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     What looked like an easy ride to an unopposed re-election effort for most of the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, became 

                          a little more difficult at the deadline today.   


     Mayor Seiler has two opponents – Earl Rynerson and  Gabriel Crimi

     Commissioner Roberts has one – Mary Graham

     Commissioner Rodstrom has two  – Lester Zalewski and Mike Ferber

     Commissioner Rogers has one – Jackie Scott

     Commissioner Dubose has none

                    ……… much more to come !

     She’s an infamous figure in Fort Lauderdale political circles, and she filed to run against District IV City Commissioner Romney Rogers a few minutes ago.


                      
                             Romney Rogers                         VS.             Scott

     Scott is a former President of the City’s  Council of Civic Associations, and was in the news for the last few weeks saving an historical house, the Shippey House, from the wrecking ball. Scott also made news this weekend, talking about getting her neighborhood declared a historic zone.

     Scott has been critical of Rogers, and fought a long battle to stop the First Presbytarian Church  from building a new center she felt was too big. The Church and the neighborhood came to an agreement on a new plan a few months back.


     It looked for a while that Scott’s neighborhood would be written out of the Rogers District, but the redistricting plan still has not be completed.

     Scott should be a formidable opponent.
    

     Lester Zalewski just filed his papers to run against incumbent Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom.

 
             Rodstrom                      vs.             Zalewski

     Zalewski just called me from City Hall to let me know he filed, but I spent the most time talking to his treasurer, Chris Beck. Chris is an accomplished fiction writer –  ( his pen name is C.J.Beck).

     He told me Zalewski was a “serious, committed candidate”. He says Zalewski believes that you “don’t have to go head to head” with the development community, that you can work with them. He says Zalewski is definitely “more pro-redevelopment” than Rodstrom, though he says only “reasonable development”. He says he’ll see to it that developers keep their prospective development sites in good condition while they wait to build.

     Beck says Zalewski was involved in building redevelopment in Chicago, owned a well known sports shop there,  and serves on the Board of Directors of the Illini condo on the beach, as well as serving as Vice President of the Central Beach Alliance.

     Beck says they hope they are invited to neighborhood associations all over District II,  though they understand they have little time to campaign, the election coming at the beginning of the new year.

      Also, Beck says they will be running a positive campaign, no mud slinging.
 
      No word yet if Rodstrom has agreed to that !

     I met Duffle during a neighborhood clean-up last weekend.

     While I was pulling weeds, mulching, and chatting with my fellow weed puller Mayor Jack Seiler, Duffle decided to join in ( the chatting, not the working!)

     “Hey Smif”, ( that’s what the thug world calls me along 13th street).


         Smif    (Cal Deal photo)



     ” Hey”, I replied back.

     “you remember me, I’m duffle”, he says

     “I know, like the bag”, I chortle
 
     “wanna see my shots?”, he asks

     At first, I thought he was asking if I wanted to see his shorts, but they were in clear view. So I said, kind of unsure, … “sure”.

     Then he pulled up his shirt –
 
                   

     “oh my god duffle” I said ….  “what the hell is that?”

     “that’s my shots – five in the gut”

     “wanna see where they came out the back”, he continued.

     Before I could say no, he turned around.

              

     “just missed the spine”

     I was aghast, the Mayor too.

     ” drug deal?” …. I wisped

     ” no, ova sum hoe,” he declared kinda proudly.

     …. he walked away, while I mumbled under my breath

     “god I hate the ghetto …

    

     We all know that former Fort Lauderdale City Manager George Gretsas was hired as City Manager in Homestead, Florida after leaving Fort Lauderdale.
 
     But do we know who followed him there ?
  
                               
                                 Homestead Gretsas

     Well, here’s a clue – 

    … at least these two followed George … both were Assistant City Managers in Fort Lauderdale (and one of them was a City Manager here) …. now, both are Assistant City Managers to George in Homestead!

