Fort Lauderdale, An Exciting New Year, New City?

    Our City is nearing it’s 100th birthday.  It will happen in March of 2011. 

     That makes us a relatively young city, nationally speaking, but we are a well known and important City. Unfortunately, we are a City that never seems to know exactly where it’s headed.

     But a serious course correction may be in the offing, just in time for our Centennial !  

     The City Election will be settled by early March, and due to the first – ever term limits kicking in, we are guaranteed at least a majority of new leaders. In fact, it’s quite possible that we could have a complete new set of leaders. Some in the community even whisper about a “clean sweep”. Add to that the always tentative status of the City’s Manager, George Gretsas, and you are talking about Obama-like Change!

     But regardless of whether the two non term limited incumbents ( Rodstrom and Teel ) retain their seats, everyone in the community is talking “Vision”. 

     As a matter of fact, three of the Mayoral candidates, Rossi, Rynerson, and Seiler, and a couple of Commission candidates, Glassman ( from District II ) and Prewitt (from District IV) are currently reading the “New Century, New City” Vision Report,  a comprehensive plan that over 100 leading Fort Lauderdale Citizens published in 1995 and has gone substantially unrealized. 

     There has been talk of “monumental changes” . For starters, all the candidates seem to agree that the new Commission will play better together than the current one. And there’s even been talk about changing the structure of the Commission; modifying the  District Representation system,  changes in the number of Commissioners, and an old idea has resurfaced, often pushed by Naugle, to change to a Strong Mayor form of government.

     It just might be an exciting New Year – New City !