Cops Union Takes Aim At Commission Candidate
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The Broward Police Benevolent Association is upset with Beam Furr because he opposed cops in negotiations a few years ago.
Now they are getting back at him.
Furr is running for Broward County Commission against state Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, and the PBA hasn’t forgotten Furr’s past antipathy towards the cops’ union.
Furr was a Hollywood commissioner at the time. The city was in severe financial trouble.
But the police claimed they were being singled out for cuts when there was runaway crime in the city.
“Commissioner Furr has been a long time adversary anti-police anti-Public Safety. And he if elected will double his pension which I really believe is why he’s in it,” e-mailed Jeff Marano, President of The Broward County Police Benevolent Association.
Marano also wrote in the PBA Internet newsletter that “Joe Gibbons signs will be at the PBA on Monday and we will start putting them up in throughout Hollywood, especially cop land (Hollywood Hills). PS The August 26 primary to vote for Joe Gibbons is now closed which means only Democrats can vote against.”
Marano ducked questions on whether the PBA closed the Democratic primary to benefit Gibbons. Furr and Gibbons are both Democrats. Since the seat is heavily Democratic, the winner of the August primary is the next commissioner.
In his newsletter, Marano wrote:
“How and why is it closed?
Answer: a write in candidate for the same seat qualified. Her last name is Saffran…common spelling. She lives in the district however her home address is exempt from 119.”
Police personnel’s home address is exempt from state statute 119, which makes public most government documents. Marano’s comments seems to indicate the write-in Valerie Saffran is a cop, but in this case its her husband, according to RedBroward.
RedBroward says that Valerie is an American Airlines flight attendant, while her husband is a retired cop. They live in Hollywood.
The southeast Broward seat is open because the long-time Commissioner Sue Gunzburger is termed out.
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An expanded story from the outstanding DailyBroward.com can be found here.
July 6th, 2014 at 11:44 am
Hollywood’s cops have a reputation as the most spectacularly corrupt police department in Broward County. Close down that department & fire everyone, then let BSO take over.
July 6th, 2014 at 2:32 pm
Can anyone cite a race in the last two decades where the pba actually got their members out of the doughnut shop to actively campaign and made a difference in an election in Broward County? Look at Hollywood since time Furr was on that Commission, Marano and the PBA has tried numerous times to change the commission via elections and failed miserably.
July 6th, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Buddy: Thank you for addressing this important issue! It is certainly timely and voters must choose very wisely this August. Hollywood cops have some absolutely fabulous officers yet within the ranks crooks have corrupted their reputations for decades. Many of our great cops agree with this statement because they know it is true. Beam , while on our city commission years ago, took on one of the most challenging issues in our city’s sorried past and did what had been neglected and ignored for way too many years, the then, indulging, financially overwhelming police retirement system. It was a bold, direct, and courageous move, one applauded by so many to have been addressed, finally and properly within the law. Yet, to many in the ranks, because it focused on a direct hit to their finances, it was also deemed an unpopular move. Unfortunately, like others who experienced loss during financial crisis, it was a necessary action to help our city. I have observed this man over many decades, and his courage, caring oversite, focused attention to details others miss or chose to ignore, community commitment and involvement, his personal ethics and his honesty are the qualities we MUST have in our political candidates, especially at the County Commission level. Sad to say, I can not say much about the life and times of a term limited state representative who is likely seeking a place at our county table to assure his retirement is cushioned, other than he is good tap dancer: a slick speaker with a polished handshake of a long time politico. Instead, I urge all voting persons to please, use your common sense and VOTE FOR BEAM FURR. He offers so much more: New blood with fresh ideas, youthful exurberance and honesty that continues to impress. He takes on the challenges directly and expertly, with integrity and finess. Elect Beam Furr to our county commission and count on his word and commitment to address our issues with confidence and forethought. BEAM FURR is Our BEST CHOICE FOR BROWARD!
July 6th, 2014 at 5:46 pm
Screw you dolphins fans down there in south florida. We support our hometown guy Joe Gibbons.