                                 scroll down   … ( just for effect)


     


                                   
                                          Homestead Hebert


                                                              
                                                                               Homestead Love


      I’ve put in a call to both  …. if by miracle they call back,
 
                                           I’ll let you know how they’re doing..

      

     I received the curious e-mail (below) from former Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner  John Aurelius. It’s about chickens.

   
            Aurelius in hat

     Aurelius served from 1991 to 1999, voted into office after Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Doug Danziger resigned in a prostitution sex scandal. 

     I think Aurelius ranks as one of the most productive Commissioners
to ever serve ( after me , of course …

                  Here’s Aurelius’s e-mail

    
Dear Tim:

     I was disappointed to read the morning news the city commission was not proceeding with allowing chickens as household pets or otherwise.
 
     My disappointment lies in the fact that it is my belief that the City of Fort Lauderdale would need a Game Warden, and I was going to volunteer for this position.
 
     I was going to point out that I took a course in animal husbandry, have two cats as pets, had extensive knowledge of the Rose Drive peacocks, iguanas living in my backyard, had recently visited Animal Kingdom in Orlando and Zoo Miami with my granddaughter and had knowledge of the border collies abilities to herd sheep.

     I do believe my credentials would have easily entitled me for consideration to the appointment.

Cordially yours.

John


John E. Aurelius, Esq.
JOHN E. AURELIUS, P.A.
4367 North Federal Highway, Suite 101
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308
Telephone: 954-772-8222
Facsimile: 954-772-8759
Email: jaurelius@aol.com 

      
                               I love this hobby ! …. Tim


     

 

     The debate is about the affordable/low income housing hi-rises proposed for the neighborhood called Flagler Village. That’s the area off of US 1, south of Searstown, west of Federal Highway. Depending on who you believe, there are either 3, 4 , or 5 low income, hi rise projects, planned for the same area at the same time.
 
   
     when we think of low income housing 


     The poli-drama played out yesterday in front of the Fort Lauderdale City Commission.

          

     And If it seems like deja vu to you, it is.

     Two weeks ago, the Commission agreed to give a developer $125,000, to use as a match to apply for a State grant to build one of the projects, a 103 unit tower.

     The Commissioner for the area, Charlotte Rodstrom, initially voted for the low income project, but immediately caught hell from the Flagler Village neighborhood, and the neighborhood across the highway, Victoria Park.



     One speaker, Victoria Park’s prolific commenter Charles King, acknowledged that by saying ” I know I’ve been harsh and brutal, especially to you Charlotte”. Rodstrom quipped “that’s OK, just don’t do it again”.

     Rodstrom then opted to “reconsider” her yes vote, which any Commissioner can do at the next meeting, (if they are on the winning side of an issue),  and turned it into a no vote.

     The rest of the Commission then voted to overturn their earlier vote and sent the developer packing without the subsidy. 



     Seiler stuck with his yes vote, ( as did Dubose), but said he would not consider any more of the low-income projects until the City developed a strategy of where they should go.

     Romney agreed, saying the process of approving and funding the low-income projects was ” messed up”. Dubose followed by saying they (low income) should be placed ” all over the City”, not just in the CRA areas.


     Harbor Beach, Coral Ridge, Las Olas ? …nah, relax
     

    

     He’s picked up the paperwork to file to run against Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom.

                                               
                                                    Rodstrom

     His name is Lester Zalewski, and he is currently the Vice President of the Central Beach Alliance.

                                 
                                            Zalewski

     He says that he hasn’t made up his mind, that he has until Friday, that’s he’s in the preliminary phase.

      He also says he began to think about running after Rodstrom proposed a new Walgreens at the entrance to the beach without conferring with the neighborhood.

     And, he says that he feels that competition ” spurs the best in people”. 

     Zalewski also says he knows a lot about the rest of District II, because ” as a land speculator”, he traveled through much of the District by car “and by bicycle”, looking for deals.

     Zalewski said he would let me know this week what he decides.

        
                                               

     I just received this e-mail from Earl Rynerson. 

