Mayor Ritter’s Father Kicked Out Of Country Club

BY BUDDY NEVINS

Former Commissioner Ed Portner of Tamarac—that’s Broward Mayor Stacy Ritter’s father — will have to find a new place to eat lunch.

 

Portner has been kicked out of his old haunt Woodlands Country Club.

He had been lunching at the club under an informal agreement that commissioners could eat there without buying a membership. Memberships cost thousands.

The problem is that the informal agreement which was designed so commissioners could treat CEOs thinking of moving their businesses to Tamarac has been abolished.

And Portner is no longer on the commission!  He was term limited out last year.

But after leaving office, Portner continued to show up at the club.  He even showed up after being warned that he was no longer eligible to eat there.  He was invited to pay for a membership.

Finally, the City Attorney Sam Goren wrote Portner a letter earlier this month. Portner calls it a “threatening letter which “accused me of misusing my position as a commissioner.

A copy of the letter went to the police chief and every Tamarac commissioner.

“My wife was very upset.  She couldn’t sleep because it went to the police chief, Portner says.

Portner, who says he is running for mayor against incumbent Beth Talabisco, sees the mayor’s manicured hand in these threats. Talabisco had no comment.

“It’s gotten personal, Portner says. “It’s going to get very nasty.

Personally, I don’t think Portner will get much sympathy, especially from those who have to pay for membership to eat at Woodlands.

I also don’t believe Talabisco is so concerned about Portner’s candidacy that she conspired to rob him of a place to eat lunch.

Why should Talabasco be concerened?

After all, she even has the signed endorsement of Portner’s daughter Mayor Ritter.

If you can’t get your daughter’s support, whose support can you get?

 The dining room and bar at Woodlands

 



8 Responses to “Mayor Ritter’s Father Kicked Out Of Country Club”

  1. Tasteless says:

    Most people find it very distasteful to see elected officials treated in petty and mean ways by their colleagues. In the US Congress, not just the House but the Senate as well, officials are pitted against one another in the most heated of ways. And yet there are long established, revered and respected rules about collegiality that are extended to people long after their service is completed. We would be wise to learn from that example.

  2. Trash says:

    The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Ritter and her father are both trying to feed off the public trough. Too bad the older piggie got shoved aside and now wants back.

  3. Kings Point says:

    Beth Talabisco has been a wonderful mayor. There is no reason to remove her for this guy, who was a commissioner who did nothing.

    Portner should retire!

  4. Hey Buddy says:

    Hey Buddy — off topic here, but did you have a falling out with the boys over at JAABlog?

    I mean, they are lamenting the fact that their website has been blocked from the law library at the Courthouse (I guess the first amendment doens’t apply there for some reason), but went out of their way to comment that your blog was still accessible, calling browardbeat.com “pro-establishment”.

    So I guess when they are bitching about “the man” and those that bend over for “the man”, I guess they are including you in the folks that “bend over”.

    I’ve never considered you “pro-establishment” — in fact, you’ve taken it “to the man” on a regular basis.

    Just FYI.

  5. Chris says:

    OK.
    Someone help me with the backround information. Why are Father / Daughter not on the same page? Why would the daughter endorse someone running against her own father?
    Also, I have recently been to Woodlands; they need the business. He needs to write a check for a social membership (less than the full golf membership). Even if he asked for part of it back in the form of a campign check, that would make everyone happier than this mess.

    Lastly, is Mrs.Ritter worried about the next election? She seems to be everywhere. She will be or has been the guest speaker at many, many events that I attend.

  6. Elected Officials Need a Life and Need Therapy says:

    I have never scene such a large differential in personalities, than as portrayed by elected officials. When they are on top, they want to be the most power influenced people around. When they are at a low, they lose their self respect and will beg for scraps, like a dog. Get a job, a career, and a life, and forget about getting free perks of respect.

  7. kevin says:

    Portner should just join the Woodlands. It sound like he is just being cheep. I wonder if they tossed him out on his ear? I’d enjoy seeing that old geezer grabed by the back of his shirt and belt and thrown right out the front door.

  8. Stacy’s Father Wrong For Tamarac : BrowardBeat.com says:

    […] My story on the incident is here. […]