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     Everything was going just right, just as planned … and moving an old historic home is no easy stunt …..  but ….. then came Burger King!

            

     Wouldn’t you know it –  at the place that says you can have it your way, we couldn’t have it our way at all!

     The 1920’s home of the colorful, first Broward Judge Shippey got stuck, right there, right in the middle of the move, right in the Burger King parking lot!

     The Burger King corporate bigwigs jetted to the site and, after considerable consideration, decided they could use an extra dining room, and ….. voila …. problem solved ! 

     The Judge Shippey room … only at Burger King !


                    …. only in Fort Lauderdale !

     I wrote, a few posts back, about former Fort Lauderdale bigshots Allyson Love and David Hebert ending up being Assistant City Managers in Homestead, Florida, working there for their former boss in Fort Lauderdale,  George Gretsas.


   Gretsas in car, Naugle in dog suit

     I told you that I called to talk to them about working in Homestead for George, that I’d left a message, and that I’d let you know, “if by some miracle”, they returned the call!

     Now I can officially say that miracles do happen!

    Hello Commissioner, David Hebert said. You called, and you called Allyson Love, and we are both here returning your call. I was surprised.

     We chatted a few minutes, Love said I was always fair, and I told Hebert that he was always honorable in my dealings with him.

     “Bet you won’t put that in your blog”, Hebert said.

     ” I will”, I countered, “but I’ll also say you didn’t belong in the Police Department”, I followed.

     ” That’s OK by me”, he said, but I disagree with you, he added.

    
      poster about Hebert/Police controversy
                       by Cal Deal 

     
     We spoke another minute or so, Hebert said the Homestead people were salt of the earth, and Allyson said her commute wasn’t too bad, “just down the turnpike”.


     Now if I could only get Gretsas to return my call !
     

     
          

     Running for re-election, as an incumbent, has mostly advantages – money, name recognition etc., but it can also have a few disadvantages!

     Meet two of the disadvantages!

                     

     Vicki Eckels and Ray Dettman, both leaders in Fort Lauderdale District IV, don’t back the incumbent’s re-election effort.

     The incumbent, who is just finishing his first term is Romney Rogers.


     That’s Rogers on the right with former County Commissioner Jim Scott, who was beaten by challenger Ken Keechl, who was beaten by challenger – now Commissioner Chip LaMarca ( yes, the incumbent doesn’t always win).

     Dettman, who has been a neighborhood President in more than one District IV neighborhood,  says he is backing Roger’s challenger Jackie Scott. 

     Dettman says “I am supporting her because I want Change and Maybe Jackie Scott is the answer, and Jackie Scott has put the time in and deserves a term.” 

     Eckels is also backing Scott. She says she wants a Commissioner that “sees the reality of what a large part of their district is experiencing, not just their small comfort zone”.

     Rogers might have to work to gain re-election.

     
    

     His name is Lester Zalewski, and he is running for the District II Commissioner’s seat.

                                    
                                                     Zalewski

      The seat is currently held by Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom. Rodstrom is running for re-election to the seat.

                               Here are Zalewski’s answers to my questions


     1.) What made you run, what makes you say that the current Commissioner needs to be replaced?

     I want to give back to the place I’ve called home for fourteen years.

     I’ve served overseas in our military. I’ve served on the boards of my condominium and on the Central Beach Alliance where I encouraged more inclusiveness and consensus. That’s my goal on City Commission too.

     When times were good and we needed to slow down six years back, our current commissioner was the right choice. Now times are tough, we need a can-do guy. Someone tough enough to roll their sleeves up and get the growth back. My twenty-five hard-scrabble years growing a million dollar business from scratch makes me the right choice now. A good neighbor who will fight for good neighborhoods in every part of District 2. 

     2.)What would your agenda be if elected?

     I don’t need to tell people times are tough.

     There is going to be an increasingly competitive environment for investment and government dollars. Economic development and re-development is key to all the neighborhoods of Fort Lauderdale. We need to make Fort Lauderdale a more attractive place to invest, work, learn and play in.

     I want to encourage responsible re-development. Our building developers need to be good neighbors and beautify and add value to our neighborhoods. There are great examples of local developers who are showing the way already.

     It’s not just about compatible, responsible building re-development. It’s also about bringing in new industry – new jobs – fresh skills, that will boost our economy all year round – not just when the tourists and boaters are here.

     I want to expand Mayor Seiler’s campaign for citizen involvement. We need to increase not just volunteers’ hours but the quality of input.

     I’ve spoken at City Commission and committee and I’ve seen we can make better use of volunteers’ time. But we need to incentivize them – show them that we will act on their input. Committees need to be more than mere talking shops. We need to improve our meeting skills. And the City Commission needs to show our community leaders that their words have value and will lead to action.

