Cubs First Baseman Anthony Rizzo Tweets Support Of Parkland Mayor
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Parkland Mayor Michael Udine will no doubt hit one out of the park in his campaign for Broward County Commissioner.
He is running in heavily-Democratic northwest Broward District 3 and has only a Republican and a write-in for opponents.
Still, every bit of support is welcome. Especially when the support comes from hometown baseball hero Anthony Rizzo, the Parkland-bred slugger who is now the Chicago Cubs first baseman.
Rizzo tweeted the following about Udine this week:
The three-time All Star first played for the San Diego Padres. He has been with the the Cubs since 2012.
As of Aug. 23, Rizzo had a career batting average of .267 and a season average of .301, according to ESPN.
“Rizzo is a great young guy,” Udine told Browardbeat.com. “He started at (Marjory Stoneman) Douglas High.”
Around the time he graduated high school and was drafted to play professional baseball, Rizzo was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After six months of chemotherapy and some follow-up treatment, he was declared cured.
In 2012, he formed The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation to benefit cancer research and help families fighting the disease.
Udine says that Rizzo and his family are “really good people who do a lot for others.”
Anthony Rizzo
There is no other Democrat in the District 3 race. Udine’s Republican opponent in November is Randal Lee Cutter.
The northwest Broward seat, which has over two registered Democrats for every Republican, was held by Stacy Ritter until recently. She resigned to run the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Udine joked Tuesday that his connection to Rizzo might pay off when he was a county commissioner.
“Maybe the Cubbies want to move to Broward,” Udine joshed.
Michael Udine
August 23rd, 2016 at 11:17 am
If politics would bring a baseball team to Broward for spring practice, bring it on. Politics chased the Orioles away from Broward. Palm Beach County still welcomes baseball, a wonderful family event of which more could be used here.
August 24th, 2016 at 8:48 am
Very clearly Mike Udine has impressed a lot of people, including this young man who just happens to now be a star professional athlete. He remembers his home town, the Mayor and leaders he respected while there.
I’ve known Mayor Udine for going on 15 years. He’s a colleague, we’ve served on committee’s together, I consider him a friend, he’s a regular guy with superior talent, he’s been an effective elected leader for years — all of which tells me he’s going to be a great county commissioner.
Northwest Broward couldn’t make a smarter choice than Mike Udine, I think he’s going to be a fantastic leader at the county.
Angelo