reso .…..

            …… vote …. 3/2 in favor, Rogers and Seiler opposing  …..

                                          So what now ?

      A few years back, the neighborhood of South Middle River received a novel new crime fighting program called SmartWater.

                                           

       The space age liquid places a DNA-like marker on your valuables, and it can be identified at the pawn shop, fence etc. Also, the Police can squirt the liquid on the criminal through a “bait house”, or “bait car” situation. Lastly, there is a great deterrent effect, as criminals seem to be very afraid of the state of the art liquid.

     So, the city placed the liquid marking system in 500 of the homes in the South Middle River neighborhood ( they had the most burglaries in the city), and the burglary rate has now dropped substantially.

     Unfortunately, the President of the neighborhood next door (Laura Crocenco) decided not to push the City for the program in Middle River Terrace, and that neighborhood’s burglary rate nearly doubled – seems the burglars fled the SmartWater next door!

       Now  finally, Middle River Terrace is  getting SmartWater. And the sign notifying residents has been placed in the neighborhood.

      Can you tell why this piece is titled “Smart Water Sign Not So Smart”?

                  

     Will the Fort Lauderdale City Commission be backing gay marriage next Tuesday ?

                                                 Read On !

      The City of Fort Lauderdale has had an unusual, maybe schizophrenic history when it comes to  its GLBT community (for those of you who have been hiding under rocks for the last three decades, that acronym stands for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered …( gay people.)

                               

       Though the city is identified as having one of the greatest concentrations of gay people in the country, and many of its gay citizens contribute heavily on city boards and in city neighborhoods, its public policy has not always been kind to them.

     The City’s last mayor, re-elected 5 times,  made national news calling out gays for public sex and saying they shouldn’t be called “gay”, because they really weren’t happy.

                         
                     Naugle, joined  by radical anti-gay activist Reverend O’Neal Dozier

     Dozier, who reportedly said that homosexuals “made God want to vomit’, was allied with the infamous Reverend D. James Kennedy, (now deceased), and his very conservative mega-church – Coral Ridge Presbyterian.

      Kennedy was known for quotes like this –

      “ the intimate coupling of two men or two women is
not marriage. It is a pale and misshapen counterfeit that will only
serve to empty marriage of its meaning and destroy the institution that
is the keystone in the arch of civilization. ? If homosexuals win the
right to ‘marry,’ expect further similarly argued claims challenging
legal barriers to polygamy, bestiality, and child marriage.”

      So we have had both opinions represented –

                         

      You might say that is all old news Tim, and you might say that Fort Lauderdale has evolved.

      I hope you are right. This is how we might know !

     Unless it gets pulled from next Tuesday’s agenda, Commissioner Dean Trantalis has placed a “‘Resolution” on the evening’s agenda, calling for the City to officially back gay marriage in the State of Florida.

                                    
                              ….   homosexual rights leader Trantalis, next to Naugle and Mayor Seiler

                  Here is the Resolution
          
       A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, SUPPORTING MARRIAGE EQUALITY, URGING ENACTMENT OF A LAW THAT WOULD PROVIDE FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND PROVIDING FOR RESCISSION OF CONFLICTING PROVISIONS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
    
    WHEREAS, the City of Fort Lauderdale strives to protect the equal rights of all its residents without regard to race, color, creed, religion, gender, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; and

    WHEREAS, the City of Fort Lauderdale derives great strength from the diversity of its residents, employees, and visitors; and

    WHEREAS, the City of Fort Lauderdale extends employee health benefits to domestic partners regardless of sexual orientation; and

    WHEREAS, the lack of access to marriage under the laws of the State of Florida deprives members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community of more than 1,000 federal benefits and responsibilities afforded heterosexual couples, including spousal social security and pension benefits, tax equity, and medical decision-making authority; and

    WHEREAS, domestic partnership and civil union laws bring welcome recognition to same-sex couples and their families, but marriage remains the most widely accepted and best legal mechanism for protecting these families; and

    WHEREAS, denying access to marriage for same-sex couples discriminates against them, relegates them to second-class citizenship, and serves to institutionalize discrimination in violation of the United States Constitution,

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA:

SECTION 1.    That the City Commission supports equal access to legal marriage for same-sex couples, and opposes laws and constitutional amendments that deny equal access to legal marriage for same-sex couples.

SECTION 2.    That the City Commission urges the Florida Legislature and Governor Rick Scott to enact a law that would provide for marriage equality in the State of Florida.

SECTION 3.    That the City Clerk is directed to forward a certified copy of this Resolution to the Broward County state legislative delegation and to Governor Rick Scott.

SECTION 4.    That all resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith, be and the same are rescinded to the extent of such conflict.

SECTION 5.    That this Resolution shall be in effect immediately upon its adoption.

    ADOPTED this the _____ day of _________________, 2014.

