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BY BUDDY NEVINS

This weekend’s torrential rain didn’t stop dozens of pols from paying tribute to perhaps the last of the original Broward County Democratic condo leaders – Lottie Albert.

It was Lottie’s 100^th Birthday Celebration.

At one time, when you mentioned “Lottie” everybody in Democratic politics from Washington to Broward knew you were talking about the politically-potent Lottie Albert. In Democratic circles, she was one of those people who was known by only her first name.

For those of you too young to know her story, here is it in brief:

She moved to the then-new community of Lauderdale Lakes in 1973 with her husband Sol Albert, a retired New York clothier. Sol died in 1991.

Unlike many retirees, Lottie was not content to sit by the pool kibitzing or playing mahjong.  Instead, she plunged into politics, turning her diminutive condo unit in the vote-rich Hawaiian Gardens complex into a political clubhouse.

With her flame red hair, her energy and her considerable powers of persuasion, Lottie became a go-to person for Democratic pols campaigning in Broward.

It was a different era.

West Broward was filled with thousands of politically involved retirees from the Northeast who voted in droves. Familiar with the ward politics of the Northeast and unfamiliar with many of the political figures in Florida, the newcomers turned to condo leaders like Lottie for direction on who to support in Democratic primaries.

Democratic primaries were the only elections that counted. When folks like Lottie moved here in the 1970s, they turned the county into a Democratic bastion.

Just a nod from Lottie could win a politician hundreds and possibly thousands of votes. There are few Broward Democrats today– perhaps no one — who possessed the clout of Lottie’s era of condo leaders.

But she didn’t stop at politics.

Lottie also used her drive to raise money for charities and for various programs that helped seniors, such as the MediVan, a mobile medical unit for Broward’s lower-income elderly. She was a volunteer for the Anne Storck Children’s Home in Fort Lauderdale and president of both her condominium association and the then-powerful Hawaiian Gardens Democratic Club.

She is a member of both the Broward County Senior Hall of Fame and the Broward County Women’s Hall of Fame.

Former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth (left), Lottie Albert and State Attorney Mike Satz. 

Broward remembered Lottie this weekend, especially all the pols she helped elect.

Among those dropping by Soccer Club Park in Sunrise were U. S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, who spoke at the event.

Others included former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth and his wife, Marta Prado. Butterworth became a judge in 1974 and was elected state Attorney General in 1986, when Albert was at the height of her power.  She backed him.

State Attorney Mike Satz showed up.  Satz was first elected in 1976 as Albert became influential. She supported him through his eight re-elections.

Also attending were Sheriff Scott Israel and three former County Commissioners who were helped by Albert — Nicki Grossman  and her husband, former Circuit Judge Mel Grossman; Marcia Beach, later a Circuit Judge, and her husband, former Broward Library Director Cecil Beach and former County Commissioner Scott Cowan.

Many others came including several judges and relative political newcomers such as northeast Broward’s Terry Scott and Wilton Manors Commissioner Justin Flippen.

Flippen presented Lottie with a Wilton Manor’s proclamation naming December as Lottie Albert Appreciation Month.  He summed up his feelings on his Facebook page after the event:

It was “Lottie and I go way back, and she encouraged me to get involved in public service, local government, and the ‪Democratic‬ Party when I was an undergraduate student at Florida Atlantic University. Thank you Lottie for your support throughout all the years, but more so thank you for the amazing woman you are in our community! Happy 100 years, my friend!” Flippen wrote.

One lesson I have learned from Lottie is this: Keeping busy after retirement is a key to a long life.

A very Happy Birthday, Lottie!  It has been a privilege to know you all these long years.

Closed.