     We need a vision for the long term too. One that will prepare us for the competition to our marine and tourism industry from cities in the US and overseas. One that will prepare us for the great challenges in the years ahead. I don’t see that leadership in our master plan. It will be if I’m elected City Commissioner.

     3.)The beach area residents have been conflicted about growth on the beach for some time. What are the issues there, and specifically what would you do about beach redevelopment if elected?

     District 2 is far more than the beach, just as Fort Lauderdale is far more than just District 2.

     Everybody should enjoy the beach. It is also an important economic engine for the city. But let’s not forget those areas that are currently being neglected.

     Walk or cycle the streets and you’ll see abandoned vacant lots – an entire community with no supermarket – unsafe sidewalks – unsafe bike lanes – historic buildings at threat. Send me your list. If elected I will do my best to build consensus to take care of it. E-mail me. lesterzalewski@yahoo.com

     When a group of you want to meet, let me know and we’ll schedule a meeting where you’ll do the talking. I’m going to meet as many of you as possible and hear what concerns you most.

     Help even the odds of the opposition’s big budget and well-oiled political machine and pass on copies of this letter to friends who vote.

     There are people who live in Fort Lauderdale all year round who want to enjoy their neighborhoods day and night, and not walk in fear of being panhandled, mugged or stolen from in their cars or homes. Good neighbors can make for good neighborhoods.

     On the beach I want more consultation and mixed-use thinking so people don’t have to drive over a bridge every time to get supplies.

     The people should be properly consulted on proposals like the Walgreen’s on Las Olas at the beach or the one-bid International Hall of Fame project or linking it to the Bahia Mar development so all of Fort Lauderdale can benefit. Everybody needs to be involved. Not just the special interests.

     Our right to determine the future of our neighborhoods is being lost. Don’t throw your neighborhood away. Make your voice count. Make a note to vote January 31.

     We can be the City Commissioners’ eyes and ears between elections – but Commissioners will take our vote for granted unless we shake ‘em up next month. Show ‘em you care. Make your vote matter. Or it’ll be business as usual. Good neighbors can make for good neighborhoods. A good neighbor gives back and votes. The first step forward is to vote for me, Lester Zalewski, January 31.

     Mary Graham

     Mary is running for the District I Fort Lauderdale Commission seat, now held by Bruce Roberts. Roberts is also running – for re-election.

     Here is a picture of Mary Graham.

                

     Here are Graham’s questions and answers.

1.) Why are you running? …

     I am running in order for District One voters to have a choice of leadership for the next 3 years. I will represent their interests as follows in item 2 priorities

     Why do you feel the current Commissioner needs to be replaced?

     The voters are simply getting a choice in 3 districts and for mayor – if they disagree or are not satisfied with decisions and actions by the current commission in the last 2 years 8 months, the choice is theirs to make.

2.) What will be your agenda if elected? … what are your highest priorities?

     First and foremost, preservation of residential neighborhoods; no encroachment/incompatible zoning to the detriment of the neighborhood edges, and no retroactive zoning. Desirable and viable residential neighborhoods throughout the City are imperative for the city to rebound economically, short and long term.

     Second, retaining existing businesses, and those that generate sales tax. For instance, the majority of shoppers in the Northeast of District 1 likely shop in Pompano Beach now at either the Publix or Walmart on US 1. The city lost the revenue of the sales tax AND the monthly FPL franchise fee when Publix relocated from Bayview at US 1 to McNab at US 1. It is not coming back to the City. In my neighborhood further west, we shop at a Publix in Pompano Palm Aire, North Lauderdale or Tamarac, not in Fort Lauderdale. We can and must do more to keep the existing businesses in the City, and will help the City Commission and Manager do so. 
    
     Third, preservation of parks and open space. These are the People’s Assets, the City’s Assets. It is unacceptable to seize either for a new Fire Station funded by our bond money. County wide we voted for a $200 million dollar Park Bond, and in 2004 a city wide $40 million dollar Fire Station bond. Taking an acre of a park, against the wishes of a neighborhood, whether in District 1 or not, is unacceptable.
     Equally important is ongoing and vigilant oversight of all capital improvements with our tax dollars, i.e. Who is the Tax Payer’s,  Owner’s Rep on the CIP and Bond Projects?
     Lack of oversight or mismanagement with cost over runs means less tax dollars for other projects in the queue.

3.) Does District I receive enough resources compared to the amount they pay in taxes?

     I would want the opportunity to hear from the constituents of all of District One and review the property tax base contributions before answering this.