                         
                           Rynerson


     Should I run for Mayor of Fort Lauderdale?
 
     I’ve finally made my decision.

     I’ve been asked this question a lot over the last few months, even by our current Mayor: “Well Earl, are you going to run?”
I’ve given it a lot of consideration. Over the last three years (since the last election), I have enjoyed providing you my thoughts about what is really going on at City Hall, criticizing the actions of a number of people there, offering suggestions and thoughts on how things should be different.

 
     I’ve also written a “Vision for Fort Lauderdale” (20 chapters in all) that focuses on what we can do to make our City better, more progressive and less costly in the future. This Vision was written with the input from dozens of people here in our City. That document is meant to be a “starting point” from which we can all contribute and refine the future direction we need to go in.

     I’ve ruffled the feathers of many of the “Old Guard” here in the City who don’t want to see any change (or improvement). They like things just as they are. These people are generally the wealthy, the well-connected, and special interest groups. They’ve been running things here for decades.

     As most of you know by now, I have been particularly disappointed by our elected officials not facing economic realities and looking for ways to reduce spending. Other cities around our country have been successful in making the necessary (and sometimes painful) cuts to their budgets. Yet our budget has grown from $345 Million to $635 million in just the last 8 years. Almost double in size! We have a spending addiction. Our Mayor, rather than reduce spending, continues to hand out pay raises to City employees, and has been raiding the City’s savings account to cover the higher costs.
 
     This cannot continue.
 
     I have asked for advice from a number you on whether I should run again. You’ve been very supportive. One person who was affiliated with Jack’s campaign last time has told me: “Jack has given the go-ahead to certain groups that if you decide to run, they should attack you personally. He won’t do it directly, but his supporters (ie: City employee Unions) have been told to go ahead. And it will be vicious, Earl. The funding for this effort will come from sources outside the City.”

     I’m a veteran. I’ve served our Country for 20 years in the military and am a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force. I volunteered for both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and was in Middle East days after Iraq invaded Kuwait. I’m a small business owner here in Fort Lauderdale and have been successful in my business despite the severe economic downturn. I chose to move here from San Francisco more than 10 years ago because of the quality of life I saw here. I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish so far in my life.

     So since today is Veteran’s Day (11-11-11), I think it’s as good a time as any to let you know:
 
     I intend to complete the necessary documents at City Hall in the next few days and file for my candidacy as the next Mayor of Fort Lauderdale.
As Bette Davis said (in the movie All About Eve): “Hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride”…..

Earl Rynerson

     You regular readers will remember the effort to have a little street over off of Northeast 13th Street renamed   …………………..
 
                              
                                         Gerry Cooper’s Way

     It’s in recognition of all the things Cooper donated to in these parts, and all the years of volunteering on many City Boards…. and you might remember that we purposely decided to call it Gerry Cooper’s Way, with the apostrophe, (with a double entendre), because Gerry was known as doing things Gerry’s way!

     You may also remember that the City wouldn’t pay the $300 necessary for the street sign, ( though they have paid for other such signs)  so we asked you to pledge a dollar or more to make it happen!

     It took a while, but you made it happen ( and made my wallet pretty full of $1 bills !)

                       So now you are all invited to 

                       

     The highlights will be the famous Randall’s – Sausage and Green and Red Pepper subs, and the local 60’s – 70’s band Sunday’s at Five …. (everything’s free) …. The Mayor, City Manager, and some Commissioners will be in attendance  …..

              ____________________________________________

         NEXT …….

     We reported last on the campaign bucks that the Mayor and Commissioners have received for their re-election efforts.

     I told you that Commissioner Dubose was in the large money lead, and that Commissioner Roberts  was bringing up the rear….  But, as it turns out, Roberts reports were not all listed on the City Clerk reports, due to some glitches in reporting law enforcement addresses…

    And now I can report that Roberts has surpassed Commissioner Rogers. Roberts now has $13,595.00, edging out Rogers by a few thousand – I’ll stay on top of this interesting horse race!