                        ______________________________
                                  Mayor
                               JOHN P. “JACK” SEILER

                                                        Stay Tuned ….. Tim
         

It’s called Sailboat Bend, and it is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale.

And it has stayed truly historic, due to it’s special zoning as an historic neighborhood. This is a drawing of what the historic rules hoped to maintain as character in the neighborhood –

Unfortunately, the zoning has caused problems. The zoning rules are so restrictive, that sometimes this happens-

It’s called “demolition by neglect”.

Because the owners of this home could not get building permits to tear the building down, or to substantially remodel it, they just let it rot.

Here is another example that you know about –

The Shippey House – this 1915 home, inhabited by the infamous Judge Fred Shippey, was moved out of Sailboat Bend and into the Himmarshee area, a few years back. The house has been painted and cleaned up with the Cleaning services Toronto, but still awaits renovation.

So, the current leaders of Sailboat Bend decided that the historic regulations were slowly strangling the neighborhood and have been pushing for a change. They have worked up a plan to eliminate the current regs, and adopts a voluntary plan that “strongly encourages” residents and re-developers to keep with the historic character.

They say they want a plan that doesn’t exert ” undue burden on individual property rights”.  They go on that ” no designated historic structure will exert special rights that restrict adjacent properties.”

The plan says it will “promote authentic architecture”, encouraging “Old Style Mediterranean”, but discouraging “Boca-Texture”.

The plan also calls for documenting the historic structures and peoples that exist in Sailboat Bend today, by photos, building plans, and interviews with the old-timers.

At least they can still remember it all – after it is all gone !

                                      

      Jonda:

      I was very frustrated at the last meeting with the issues that arose involving board and committee service.  As a City Commission, we need to be fair, transparent, and consistent in our handling of board and committee appointments, service, terms, term limits, etc.

      In conjunction with our City Attorney, please be sure that our rules, resolutions, ordinances, codes, charter, etc. are all consistent and coordinated.  If we have any unwritten practices, policies or procedures that we have traditionally followed that are not consistent with the specific language of our rules, resolutions, ordinances, codes, charter, etc., please let us know.  If we need to “clean up”, update, or rewrite any rules, resolutions, ordinances, codes, charter, etc., please let us know.  If we need to convene the Charter Review Board to address these issues, please let us know.

     The bottom line is that, regardless of the individuals involved, we need to have a process and procedure that is fair, transparent and consistent.

                Thanks  

         John P. “Jack” Seiler

       This is the first update on our last discussion – Dissed Dean.

                                  

       Trantalis attempted to replace his appointment to the City’s Planning and Zoning Board, Bradford Cohen, with beach and historic preservation activist Steve Glassman, but was prevented on doing it by his colleagues on the City Commission. They instead chose to keep Cohen on the Board.

                                   
                                                       Glassman

       Trantalis felt disrespected, and asked for clarification from the City Attorney on the advisory board rules.

        This led to an e-mail this week from City Clerk Jonda Joseph, declaring that there were 25 Advisory Board members that had served past the stated term limits for their appointment, and would have to step down.

        This list includes many of our leading citizens, including ….

  Genia Ellis, who will leave the Citizen’s Board of Recognition, but already is slated to be appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board ….

    Diana Centorino, who will have to step down from the Board of Adjustment ( I appointed her to the Planning and Zoning Board back in 1997)…… and

                        Barry Flanigan, who has been serving on the Marine Advisory Board far past his stated term limit.

         Other big names that have to now step down from their advisory board positions include Patrick Mctigue, Thorney Jarrett, Betty Shelley,  Ella Phillips, and Pat Hale.

        Trantalis is still waiting for his clarification on the law of advisory board appointments, and there is certain to be talk of this whole SNAFU at the next City Commission meeting.

       Trantalis says of the hullabaloo – “all under the name of crony politics”.

       There is more news coming down, but as the old saying goes ” if I told you, I’d have to kill you”, and there’s too damn many of you ! ….

                        Stay Tuned  ……  Tim

    

     Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Dean Trantalis says he feels disrespected by his colleagues. And he says he is not going to let the dissing stand!…..

                                                     

                 Here’s the story  – and how he’s not going to let the issue go

      Trantalis wanted to replace his appointment to Citys’ Planning and Zoning Board, Bradford Cohen, (whose term on the Board, according to City records, was up,) with long time city activist Steve Glassman.

      Now if the name Bradford Cohen sounds familiar, it’s because Cohen, a local criminal attorney, is somewhat famous. He is a pundit on Fox and CNN, among other TV Shows.

                               

       And what makes the story somewhat ironic, Cohen was a contestant on Donald Trumps’ – the Apprentice, and was fired !  ….  So when Trantalis decided not to reappoint him to the Board, Cohen got defensive and put up a fight –  “I wasn’t going to be fired from this one”, he told me, laughing!

      So Cohen allegedly spoke to the Mayor and other Commissioners before the meeting, and was ready when Trantalis announced that he would be replacing Cohen.

