Developers Pour Money Into Fort Lauderdale Race
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Real estate may be in the toilet, but developers are investing for the future in the northeast Fort Lauderdale city commission campaigns.
Builders, developers and real estate investors are pouring money into the District 1 campaigns of Commissioner Christine Teel and, to a lesser extent, challenger Bruce Roberts.
Because despite the downturn in development, builders always have their eyes focused on the future. Builders are by nature optimists. They see potential dollars where others see only doldrums.
To get to that lucrative tomorrow, they need a friendly city commission. Commissioners who get donations are more apt to be friendly.
Campaign donations are an investment in future development.
Teel has gotten the maximum $250 contribution from real estate industry folks such as Charles Ladd, Bill Scherer and Andy Mitchell.
That doesn’t tell the whole story.
To give them more clout when the contribution level in the city is only $250, real estate investors bundled other money with theirs. That makes their support much more valuable.
Ladd and his partners, the Rahael family, gave a total of $1,250 to Teel. Ladd is behind the huge project west of Interstate 95 along the north side of W. Broward Boulevard.
Two other members of the Scherer family gave $750. Scherer owns property in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Five members of beach property owner Mitchell’s family gave $1,250.
There is $2,500 connected to Turnberry Associates, an Aventura developer best known currently in Broward for controversial Davie Commons project.
Roberts also got at least $1,000 from individuals connected to Turnberry Associates.
The former Fort Lauderdale Police chief got $1,250 from the Deckelbaum family, developers whose project on Bayshore Drive was turned down by the city commission.
Downtown powerbroker Alan Levy gave Roberts $250. So did developer James Motta and his wife, Patricia, for a total of $500.
Former Commissioner Gloria Katz threw a fund raiser for him. Katz was beaten by Teel, who accused her of being too developer-friendly.
Ironically, it is now Teel who is getting the bulk of the development industry dollars.
Among others giving money to Teel are real estate investors Jack Loos, Terry Stiles, Doug Eagon, Dennis O’Shea and Peter Feldman ; lobbyist Robert Lochrie III and his family; lobbyist Don McClosky; the Becker Poliakoff lobbying firm and one of its lobbyists, Neil Schiller; lobbyist Aleida “Ali Waldman and downtown development industry lobbyist Neil Sterling.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
The code words are “smart growth” and “controlled growth.” It is the same rape of the land, environment and water that has always gone on in Florida. If you like homeless sleeping in your doorway or you like to be robbed in the supermarket parking lot, you’ll love Fort Lauderdale. Both these candidates have been part of the problem. I intend not to vote.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
More important than the developers money is all the cops who have given to the Roberts campaign and expect a big boost in pay and pension in the future. Police salary costs are too high already with dozens of cops making more than $100,000 annually plus free health care and a pension that pays them 70-80,000 at age 40. They are bankrupting the city.
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Buddy,
Don’t you know this race is all about firing the city manager? Roberts has promised to fire him and Teel likes him. A bunch of folks in the background are pushing for his leaving so they can start getting more city money.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:41 am
Gloria Katz only wanted growth in the downtown area, where it would have fostered mass transit and a chic urban life style. She would have been a better commissioner than Teel.
March 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
FORMER JOURNALIST AND FORT LAUDERDALE CITY COMMISSIONER, GLORIA KATZ, WHO WAS REPLACED BY CHRISTINE TEEL WAS A “STEALTH†STAND IN FOR JOHN AURELIUS, THE ALL TIME DEVELOPER’S COMMISSIONER, WHO BUILT THE PINK PALMS CONDO TOWERS, BRIDGE SIDE SQUARE, EMPTY BEACH PLACE –THE MAN, WHO PAVED OVER PARADISE…AURELIUS, WHO WAS KNOWN TO TAKE A DRINK OR TWO, RESIGNED FROM THE COMMISSION FOR PERSONAL REASONS.
KATZ’ APPOINTMENT TO THE COMMISSION, AS HIS REPLACEMENT WAS ALSO BACKED BY DEVELOPER BUDS, JACK LATONA AND CARLTON MOORE.
GLORIA FAN, YOUR RIGHT, YOUR LADY WAS AND IS A HELL OF LOT SMARTER, WELL READ, YOUTHFUL, CREATIVE, ATHLETIC, HANDS ON AND VISIONARY — THAN OUR LETHARGIC, SEND ME A BUNDLE OF CAMPAIGN CHECKS AND I WILL VOTE YOUR WAY MR OR MRS. DEVELOPER/HOTEL OWNER,AIRPORT EXPANDER OR POWER COMPANY EXECUTIVE, ‘GRAND DAME OF CORAL RIDGE’ TEEL.
YOU MAY RECALL THAT, GLORIA KATZ, WHO WAS A MAJOR BACKER OF THE LAS OLAS PALAZZO RIP OFF, RECEIVED 49% IN THE PRIMARY, WAS PLACED IN BED WITH THE DEVELOPERS, BY POLITICAL “QUEEN MAKER†BUDDY NEVINS, WHO JUST PUT QUEEN TEEL IN BED WITH ABOUT A HUNDRED DEVELOPERS AND LOBBYISTS – BY THE WAY, POLITICALLY, IT WAS ALL DOWN HILL AFTER BUDDY’S SUN-SENTINEL COLUMN WAS PUBLISHED AND REPRINTED AND MAILED TO THE SUPER VOTERS BY TEEL — FOR THE STILL VERY TALENTED AND VISIBLE EX-COMMISSION GLORIA KATZ.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:11 am
See the Sentinel today and all the money the cops are making. I agree with Watch Out For Roberts. We need to watch our wallets if Roberts gets in because the cops with their huge pensions will have th eir hands in it. Who has pensions today in private industry?