Ft Laud’s Traffic Prompts Political Event To Move
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Fort Lauderdale’s traffic gridlock has cost it one of the local premier political events of the year — The Emerald Society breakfast.
The March 15th event will be at the Signature Grand in Davie, just off Interstate 595.
The breakfast is popular with the courthouse crowd because it is non-partisan, so judges can attend.
But many who work in the courthouse also live in Fort Lauderdale so it will be interesting to see if they will make the journey to Davie.
For those living away from Fort Lauderdale beach, the new site is much quicker and easier to reach than the Bahia Mar Resort where it was previously held. Past breakfast guests complained they were mired in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to reach the breakfast on a busy Sunday morning further complicated by a beachfront race.
Kevin Tynan, one of the organizers, summed up the reason the venue changed to Davie: “No hassle.”
One wonders how many other events the endless traffic jams are costing the city. I know people who avoid downtown and the beach for dining because of the paralyzing bottlenecks on the roads and the inability to find parking.
The Emerald Societ might be non-partisan, but that doesn’t mean it is non-political. Many on the Board of Directors are involved in politics, like political consultant Mike Ahearn, former Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler and Tynan, a former School Board member. Of course, judges also run for office.
This year the key Irish Person of The Year Award will go to former Broward County Court Judge Tom Lynch. He is currently running for Broward Public Defender.
Lynch should find it easier to pick up his award. He lives in Hollywood and won’t have to face traffic-challenged Fort Lauderdale to reach the breakfast.
March 4th, 2020 at 9:41 am
Take plenty of pics Jack.
March 4th, 2020 at 11:31 am
Seiler!*!#$!
March 7th, 2020 at 10:13 pm
OMG! I got scammed into attending last year’s event, thinking it would actually be about Irish Heritage. What a joke! We got shunted into some table with Mitch Sleazer and some political ex-con felon, neither of which could find Ireland on a map if their lives depended on it.
Over crowded, cold eggs, stale pastries, lame attempts at Irish humor, long lines, traffic, parking problems…what a bad joke.
This event needs more than a new location. It needs a complete over-haul. Maybe we can have Saint Patrick drive the snakes out of Broward County?
March 12th, 2020 at 1:52 pm
The Emerald Society of Fort Lauderdale made the safe decision to reschedule this Sunday’s event. A new date will be announced shortly.