                                   thanks Mary ….  Tim 
 



     

     It’s going to be a great season for blogging …..  I’m going to be having more fun then ever writing this blog, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it ( and sending in your comments!) 

      I want to thank you all for checking in often, and I want share a few things with you about the blog!

               
                 me ( at 16)

     
         First, I don’t make any money off this blog. None…Nada…Zip !  .. I could, but I don’t. The motives and opinions for each and every story are mine, and I like to keep it that way. In most blogs, you’ll see ads for candidates, movies, products etc. ( Buddy Nevins has Tide Detergent this week! – wonder if they pay him in soap?)

     Second,  The readership of this blog has grown in leaps and bounds since I started in 2008 …. I’ve written 311 posts, ( 194,628 words… yikes, how many words in War and Peace?) and most months I average close to 15,000 people reading the blog.
                  
                             Here is a chart of this weeks views


    
      You’ve commented on the posts 2524 times. The most prolific commenters over the four years are Anonymous ( many different chickens), with 656, Rita with 156, Ray with 146, Charlie with 127, and Valigator with 93….

      Your favorite posts ( at least the most read) were the piece with Commissioner Rogers head on Adam’s body ( I think it went viral with the Baptists) – over 10,000 hits, 


                Cal Deal’s masterpiece

 At the Beach With Calvin – 7927 views –  ( a crazy interview with the 500 pound homeless black man that lives on the sand at the beach and lives for Sausage McMuffins),


                          Calvin
 
  ….   and the ripping story of Kathy, who wanted her story told of the homeless vagrant that raped and nearly murdered her (7429 views).

     Lastly, I want you to know that if you want to be notified when I post something new, just click on this orange subscribe sign you see on the left of each post
( 115 people already do that)  …
                                                          

      and fill out the form. It doesn’t cost anything.

                                           
                                                   Thanks …
                      
                             me …   as I like to think I look now !

     City Commission Candidate Jackie Scott, a well known neighborhood protectionist and activist, builds and sells McMansions!   

     Can it be true?

                                          
                                             Scott

     Scott has a public image as a dragon slayer. She has been in the news countless times fighting developers, saving historic homes about to be demolished, railing against the so -called mega-homes – mega mansions – McMansions!

     Problem is –  she has built and sold many of those “monstrosities” herself.

     Just a few days before entering the District IV political race against incumbent Commissioner Romney Rogers, Scott said this – “we’re constantly inundated with development issues, people wanting to come in and build too much, too high, too big”

      But here is a picture of the house that Scott had built for herself….

                        
                                   5 bedroom/3 bath .. 3200 sq. ft. $1,499,000
                               ( sub zero fridge – dog bath – 16,000 lb. boat dock!)

     Scott had knocked down a much smaller home in Victoria Park a few years back, and built this beauty. She sold the house once, a few years ago, and is currently trying to sell it again for the new owners.

     And the developers, the ones that Scott is known to criticize for building the big homes, have also been her friends.

      Scott was one of the first realtors who sold the larger homes for the poster boy of McMansions, Glenn Wright. Wright’s carbon copy two story homes are most often cited by critics of the large homes that are shoe-horned onto small lots in the older neighborhoods. Wright was arrested for taking money from a civic association a few years ago.

                                           
                                            Glenn Wright  

      

     A story in the Sun Sentinel  during the height of the economic boom that fueled the building of the Wright homes, had Scott quoted – 
 
     [“Many of those unhappy with the “monster homes” paint Wright as a rapacious villain. He says he’s just filling a need. The existing homes in Rio Vista and Victoria Park are small scale and not large enough for a family.
     Scott says the demand is red-hot. She tells a story about selling the first of Wright’s homes in Rio Vista for $599,000 to a family who relocated from Jacksonville. Three months later, the husband switched jobs. Scott listed the house for $699,000 and it sold within an hour.
     “There was someone waiting to take their place,” she said. “That’s how it’s been.” ] 

     Scott was also quoted just a few weeks back, talking about her Colee  Hammock neighborhood possibly becoming a historical district – “it would prevent people from coming into an area and start ripping things down and creating McMansions“

     But if you are looking for one of those McMansions, fear not, Scott currently has the McMansion pictured below, listed in another neighborhood for a bargain $949,000.

                                         
                                               bargain

     I’m going to ask each of the candidates for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission some questions and post them here on the blog….If you have other questions you’d like to see them answer, post them as a comment and I’ll see if they have a response…

                                                           

     The first victim , is District II candidate Michael Ferber…. 

                                               
                                  here are his questions and answers

     Michael …..I’m writing about the District II race, and here are a few questions for you…

1.) What made you run?  … What makes you feel the current Commissioner, Charlotte Rodstrom, needs to be replaced?….