July 6th, 2014 at 8:58 pm
Beam Furr will win this race by about six points
July 6th, 2014 at 9:54 pm
Any parent that read this article and still can vote for Gibbons is sad. To play along with the ryes a Gibbons plays, thank you joe for sacrificing your wife and two small kids in Jacksonville for those of us honored souls in our commission district.
As we all have heard for years is one of the biggest problems in the black community are me not being their for their kids. Is Gibbns any different. Ok he is rich and can afford staff to watch his kids while he is here, wife in Lakeland and the little kids are alone in Jacksonville.
Any good patent will tell you at the age the Gibbons kids are, it would pain a good parent to be away from their kids for any amount of time. Gibbons chooses to not be there when they cry out during a bad dream, to put money under their pillow from the tooth fairy, or to just let these kids spend time with their dad. Worse at the same time mom is gone too.
Dislike Furr if you may, but for the sake of those Gibbons kids do the right thing and make their daddy go home and be their dad.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-04-12/news/fl-joe-gibbons-homestead-20130406_1_joe-gibbons-homestead-exemption-d-hallandale-beach
July 6th, 2014 at 11:58 pm
Hey guys, my wife, who I sometimes see, will be working up in Lakeland with our kids. So I dont know what this whole Joe Gibbions lives in Jacksonville is all about. I’ve moved out of Jacksonville, and I’ve found the old key to my Condo in Hallandale. I’m a Broward guy… at least until Rick Scott okays an extended term for the MRS as President of Florida Polytechnic.
I mean, we might never get high speed rail in Florida, but Old Joe here found one mighty fine gravy train out of Tallahassee.
July 7th, 2014 at 7:51 am
This is my first comment on this site.
First, Joe Gibbons lives in Jacksonville with his wife and young twins. His wife is a Provost at a public college there and was previously a partner at a Jacksonville law firm.
Yet Gibbons claims that he “lives” in Hallandale. By his own account, the Gibbons family is happily married. All this tells me Joe will be spending a lot of time in Jacksonville. His decision to run for office in Broward is a reckless. I don’t want our community to go through that stress. Hollywood has had enough problems with representatives.
Second, Gibbons is a lobbyist. That is how Joe makes a living. I’m not interested in electing Joe Gibbons to the county commission in order to help his lobbying business. We have not had good experiences with lobbyist politicians.
Third, Beam Furr stood up for citizens as a Hollywood commissioner when during the Recession the union was trying to force the city to raise taxes to increase police pay and benefits. PBA refused to cooperate with their city like other unions had in other cities. The unaffordable tax increase was put before the people for a vote and the people voted no. Now the union wants to punish Beam for his political bravery. I like the police but am not going to let their union do that.
These are the reasons I will be voting for Beam Furr.
July 7th, 2014 at 8:11 am
@Jacksonville jaguars: Good one!!!
July 7th, 2014 at 8:47 am
Broward County Firefighters and Paramedics Local 4321 has once again been recruited to skew the election for city commissioners in Dania Beach. The union did not even interview all of the candidates, just the same old tired team that supports the current figurehead of the city.
The union members who worked the polls in Dania during the last election were really nice guys, friendly with other poll workers and doing their required sign holding. However, almost to a person, the firefighters knew absolutely nothing about the candidates whose signs they held, not even how to pronounce their names.
In my humble opinion, firefighter union members should stay out of politics and continue to do the difficult jobs for which they are trained and for which they are appreciated.
July 7th, 2014 at 9:55 am
The PBA doesn’t influence political races? Really ?? I think former Hollywood commissioner Heidi O’Sheehan would disagree with you. The PBA and Hollywood officers campaigned heavily against her and she was trounced in the election. Beam can post all the comments he wants on this post but he knows he has an uphill battle.
July 7th, 2014 at 10:16 am
I had never read the Sun Sentinel article posted here with Gibbons. Joe Gibbons is everything wrong with parenting today. Reading between the lines it is clear Gibbons wanted a much younger wife and to have it gave in to HER request for children. Obviously this man just sees these babies as the mother’s burden that he had to endure to marry a young wife.
He says he is with his kids 3 weeks a month. So over the course of a year that totals 12 weeks (most likely more) he is away from his very young children. So by his own admission,3 months a year he is an absent father. Add that to a mom working across the State most of the week, awful.
