Politics
5 Broward municipalities have elections Tuesday. Here’s who’s running and what’s at stake
Voters in five municipalities across Broward County have an opportunity to change their governments Tuesday.
Four — Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, Miramar and Sea Ranch Lakes — have elected offices up for grabs.
Then there’s Pembroke Pines, which doesn’t have any candidates running. Instead, voters there face eight ballot questions.
Here’s what’s at stake.
Three seats on the five-member City Council are on the ballot in Coconut Creek, a municipality of more than 57,800 residents.
For the District B seat, incumbent Council member Jackie Railey, the city’s current Vice Mayor, faces a challenge from Philippa Sklaar. Railey is a Democrat and carries official support from the Florida Democratic Party. Sklaar has no party affiliation
For District C, incumbent Council member Sandra Welch, the city’s current Mayor, hopes to stave off a challenge from fellow Democrat Patricia Duaybes.
And in District E, incumbent Joshua Rydell is competing with fellow Democrat Felicia Shuman Newkirk.
Duaybes, a 56-year-old certified drone pilot and app developer, has proven herself an able fundraiser. Her campaign has amassed about $64,000 since October 2023 — the most of any Coconut Creek candidate this cycle — through a blend of personal and corporate checks.
She’s running on a platform prioritizing government transparency, public safety, fiscal responsibility, economic development and integrating more technology into city infrastructure. Tamarac Vice Mayor Kicia Daniel, Deerfield Beach Commissioner Bernie Parness, former state Rep. Jim Waldman and former Coconut Creek Mayor Mikkie Belvedere have endorsed her.
Welch, a 76-year-old former American Express employee, has raised $22,300. She promises to continue applying the same “boots on the ground” approach to governance that she’s taken since she won office in 2013 and stresses that as a retiree, her elected job is a full-time focus.
Her endorsers included the Broward County PBA, Sierra Club, Metro-Broward Professional Firefighters, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and Broward, Palm Beaches and St Lucie Realtors.
Rydell, a 43-year-old lawyer first elected to the City Council in 2015, has been a fundraising goliath compared to his challenger. Through Feb. 21, he raised more than $51,000. Shuman Newkirk, a 45-year-old public school substitute teacher, reported raising just under $2,000 through Thursday, nearly all of it self-given.
Her campaign website says she wants to make government more inclusive and promote “proactive initiatives.”
Railey, an 81-year-old former real estate pro first elected to the Council in 2021, has raised close to $18,000, more than four times the sum collected by her 64-year-old opponent, Sklaar, an author and activist who emigrated to the U.S. from South Africa in 2001.
Sklaar has repeatedly attacked Railey, a neighbor in the Wynmoor Village condo community, on social media, accusing the incumbent of elder abuse and misusing her elected office for personal gain.
After more than a year, Railey responded with a defamation lawsuit last June that is expected to continue beyond Election Day. A former Broward County Judge the city hired to investigate Sklaar’s accusations said the evidence he reviewed indicated Railey did not abuse her official position.
Voters in Deerfield Beach, a city of some 87,000 residents, are picking a new Mayor and two new City Commission members Tuesday.
In a two-way mayoral race, District 4 Commissioner Todd Drosky, the city’s current Vice Mayor, faces real estate investor Dan Herz for the right to succeed term-limited Bill Ganz as the city’s top elected official.
Both are registered Republicans.
Drosky, 53, raised more than $41,700 through Feb. 21. He carries endorsements from the Broward Teachers Union, Broward Young Republicans, Metro-Broward Professional Firefighters and a deputies’ union from the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
He’s running on a promise to keep taxes level, add more green spaces, promote “smart and responsible” development and promote public safety.
Herz, 63, amassed nearly $55,000. His campaign priorities include permanently lowering property taxes by 10%, moving the city’s elections to November, spurring local economic development and improving fiscal responsibility in government.
