Castillo Running For County Commission
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo didn’t wait long about seven hours to be precise.
Castillo filed to run for the seat being abandoned by Diana Wasserman-Rubin just before 2 p.m. on Monday.
Angelo Castillo (left) and Diana Wasserman-Rubin (right), along with then-House candidate Sam Lopez
That was about seven hours after the Miami Herald’s Amy Sherman broke the story of Wasserman-Rubin not running for re-election.
Castillo said the race would be about “the economy and job creation.”
He faces two Republicans, Toys ‘R Us store manager Christopher Max Ziadie and Southest Ranches Commissioner Steven Breitkreuz.
He also faces possible runs by Democrats Barbara Sharief, a Miramar Commissioner; Steve Geller, former state Senate minority leader; and Dan Stermer, a Weston commissioner.
The Sun-Sentinel’s Mike Mayo quoted Geller Tuesday as saying: “I’ve said time and time again that I wouldn’t run against Diana. I’m saddened because Diana has been a close friend and a good commissioner. I’m sorry to hear her health will prevent her from running again.”
By nightfall Tuesday, Geller had apparently softened his stand against the race because Sherman in a late report in The Miami Herald said he was still considering it.
Geller is already running for county commission against Sue Gunzburger, so he would have to switch races to the now-open seat.
District 8 has 137,879 voters, most living in single-family neighborhood. It has roughly 72,000 Democrats, 32,000 Republicans and 33,500 independents and members of other parties.
The race was immediately lining up in Castillo’s favor on Tuesday.
Castillo got the endorsement of Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis. In the past, the two have been political rivals.
Parrish is also expected to endorse him. Wasserman-Rubin may, too.
“Diana has always been kind and supportive. She supported me on the (county) Planning Council and the Charter Commission. She has helped me right from the start when I first moved into the community,” Castillo told Browardbeat.com.
“This could not have been an easy decision for her to make,” he continued. “I understand it. She did it for her health and for her family. I wish her all the best.”
His campaign will be immensly helped by his wife, Lisa Castillo. She is a savvy campaign manager who handles city and judicial campaigns, was former County Commissioner Jim Scott’s aide and once worked for New York City Mayor Ed Koch.
Lisa Castillo resigned from her job with controversial political consultant and lobbyist Judy Stern on Monday. She had worked with Stern for almost four years.
Angelo Castillo will also benefit from his extensive background outside of elected politics. He has a law degree.
He, too, worked for Koch. He was Chief of Staff of the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Department of Social Services, and Auditor General of the NYC School Construction Authority.
He moved to South Florida in 1996 to become founding director of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s, Florida State Office of Community Planning and Development under the Clinton Administration.
He was later appointed Director of Human Services for Broward County where he oversaw a $250 million government agency employing over 1,200 staff. During his time at the Broward Government Center, he was very close to Wasserman-Rubin and then-Commissioner Lori Parrish.
In 2001, Angelo Castillo returned to federal service as US HUD’s Deputy State Coordinator for Florida.
He now is the chief executive of Broward House, an AIDS housing facility.
He was first elected to the Pembroke Pines City Commissioner in March 2004 and easily won re-election a month ago.
April 5th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Angelo is Judy Stern’s puppet.
How do you like dancing on her string, Angelo? Wait until she calls you to vote for something immoral or illegal. What are you going to do then?
April 5th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Castillo did nothing for us during the past six years.
April 5th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Can we go in another direction for once? Stop this business as usual. I saw Commissioner Stermer from Weston. I think he would be really good, and I don’t see he plays this political game everyone else does. Smart guy.
April 5th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
iris we had enough of sternites on the commission please run
April 5th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Angelo got elected a month ago and he is already leaving to move himself to a higher salary. That is going to cost the city money to run another election. Angelo, people could keep their jobs with the money you are wasting for another election.
April 5th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Dear Buddy:
Thank you for helping get the facts out on my announcement today.
To be sure, my running for the county is not something I counted on happening, quite if at all, until at least 2014. Politics like life sometimes throws a curve at you and this one was very much unexpected.
But I accept it. I have embraced it, and now I am focused on the road ahead.
I love serving the residents of my city and will always continue doing so. But I acknowledge a growing calling in me to work on their behalf on regional issues such as economic development and job creation, mass transit and human services, land use planning and environmental protection, developing our port and airport, bringing more tourism to the county, and much more. That is the work of Broward County Government.
Despite this time of economic difficulty, the opportunity exists to produce a new era of success for our region. With the support of voters, I hope to be given the opportunity to dedicate myself to that work.
There’s nothing particularly complicated about how I do business. I’m not a perfect person but I have a very strong sense of integrity, guts, indepedence, and hard work. I am not motivated by fear but success. I am not afraid to share new ideas that I think makes sense. I’m not afraid to try new approaches to solving old problems. I am a believer in the ability of ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.
I’m not looking for even one person to “give” me their vote. I want to earn every single vote I get.
In this campaign, I will be looking forward to earning a lot of votes.
I want people to know what I stand for, and I will tell them straight forwardly and unabashedly
I want them to know why they should vote for me, and they will.
I want to hear from them the things they expect done by their government, and I want the chance to work hard to achieve those objectives. I want to be held accountable for getting the people’s work done.
I will tell the truth, even when it hurts, and I firmly believe that the best politics always comes from giving the people good, strong government results and operations.
Government is supposed to work for people, not the other way around.
Some of you are thinking…talk is cheap and I don’t blame you. Go look at my record and you’ll see hard work, lot’s of it, and smart planning, no BS, an unwillingness to settle for mediocrity and waste, and a whole bunch of good results. That’s my record.
Above all else, after all my years in government service, I’m proud that I have entered this race with that same level of intensity and integrity, with that same passion for helping others, as the first day I started my government career back in 1985. I am thankful for that.
I am looking forward to a spirited campaign that will bring out the best in this community, helping to make us the best that we can be. And I can’t wait to get started.
Best wishes, we will be in touch.
Angelo
April 6th, 2010 at 5:48 am
Eggletion, Wexler, Jim Scott, and Rodstrom always claimed to be independent of Stern too. More BS from a typical Sternite
April 6th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Hope Geller switches!!!!
April 6th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Contrary to popular belief, Geller can’t win any election he decides to file in. No matter what he thinks.
However, I am sure he is figuring it out right now, and will go for the seat that is easier for him. What that says is that he thinks it is more important to serve, then who he serves.
April 6th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Geller is a pontificating ass. Angelo will have my vote and my help if he needs it and I will be contacting him as soon as a number gets out.
April 20th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Now looking at the candidates, who is Christopher M Ziadie? I see that he is a Republican. I only saw information that he is Jamaican, married to Cuban and that his ancestry is mixed with Asian and White. I think we need to look at this candidate to see what he can do for us? I actually saw him in the Toys R Us store and thought that this dude got his act together. Maybe we need to learn more about him- the others aren’t worth investigating. I will support this young man by switching parties.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Castillo was pushed out of his County job. Ask him what he did between his resignation in 2000 and in 2001 when he got back in with HUD.
was later appointed Director of Human Services for Broward County where he oversaw a $250 million government agency employing over 1,200 staff. During his time at the Broward Government Center, he was very close to Wasserman-Rubin and then-Commissioner Lori Parrish.
In 2001, Angelo Castillo returned to federal service as US HUD’s Deputy State Coordinator for Florida.
FROM BUDDY: It appears, Legal Scrivener, that you left something out of the second paragraph.