July 7th, 2014 at 11:08 am
Good luck to Mr. Beam Furr….hopefully, sanity will define the outcome of this very important election….
July 7th, 2014 at 11:50 am
Even a broken clock is right 2x a day. 1 out of what 10 elections and issue campaigns? Batting .100 very impressive.
July 7th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Anybody Jeff Marano supports should be scrutinized, and anybody he opposes gets my vote.
PS How can a candidate be exempt from proving they live in the district? Did the Supervisor of Elections perform their ministerial duties in qualifying Ms. Saffran?
PPS What’s with that face Valerie?
July 7th, 2014 at 1:03 pm
PBA is a joke along with the F.O.P. Back in 1993 myself and almost 300 others were fired by Ron Cochran because we were considered friends with Nick Navarro and what DID THE UNIONS DO? nothing
July 7th, 2014 at 5:01 pm
I think it is important to get the counterbalance to these accusations from Beam Furr. Hollywood was facing complete disaster without the restructuring of pensions. The payouts being received were completely out of balance. The adjustments were fair and the City is now solvent. Something had to be done, and Beam had the courage to lead. Thank you Beam, you have my vote, after all you actually live in my district.
July 7th, 2014 at 9:30 pm
Furr was originally going to run for State Rep. Until he realized Shevrin Jones would crush him and he dropped out if the race. Now he is running for County Commissioner hoping Sue Gunzberger and lobbyist Bernie Friedman can hand walk him into office. He is simply an opportunist looking to increase his pension.
July 8th, 2014 at 12:09 pm
Gibbons lives in JACKSONVILLE is over 65 yrs old running for BROWARD County Commission. He is looking for a job benefits and a pension. No bigger opportunist than Joe Gibbons.
July 8th, 2014 at 4:34 pm
@NoSheehan #11
Harp on that one tainted victory all you want. The PBA has a very poor track record when it comes to picking winners.
The PBA helped win, or should I say steal, that election against Heidi O’Sheehan by lying to and terrorizing almost every single voter in the District about anything and everything that struck fear into that particular voter – one at a time.
Jeff Marano used to be a good guy, but unfortunately his tactics today resemble those of a simple New Jersey longshoreman thug.
He does not even interview all the candidates in many if not most races before bestowing endorsements because he perceives them to be uncontrollable or forthcoming to his demands. He chooses his candidates with only one thing in mind: will you support raises for cops. That’s it. He does not care about who will do a better job representing the people, he does not care about skyrocketing taxes, he cares only that they will help pad the pockets of the already fairly compensated cops.
Now before you first responder advocates get all upset, I strongly believe cops AND Firefighters should be well taken care of and compensated, but they ALREADY ARE! The greedy PBA just wants more!
To avoid bankruptcy in Hollywood, Beam Furr fought the Hollywood PD on their nice and cushy 8% guaranteed return on their pension fund. If the fund did not perform by at least 8%, and at that time it was grossly under-performing, the cops somehow had it in their contract, thanks to one or more of their last hand picked shills on the commission, that the city had to make up the difference. So if the fund produced 3%, then Hollywood taxpayers had to pony up the other 5%.
Anybody out there getting 8% on their money lately?
When the cops put this kind of a burden on the city with no regard for the taxpayers, that’s a problem. When the cops lie and cheat to get the wife of a cop elected so they could pull her strings, that’s a problem.
Jeff’s dream is to have all candidates everywhere support more money for cops. All this coming from a guy who spends his union members money to fly insulting and inaccurate banner planes and buy insulting and inaccurate billboards because he does not like the current Hollywood Chief of Police.
Now he’s manipulating County Commission races with write in candidates effectively denying thousands of Republican and Independent voters the opportunity to cast ballots. If you cannot vote in that race, thank the PBA.
Very sad.
Beam Furr had the courage to stand up to them then and he will again. I do not vote for PBA endorsed candidates 99% of the time.
I am sure I am not alone.
So who’s it going to be voters in District 6?
Jacksonville Joe or yet another shill housewife of a cop – or a guy who lives in the District and has already demonstrated his courage, willingness and ability to make the tough choices necessary that are in the best interests of the taxpayers?