A third candidate, Chaz Stevens, dropped out of the race and endorsed Drosky after taking Herz, the city and Broward Supervisor of Elections to court to remove Herz from the ballot. Stevens alleged that Herz lives in Plantation, not Deerfield Beach. A Judge decided Wednesday that the matter will have to wait to be settled until after the election.
For the Commission’s District 3 seat, which represents a center-west portion of the city, three candidates — Philip Bradley, Daniel Shanetzky and Karen Shelly — are running to succeed Commissioner Bernie Parness.
Bradley, a 74-year-old Republican, added $17,000 from his bank account to his campaign coffers through Feb. 21, but spent less than $100 of it.
Shanetsky, 62, raised about $36,000 and spent close to half that sum. Shelly, 70, raised about $9,000 and sent $5,300. Both are Democrats.
Bradley is running to reduce property taxes, “embrace innovative technology” and advocate for “smart development.”
Shanetsky, meanwhile, is leaning on his community involvement over the past four years, including service as Vice Chair of the Deerfield Beach Cultural Affairs Committee. He’s prioritizing public safety, a preservation-conscious development plan and addressing traffic issues
Shelly, who worked in several posts in state government and is now a condo manager, wants to help small businesses in the community, reestablish the Deerfield Beach Chamber of Commerce and ensure residents have a say in government decisions.
Twenty-eight years ago, in 1996, she unsuccessfully ran for Broward Supervisor of Elections.
In the race for the District 4 seat, which represents the city’s northwest corner, Republicans Chauncey Chapman, 75, and Thomas Plaut, 73, are squaring to replace Drosky.
Through mid-February, Chapman raised close to $21,000, almost all of it his money. A retired engineering professional in the scuba diving industry, he plans, if elected, to roll back property taxes by 10%, provide residents more exclusive amenities, move the city’s elections to November and stop “stupid spending of our tax dollars.”
Plaut, who previously managed office operations for a home inspection company, is the city’s current Planning and Zoning Board Chair. He raised about $27,000, but spent less than $2,500 of it.
Of note, Chapman is a write-in candidate.
Broward’s fourth-largest municipality by population, Miramar has three City Commission seats at stake Tuesday.
For Seat 2, incumbent Democrat Yvette Colbourne faces a challenge from Republican Luis Pedraza.
Coulbourne, 63, was first elected in 2013 and last won re-election in 2021 with 66% of the vote. She’s running on a record of working to keep the city’s taxes flat, require a minimum wage for city employees, create an affordable housing trust fund, improving local infrastructure and opposing Miami-Dade County’s efforts to build a trash incinerator just outside the city.
According to her most recent campaign finance report, Colbourne raised more than $155,000 and spent about $39,000 to hold onto her seat.
Pedraza, 54, is running on a promise to prioritize public safety, affordable housing, fiscal responsibility in government, regulating nearby limestone blast mining, improving traffic and supporting school choice in education. He also opposes the trash incinerator, which he calls an “insanely awful idea.”
He raised $69,500 and spent close to half that sum.
Three candidates — Avril Cherasard, Nari Tomlinson and Keith “Papa Keith” Walcott — are running for Seat 3 representing the city’s east side, which outgoing Commissioner Winston Barnes has represented for 22 years.
Cherasard, a 44-year-old real estate broker, is the sole no-party person in the race. She raised close to $36,000 and spent $22,000 through Feb. 21.
Democrats Tomlinson and Walcott each carry notable endorsements.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel recommended that voters choose Tomlinson, a 36-year-old finance director for a nursing referral service, citing his residency in the city’s oft-overlooked historic neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the Florida Democratic Party is behind Walcott, a radio DJ whom it listed among its modest “Take back Local” slate for March. Florida Future Leaders, a Gen Z-led PAC, is also backing him.
Moneywise, Walcott leads the field with more than $55,000 raised. Tomlinson carries a comparatively paltry war chest of less than $3,500.
