How well are our Mayor and Commissioners performing? YOU be the judge!
How well are our Mayor and Commissioners performing? YOU be the judge!
It’s almost been one year since Jack Seiler was sworn in as Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, with Bobby DuBose, Charlotte Rodstrom, Bruce Roberts and Romney Rogers sworn in as District Commissioners. They have had almost 12 months now to set a new direction for our City, to establish a new vision and to improve on operational and budgetary matters. How have they been doing? You be the judge!
By the end of March, I will be submitting my report card to you on their performance. But before I do, I want to hear from you. You tell me how you feel they’ve been doing, and give any of them a grade (A through an F). Your grade must be backed up with specifics, and those specifics must relate to their role as Mayor or Commissioner. Just telling me for example, that “Bruce Roberts is a friend of mine”, or “Jack Seiler once coached my Little League Team”, doesn’t cut it. Your grade must relate to a specific activity (or activities) that they have accomplished as Mayor or Commissioner.
I’ll be compiling all of your comments and grades on each of them into an average and will compare that to the report card that I will submit. My final grade will be adjusted by what you have to say, so don’t hold back.
Go to the “Comments” section below on this posting and say what’s on your mind. It’s a great way to provide direct input on your elected officials! Or, if you want to remain anonymous, send me an email to: earl@abetterftlauderdale.com .
Let me know what you think!
Earl Rynerson
Reader Comments
I give Commissioner Rogers a C Grade nothing Outstanding I believe we need a leader/Visionary/Fighter in District #4 He waits for the Alarms to go off before He reacts. I just do not see Him out there making a difference.
RODSTROM IS VERY GOOD. SEILER APPEARS TO BE ANOTHER NAUGLE.
Mayor Seiler is hard to grade He does very well running the Commission Meetings and is a very good Public Speaker but looking back on the past year I am not sure what He and Commission have done to put the City on the Correct Path I am very concern about the Budget and the continue over pay of some administration employees and the layers management staff and what could happen within Months with our City public Services maybe cut backs on front line staff or a Property Tax increase it just seems that City manager is very much still running the show and the Elected Officials are sitting around watching and the way Mayor Seiler treats some Residents with not very nice e-mail comments I just think I cannot excuse…. no one should be treated like that he needs to act like a all inclusive Mayor so for all the good and bad in my view of Mayor Seiler I give him a D Grade.
While the city has employee problems they are directly caused by unrealistic union contracts which bind the city to bloated wages and excess employees. This is probably a result of the management skills of Gretsas. You do get that type of problems with union contracts which apparently can’t be amended to reflect reality..
Even so the city is in better shape than the county commission who are stupid or psychotic. Lori Parish warned Cooper city that a tax increase would do more harm than good and the financial rewards would be negative. These imbiciles raised taxes and a large number of people who were struggling to hold onto their homes were forced into forclosure. This reduced revenue and increased expenses. The result was the opposite of what they wanted.
This stupid economically unsound idea that raising taxes in a collapsing economy will generate needed revenue are just plain wrong. Call Lori and she will give you the details of this shortsighted stupidity which hurt those they claimed to be helping. Don’t worry the bureaucrats and their minions are doing fine.
Our real threat in the coming year is not the city which is reducing employment through attrition, which is their only avenue at the moment. The mayor seems to recognize the problem but the county government is going to raise the taxes and hurt the people. They are determined to follow this route when all they have to do is look at the devastating results of those who don’t understand economics.County government is about to perpetrate this crime of economic destruction against the people. Raising taxes now would be the worst thing possible.
It really is time to meaningfully cut bureaucratic waste and reduce the size of government. Wages at the top need to be realigned. Voting is probably the only we can change the current corrupt, insane course these myopic politicians intend to follow. It is becoming them or us. The pain will only get worse until the election but this may be our last chance to take back America. VOTE them out.
Bob
I feel that the commission is a good commission for our city. I have worked closely with Commissioners Rogers and Roberts on the TMA and I see they are both passionate and committed to making this city a better place. I have had a little less contact with commissioner Rodstrom and Mayor Seiler this past year but feel they are also committed to making a difference and have guided the city well. I have had no contact with commissioner DuBose but form watching him at the meetings he seem effective. What is best is how all of the commissioners are working together. There is a lot of on the job training with any new position, especially with so many moving targets in a city government and these crazy economic times. The commission is like the rudder on a large ship. Even when they all turn the wheel together it takes a while for the ship to turn. Let’s help them keep their hands on the wheel and turning together. There are some large economic and environmental icebergs out there we need to get past.
This is the BEST group of commissioners we have had in the 41 years i’ve been in Ft. Lauderdale.
I would suggest waiting until the end of Mayor Seiler’s term before judging his effectiveness.
Thank you, Fred, but waiting until the end of his term is like waiting four years before you grade a high school student; he needs to better understand his weaknesses and his strengths now and hopefully gets better, based on resident’s input (including mine…).
For the last year or so, many of we dog owners have been walking our dogs on the west side of A1A between the streets of Bayshore Drive and Las Olas. We are for the most part neighborhood condominium home owners who frequent the A1A outside pet friendly restaurants and bars with our dogs and we have never had any problems. Today the police were out in force telling us this is not allowed. This is very odd seeing as we are committing no harm to the our community. We are patronizing our neighborhood restaurants and bars and giving a world class ambiance to our city and showing the world we are a sophisticated, pet friendly place just like many places in Europe. Las Olas has always been pet friendly or are pets now banned there too? Are we now anti pets at the art fairs too?
Our city again, seems to have its’ priorities all wrong by wasting the tax payers money on this effort instead of concentrating on speeders who drag race down A1A and to stop kids who continue to tear up the wave wall with their skate boards.
And while we are at it, these police officers on horses are a total waste of money during these tight budgetary times or any time for that manner. We are paying big salaries for these six patrolmen, health care, vacation time, retirement benefits, animal maintenance staff and for what? To have a bunch of Ken dolls sitting on top of a horse having their picture taken instead of catching criminals? We can’t afford this nonsense.