     Ferber’s answer  …

     I feel like Noah of the Old Testament, I see a financial flood for the City coming. We’re not prepared. I respect all the members of the Commission ( I’ve enjoyed a friendship with Jack Seiler, Charlotte Rodstrom, and Bruce Roberts for ten years or more). Commissioner Rodstrom has opposed budgets and I applaud that. Nevertheless, a culture of “play along to get along” exists. They’re kicking the financial can down the road. We need to be brutally honest in our budget process. I won’t hesitate to speak the harsh truth to citizens.

2.) What would your agenda be once you become Commissioner…

     Ferber’s answer  ….

     Economic vitality secures our families and neighborhoods. Private sector commerce is the lifeblood. Despite years of talk about “right-sizing”…… the scope of City government grows. As a resident since 1971, I recall when Fort Lauderdale ran a very tight financial ship. I would seek to limit the activities of the City government to the essential tasks that it alone can perform. I would seek to eliminate many “bells and whistles”. I respect the City workers who are represented by unions, however, I will not seek any union endorsements as this creates a conflict.


3.) What is your position on the low income towers that were slated for your neighborhood….

     Ferber’s answer …

     I oppose “low income towers”. Fortunately, these weren’t proposed. 3 sites sought a CRA commitment. This was to enhance their chances of obtaining tax credits to build what is more precisely called “workforce housing”. Quality housing for hardworking employees of Broward General and other downtown employers is a longstanding goal of our Land Use Plan. In the long run, Flagler Village will be a great high value neighborhood. I anticipate some excellent new developments being announced soon. There are still vacant sites; the code includes many “of-right” uses. Every time quality housing is built, it uses up a site that could potentially be the location of a legally permitted but less favored use.

     Renaming the street for Gerry Cooper, and trying to set the Guiness Book of World Records for most members of a City Commission playing musical chairs in the middle of a public street !

     One of the Commissioners was not paying attention … can you spot who?

                               

     Dirty Politics are in play in the Fort Lauderdale Mayoral race.

      Today was the last day to file as a candidate for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission.

     In the Mayoral race, as expected, incumbent Mayor Jack Seiler had registered to run for re-election, and his nemesis, Earl Rynerson, also registered. We all thought that would be it, two mayoral candidates, with Rynerson trying to make the case that Seiler should be replaced.

                         
                            Seiler

     But at the last minute, an unknown, Gabriel Crimi, showed up to register as a mayoral candidate, with just fifteen minutes until the registration ended. Everyone that follows these things said “who in the hell is Gabriel Crimi?

     After some investigation by me (and others), things began to smell.

     Crimi had contributed to Rynerson in Rynerson’s last try at mayor in 2009. Had Crimi abandoned Rynerson and was giving running for mayor a try himself?

     The answer was no.

    He had been put up to run by Rynerson. With three candidates in the race, the elections would require a primary, and that would take place at the same time as the Republican Presidential Primary, in January.
     ( I’ve been told by others that they were approached by Rynerson to act as that sham candidate, but declined.)
 
     The theory was that Rynerson had a set image as a budget hawk, ready to slash and burn a bloated City budget. The Republican primary voters would like that and give Rynerson a better chance to defeat the popular incumbent Seiler.


                    Rynerson

       I called Rynerson who didn’t have time to talk. I tried calling Crimi, just voice mail. So I decided to take a ride to his address he used on his mayoral registration form.

     It was already dark when I found his house. I had a little trepidation, but I walked up to the door and knocked.


                                      

     When he opened the door, I introduced myself as Tim Smith, the former Commissioner who writes a citywide blog on Fort Lauderdale. I asked if he was Gabriel Crimi, the guy who is running for Mayor. He said he was, that he had met me before, and he seemed to be getting nervous.

     I said “well let me take a quick picture of you”, and he smiled. [sorry for the blur, I didn’t think of taking two !]

    Then I asked, “are you a real candidate, or a sham candidate for Earl Rynerson”. 

    Crimi seemed to know the gig was up. “Actually, I’m on the way to meet up with Earl and Thornie (former Victoria Park President and Rynerson supporter) right now”, and we’re going to talk about just that”!

     I asked if his running for Mayor was a put up job, just to force the race into a primary for Earl’s benefit, and that he would end up  supporting Rynerson.”We’re going to talk about that too”, he said.

     I left him looking perplexed and troubled, probably realizing he had been used as a dupe, and I drove home to share this ugly political tale with you.

     I suspect I’ll have a talk with Ryerson and Thornie soon, and I’ll let you know what they say….