In the race to complete the Seat 4 term of Alexandra Davis, who left for the Broward County Commission, four Democrats are running to serve through 2027: Kertch Conze, Carson “Eddy” Edwards, Kerri-Ann Nesbeth and Pamella Reid.
Conze, a 51-year-old former Assistant State Attorney, leads in funding in the race, raising $76,000 through the third week of February. Edwards, a 69-year-old marketing pro, raised $50,000, while Nesbeth and Reid amassed $30,000 and $5,000, respectively.
Nesbeth, 35, is the managing partner of an education management firm. Reid, 60, acquires talent for a senior health care firm.
The Sun-Sentinel recommends Nesbeth, who also carries endorsements from Barnes, Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, state Sens. Shevrin Jones and Barbara Sharief, state Rep. Robin Bartleman and Florida Future Leaders, among several others.
Sea Ranch Lakes
The insular village of Sea Ranch Lakes, population 540, has three of its six Council seats up for election.
Five residents have qualified to run for the seats: Leann Bruener, Denise Bryan, Douglas Hodgson, Chad Volkert and Christopher Weber.
The three who win the most votes will take office. Hodgson and Weber are running to keep the seat to which they were appointed in December.
Voters in Pembroke Pines, population 171,119, face eight ballot questions. Most center on the role and responsibilities of City Manager and would:
— Allow the appointment or removal of an Acting City Manager by a three-fifths vote of the City Commission, instead of the current four-fifths threshold.
— Allow the appointment or removal of a City Manager by a three-fifths vote rather than a four-fifths vote.
— Expand the City Manager’s role to include Superintendent of city-owned charter schools.
— Replace the word “disability” with “incapacity” when referring to the City Manager’s inability to perform their duties in situations necessitating the appointment of an Acting City Manager.
— Expand the qualifications of the City Manager from three years of experience as a City Manager or Assistant City Manager to also include three years of comparable experience, as determined by the City Commission.
— Remove a required public hearing from the process of removing a City Manager.
— Require, in cases of vacancies on the City Commission, the appointment of an interim Commissioner and a Special Election to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.
— Approve issuance of $230 million in bonds for the construction and improvement of a police and public safety complex, community facilities, recreational facilities, roadway and infrastructure improvement, and land acquisition.
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A Senate panel advanced an affordable housing bill that would allow homeowners to build accessory dwelling units on their primary property, in hopes of tackling the housing crisis in Florida.
Pensacola Republican Sen. Don Gaetz introduced the measure (SB 184). The committee adopted an amendment that clarified that accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, cannot be used as short-term rentals for less than 30 days, while allowing manufactured homes to be used as ADUs as long as they meet requirements.
“It’s styled as an affordable housing bill, but it could also be used as a private property rights bill,” Gaetz told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development.
“Through the Live Local Act, the state has taken significant steps to address the affordable housing and workforce housing needs. This bill takes another step. As an affirmation of property rights, this bill requires local governments to allow accessory dwelling units or ADUs in any areas zoned for single family residential use but does not apply and specifically exempts planned unit developments or master planned communities.”
Gaetz explained that an ADU is a smaller, independent and fully functioning house that would be located on the same lot as a standalone home. Local governments would be restricted from imposing additional parking restrictions or denying a homestead exemption on the portion of property that is maintained as a permanent residence by the owner.
The bill further allows a density bonus incentive in current law to apply to housing that’s affordable for military families receiving the basic housing allowance.
“ADUs increase workforce housing because ADUs cost less to build, they cost less to rent, and they’re often located in urban areas where workers need to live in order to be close to their jobs,” Gaetz added.
Orlando Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith supported the bill’s passage after the amendment clarified that ADUs would not be able to be used as vacation rentals. He noted that the legislation does a lot to address Florida’s housing shortage.
“We have a real affordable housing crisis in the state of Florida, and a big part of that crisis has everything to do with supply, or lack of supply,” Smith said. “Bringing in these ADUs to help add to the housing supply is a great idea that should be encouraged. Initially when I read the bill, I had questions on potential mischief around vacation rentals, but your amendment mostly addressed that question.”