      Trantalis’s colleagues said that the City records were flawed, and Cohen actually deserved another year on the Board. Trantalis asked the City attorney if that was correct, having been reassured before the meeting that Cohen’s term was up,  and Attorney Everett , said she agreed – with both Trantalis and the Mayor ???

                                                  

     ….    Anyhow, this morning Trantalis sent this memo to  Everett, asking for her to definitively clear up the whole debacle. 

     Cynthia-

      What occurred yesterday at the Conference Meeting was very troubling on many levels.

      I was informed by city staff that the term of one of my appointments on the Planning and Zoning Board was reaching its end, and it was my responsibility to either reappoint that person, or to appoint a new person.

   It appears that this information was based on my understanding of the following:

1.       The September 2012 resolution, signed by Mayor John P. Seiler, wherein it stated that Bradford Cohen would be appointed to complete the term vacated by Catherine Maus until May 2014.
2.       The board appointment roster from the Clerk’s office indicating that the term of Bradford Cohen was to conclude on May 2014.

     It seems that Mr. Cohen chose to challenge the accuracy of these documents, and he prevailed upon the majority of the Commission to interpret the rules regarding appointments in such a way as to permit him to serve until May 2015.

     By way of history, you should be aware that when I was concluding my first term of office in 2006, Charlotte Rodstrom, who was serving as my appointee on P & Z, stepped down to run for office and I appointed Steve Glassman to replace her. He served through the balance of Charlotte’s P & Z term, and then, during the tenure of Harry Stewart, was informed that he needed to be reappointed before he could continue to serve on the Board. When Charlotte was elected to the Commission, she then reappointed him. He was not informed that he could serve a term of three years when he was first appointed.

     I bring this up because you had indicated that based on the reading of the law and past practices, the decision of the commission was consistent. To me, common sense and decades of practice by successive city commissions was turned on its head yesterday, all for the purpose of placating the interests of one individual. The entire episode was not only embarrassing, but it showed the public that personal interests trumped the rule of law. Future commissions are now left with at best only a vague notion of term succession as it is practiced in the city of Ft. Lauderdale.

     For this reason, I am seeking a legal opinion from you for the following:

       Please reconcile the practice of what occurred yesterday with why Mr. Glassman had to be reappointed by Charlotte Rodstrom when  Mr. Glassman was appointed to complete the balance of Charlotte’s term

      Please define the words “term”, “expired term”, and “interim term” , and how those words relate to appointments for the Planning and Zoning Board as well as other Boards.

       I am hoping to bring some clarity to the process so that we do not have to subject applicants or the general public again to what occurred yesterday.

     Thank you
        DEAN

         I’ll keep you informed ….. Tim

      I got a mysterious letter in the mail today.

      Now when I first ran for public office in 1997, Cindy and I came home to find an anonymous blackmail letter attached to our front door. The blackmail letter ordered me to get out of the race for Commissioner, or be destroyed!

       Fortunately for me, I didn’t have any tax problems, and I did have my act together, but the blackmailer didn’t have his act together !

     Needless to say, I didn’t get out, but went to the authorities, and the sitting Commissioner at the time was arrested for felony extortion. I won the race.

     So when this funny looking letter came in the mailbox today, I reflected back –

                  

       No return address …..   West Virginia stamp ……  and the addressee label was cut and pasted like a ransom note!

      I opened it with concern …..

      But it wasn’t another blackmail letter, not a ransom note, but this somewhat odd letter –

                      

         The letter, like the envelope, doesn’t say who it’s from, but it clearly wants Cindy and I to help oppose a 60- unit townhouse project proposed for a 4 acre parcel in the South Middle River neighborhood.

         The parcel now houses a weak Catholic Church, and the Diocese wants it sold. The developers will need a zoning change to do the deal, and this group is calling for help to stop that. The neighborhood association opposes the project, but there is also plenty of support.

        I’ll keep you posted –  Tim

                      

                                              What ????

                        go ahead   …leave a comment …. I dare ya !

       The neighborhood association was dwindling. Down to its last few paying members, (the neighborhood treasurer even refused to publish the paltry list) – something had to be done!

     So, the new Middle River Terrace leaders got a bright idea – let’s fool the suckers !

              Here is the letter they sent to all the residents –

                 

       The envelope said it came from “Concerned Citizens of Middle River Terrace” and warned its receiver to ……

    “OPEN IMMEDIATELY – TIME SENSITIVE INFORMATION FOR YOUR PROPERTY located in Middle River Terrace !
           ………………………………………………………………………………………………

     Well hell yes everyone opened it! . What was going on? Was the City secretly putting a waste dump in the hood? ….burying more arsenic? … placing another  Homeless Shelter on Dixie?

                                   

       ….. Nope, when you opened it, it was a standard plea for membership. Please send in  $25.

                                                   Shame on MRTNA ………..