SPCA questions candidates The South Pompano Civic Association held its annual candidate night the day before the Florida Primary election on March 28th. The event brought nearly 100 interested voters together to hear five city residents vying for two of the three Pompano Beach City Commission races on March 11th. All five were articulate and acted informed. But It wasn’t so much what they had to say about the posed questions, but rather what they didn’t say in the process, that was revealing. The format was simple and direct. First, the candidates drew a number (like drawing straws). It assured that any advantage from going first on a particular question resulted from pure chance. Each office-seeker had two minutes for an introduction. But they were warned that if they exceeded their alloted time, the excess would be deducted from the time alloted for closing remarks. Can you imagine candidates, much less sitting commissioners, adhering to such a strict time limit? After introductions, five questions were posed. Each candidate had to answer the same question within two minutes – and the random order changed so that no candidate spoke first more than one time (nor last, nor in any other position for that matter) – and then each candidate had the opportunity to take three minutes for closing remarks. The five questions asked were prepared by SPCA’s moderator Ross Shulmister and were germane to pressing city issues. No one had any idea ahead of time what the questions would be. The candidates were each given a copy of the next question, but only as it was being read by the moderator. That meant that for each question, the first candidate to answer had only seconds to formulate an answer. No questions were allowed from the audience. Instead candidates were asked – and they agreed – to remain after the meeting, to answer those questions – one-on-one. In Pompano Beach, as in most South Florida venues, politics can be a rough game. The conventional wisdom is that candidates need to hold their competitors accountable and challenge distortions and lies. God knows we need candidates and their followers who are willing to fight. True to past history there was no love, some fear, and a measure of superficially suppressed loathing. Remember, politics is war and in war the first casualty is usually the truth. In local politics, this war has often included far too many cheap shots, sleazy manipulations, and unsavory players. In the analysis of the two Pompano political races, one is mostly a yawner, while one promises to be lively. In District 1 – there are three looking to sit in the dais: incumbent City Commissioner Kay McGinn, and challengers Travis Williamson and Barry Dockswell. During the South Pompano Civic Association candidate’s night, all were aware of the subject matter. They each stayed on message and addressed the issues presented. Given the format, they didn’t have much choice. What each lacked, however, was an in-depth analysis other than their generic prior public positions. Perhaps it was the format that caused superficiality, since each candidate was limited to only a couple of minutes to address each question, with no prior knowledge of what to expect. Two minutes is not much, but it is enough to hit the salient points, if the candidate is on top of the issue. While each candidate passed out political literature about their background and list of accomplishments, one attendee at the meeting passed out a record sheet about one candidate’s perceived corrupt behavior. In District 3 – incumbent City Commissioner Rex Hardin and challenger Daniel Horak also came prepared to meet the public. Both were sharp and reasonably familiar with the topics being discussed. Both spoke articulately with confidence and impressed the audience members with their desire to serve. It should be noted that candidates Travis Williamson and Daniel Horak are young office seekers and that bodes well for the political healthiness in our city. Both advocate homeowner’s rights and want to see a change in the status quo. In District 5 – incumbent George Brummer is unopposed. He did not participate. Just as well – he has a penchant for filibustering and pontificating. SPCA members have little tolerance for that. I want to take a look at the questions to the candidates, and what was missing from their responses: The City has created a Community Redevelopment Area covering a large part of the barrier island north of, and along, Atlantic Blvd., and also along Atlantic Blvd. west of the Intracoastal. What is your vision of how the Eastern CRA should be developed, and what limitations, if any, including height limitations, would you impose on buildings on the mainland along Atlantic Blvd.? None of the candidates had a definitive answer, except that buildings along Atlantic west of the Intracoastal shouldn’t be too tall. Where is the imagination about parks and other facilities that would benefit barrier island residents, and visitors from other areas? About the only thing that struck me as half-intelligent was the concept that we shouldn’t have massive residential development there. McGinn’s opinion that Atlantic Blvd. buildings (adjacent to residential areas) shouldn’t be more that five or six stories tall should concern a goodly number of her constituents. Do you think there is a traffic congestion problem on A1A, Atlantic east of Federal Highway, and on the beach in general? If so, how would you solve that problem? Solutions ranged from optimizing traffic lights (at Federal Highway, no less) to curbing development. I was waiting in vain for someone to suggest a tunnel, or a completely revised traffic plan, as was done in Fort Lauderdale. Do neighborhoods in your district have a problem with speeders? Several calming strategies include roundabouts, speed