Smith added that the bill would make other dwellings available if people are better able to get ADUs installed on their properties.
“I applaud you for bringing this forward, I think we should be doing everything we can to increase the housing supply that we have in the state of Florida,” Smith said. “Ultimately at the end of the day, you are making an additional available unit that any person would be able to occupy, and in theory, open up other available units that are being used.”
St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie, the committee Chair, praised the bill.
“I want to thank you for bringing this bill forward,” DiCeglie said.” I represent Pinellas County which is the most densely populated county in our state, there are 24 municipalities in Pinellas, it becomes very difficult to get all of them on the same page when it comes to housing, when it comes to affordable housing, so I commend you on your leadership on this bill as well.”
The bill passed unanimously and will now move on to the Senate Committee on Rules.
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Politics
Donald Trump doubles planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50% as trade war intensifies
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada, escalating a trade war with the United States’ northern neighbor.
Trump said on social media that the increase of the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday is a response to the price increases that the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.
“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.
The U.S. President has given a variety of explanations for his antagonism of Canada, saying that his separate 25% tariffs are about fentanyl smuggling and voicing objections to Canada putting high taxes on dairy imports that penalize U.S. farmers. But he continued to call for Canada to become part of the United States as a solution, a form of taunting that has infuriated Canadian leaders.
“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State,” Trump posted on Tuesday. “This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”
The U.S. stock market promptly fell following his social media post, triggering more concerns after a brutal selloff on Monday that puts Trump under pressure to show he has a legitimate plan to grow the economy instead of perhaps pushing it into a recession.
Trump was set to deliver an afternoon address to the Business Roundtable, a trade association of CEOs that during the 2024 campaign he wooed with the promise of lower corporate tax rates for domestic manufacturers. But his plans for tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, steel, aluminum — with more to possibly come on Europe, Brazil, South Korea, pharmaceutical drugs, copper, lumber and computer chips — would amount to a massive tax hike.
The stock market’s vote of no confidence over the past two weeks puts the president in a bind between his enthusiasm for taxing imports and his brand as a politician who understands business based on his own experiences in real estate, media and marketing.
Harvard University economist Larry Summers, a former Treasury Secretary for the Bill Clinton administration, on Monday put the odds of a recession at 50-50.
“All the emphasis on tariffs and all the ambiguity and uncertainty has both chilled demand and caused prices to go up,” Summers posted on X. “We are getting the worst of both worlds — concerns about inflation and an economic downturn and more uncertainty about the future and that slows everything.”
The investment bank Goldman Sachs revised down its growth forecast for this year to 1.7% from 2.2% previously. It modestly increased its recession probability to 20% “because the White House has the option to pull back policy changes if downside risks begin to look more serious.”
Trump has tried to assure the public that his tariffs would cause a bit of a “transition” to the economy, with the taxes prodding more companies to begin the years-long process of relocating factories to the United States to avoid the tariffs. But he set off alarms in an interview broadcast on Sunday in which he didn’t rule out a possible recession.
“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” ”There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of — it takes a little time. It takes a little time. But I don’t — I think it should be great for us. I mean, I think it should be great.”
The promise of great things ahead did not eliminate anxiety, with the S&P 500 stock index tumbling 2.7% on Monday in an unmistakable Trump slump that has erased the market gains that greeted his victory in November 2024. The S&P 500 index fell roughly 0.4% in Tuesday morning trading.
The White House after the markets closed on Monday highlighted that the tariffs were prompting companies such as Honda, Volkswagen and Volvo to consider new investments in U.S. factories.
It issued a statement that Trump’s combination of tariffs, deregulations and increased energy production had led industry leaders to promise to “create thousands of new jobs.”
The significance of thousands of additional jobs was unclear, as the U.S. economy added 2.2 million jobs last year alone, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
___
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
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