humps, bike pathways, and rumble strips. Which of these would you use or not use, and why? If your district does not have a problem with speeders, how would you approach solutions for districts which do have such a problem. McGinn assumed this question was about the tensions in High Ridge Estates, where a handful of residents want speed humps and the vast majority do not. She was wrong. There are big problems in Cresthaven with cut-through traffic. Old Pompano has addressed the problem by installing roundabouts, annoying corner lot owners who lost a piece of their property, and creating challenges for fire engines and other large vehicles which have to negotiate the small radius turns. illiamson was the only candidate who understood the problems with roundabouts. Other areas of the City are also recognizing problems with the proliferation of traffic moving through neighborhoods. Dockswell said that the beach didn’t have much of a problem, because of the frequent stop signs drivers encountered. McGinn said there is a procedure that has to be followed, but didn’t elaborate in any way. Interesting, since one area almost got speed humps as a result of a distorted process in which the City was complicit. Do you believe Code Enforcement is enforcing the code as it is written and as it is intended to be enforced? If not, what actions should be taken to remedy the situation? What changes would you make to the Code, and the way it is enforced? There was a general consensus that the Code Enforcement Division is understaffed, and that their strategy seems to be focused on responding to complaints, and ticketing improperly parked vehicles. The result is that too many obvious and flagrant violations are never addressed. Only Horak wanted to decrease the role of Code Enforcement. His position is that private property owners should be entitled to use their property however they want to. In the past year, Hardin says he has confronted code enforcement problems in his district head on. He said his immediate challenge was the area between the slowly redeveloping Orchid Grove complex and Lyons Park to the south. That blockwide strip is not quite a slum, but it is more blighted than the beach area that was used as justification for the Eastern CRA. Code enforcement officers have been burdened with manually reporting and tracking each property, and having to research properties at central computer locations – a burden on their already overloaded tasks. Hardin claims he single-handedly worked with city staff to get code enforcement computers upgraded. Nevertheless, the area remains a blighted eyesore. In District 2, Commissioner Charlotte Burrie is waging a serious campaign to get her neighborhoods cleaned up, and Code Enforcement is a major part of that effort. Admittedly Districts 1 and 3 have much fewer code enforcement challenges, but these commissioners are going to have to support efforts in other districts. McGinn thought that the most significant District 1 code enforcement problem was a lawn with grass that is too tall. In general, the District 1 candidates seemed to think that the Eastern CRA would deal with all their code enforcement problems. Some municipalities are having second thoughts about BSO handling law enforcement within their boundaries. Do you think Pompano Beach should consider re-establishing a city police department, and if so, why, and how would you recommend it be done? None of the candidates knew how much we spend annually for BSO to service Pompano Beach ($34.7 million), nor what it would cost to restore the police department (roughly the same amount. The basic response from each was that BSO is okay, and if our leaders want to change back to a city police department, there should be a study of how much it will cost. And no prospect of savings in future law enforcement budget line items. None knew that Pompano pays more per capita than most other Broward cities for BSO services, and none mentioned that BSO support in Pompano was reduced to allow the City to hold the line on the law enforcement budget. Fortunately there is time before the March 11 elections for the candidates to develop and refine their positions on a number of issues. Of the five candidates, only Hardin stood out from his challenger. Hardin won a lackluster race last year to complete Mayor Lamar Fisher’s term as commissioner for District 3. Many residents who knew him as an arrogant self-centered puppet of the local chamber of commerce were apprehensive about his return. While his performance over the past year can’t be characterized as ‘brilliant,’ it can fairly be said that he has earned a reputation as a thoughtful and considerate commissioner, who cares about his district and the people who live there. It remains to be seen if he can couple the maturity he has developed with experience and understanding. Horak is a 23-year-old pilot who flies a cargo airline out of Dade County. As of the January 18th financial report, he raised less than a thousand dollars, of which $600 was his. Hardin has raised $3,000. The District 1 race promises to be much more interesting. Two knowledgeable candidates are challenging a long-time incumbent. McGinn has a lot of baggage from her years as a mostly ineffective commissioner. As of the January 18th report, Dockswell raised over $31,000 from Chamber of Commerce pals among others while McGinn raised over $27,000. In a district where money is critical to accessing high-rise cave-dwellers, Williamson’s $3,400 stands out as the least likely to endear him to developers and Chamber of Commerce types. Incumbents usually have an advantage, so Dockswell and Williamson may siphon votes from each other. McGinn could easily end up as the victor, as she did in 2002 when three challengers divided the anti-McGinn vote.