She’s Running! Nan Rich Launches Facebook Page For Commission Campaign

 

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

Former State Sen. Nan Rich is running for Broward County Commission.

She has launched  a Facebook page for her campaign with 123 likes as of this afternoon (Tuesday, Jan. 23).

Several sources say Rich has already rounded up high power support from local leaders, including U. S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston.

“I was approached by some term-limited commissioners who think I could fill a void in Broward,” Rich told Sunshine State News.

What convinced Rich to run, says Sunshine State News, is that term limits is stripping the commission of members who are interested in the issues of senior citizens, children,  juvenile justice and Medicaid.  Those issues have been Rich’s specialties during her public life.

One problem: Those issues are largely handled by other governments. Why let facts get in the way of political ambition?

Rich didn’t need much nudging to challenge Democratic boss Mitch Ceasar, who is the other candidate mounting a campaign in Commission District 1. He openly opposed to her campaign for governor last year.

Ceasar told Browardbeat.com that Rich’s entry into the race will make no difference to him or his time table for the campaign.  He plans to launch his race officially in the Spring.

According to political handicappers, Ceasar’s campaign has a major stumbling block.  He was accused in 2010 of sexual harassment, a charge that will surely surface during the campaign.

In contrast, Rich’s record is relatively spotless.  She did kill ethics oversight of the School Board as a state senator,  but that is not as juicy as sex harassment.

Welcome to the commission race for 2016!

 

 

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Here is the January 15 post that revealed Rich was considering running:

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

Former state Sen. Nan Rich, who denounced Charlie Crist as a flip-flopper in last year’s Democratic primary for governor, is doing a little flip-flopping of her own.

Rich has changed her position on “absolutely” not running for the county commission.

She has been making calls to gauge the support for a commission race. Her phone calls were made to office holders and some her long-time backers, several sources told Browardbeat.com.

The former Florida Senate Democratic Leader from Weston lives in Commission District 1, which will be open next year. District 1 is now held by County Commissioner Marty Kiar, who is giving it up to run for Broward Property Appraiser.

Rich’s phone calls surprised Broward pols since she was so insistent five months ago that she was not interested in becoming a commissioner.

On August 15, the Sun-Sentinel quoted Rich as having “emphatically ruled out a candidacy for the Broward County Commission in 2016, something that’s been whispered about in some political circles.

“‘That would be absolutely no,’ she said.

“Why?

“‘You know what? I have certain interests within the public policy arena, and the County Commission, City Commission. I had that when I first ran [for the state Legislature]. They said you need to start on the City Commission or on the County Commission. And I said, ‘No I don’t.’ Because the issues that are important to me and the ones that I want to work on are ones that are decided in the state Legislature.'”

If she does decide to run for the commission, I would expect that quote to resurface.  Especially the last sentence about the commission not having the issues she wants to work on.

Rich lost the August 26 primary for governor to Crist after a campaign that lasted more than a year.  She was crushed in her home county of Broward by 77 to 23 percent.

A campaign for commissioner would be a comeback for the politician who represented southwest Broward in the state House from 2000-2004, followed by the state Senate, 2004-2012. She was known as an advocate for children’s issues and education, which are largely not handled by the county commission.

District 1 includes the bulk of Weston and is heavily Democratic. But in the past, more District 1 Democratic primary voters were from Plantation and Sunrise, not from Rich’s home city of Weston.

 

District One County CommissionCounty Commission District 1 

 

If she decides to run, Rich will not be alone.

Broward Democratic Chair Mitch Ceasar has been quietly rounding up support for a District 1 commission campaign.  He is expected to officially announce his candidacy in the Spring.

Others mentioned for the commission seat include Weston Mayor Daniel Stermer. 

Rich could not be reached for comment.

 

 

 



25 Responses to “She’s Running! Nan Rich Launches Facebook Page For Commission Campaign”

  1. Broward Voter says:

    Remember when Charlie Crist refused to debate Nan Rich?

    Remember when the leadership of the Broward DEC refused to support a resolution calling for a debate?

    I’ll bet Nan Rich remembers. Looks like she is going to try to exact some revenge against Mitch Ceasar.

  2. Westonian says:

    I’d bet on Nan Rich to win versus Ceasar. Except for insiders, the public knows and likes Nan …. and has never heard of Ceasar. She didn’t lose for Governor because they didn’t like Nan Rich, they just liked Crist better or throught he could win.

    Ceasar is a career lobbyist (http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/09/mitch_ceasar_broward_democratic_chairman.php) who has a documented sexual harassment history to deal with (http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/10/part_iii_chairman_ceasars_hand.php).

    Nan is a progressive, a feminist, and a forceful advocate for children (CSC, etc.). And Nan is rich and can self finance ……. and her close personal friendship with Hillary Clinton should be a plus to Nan in 2016.

  3. Talks like a politician says:

    Is Nan considering running for a seat on the County Commission because she wants to represent people within the district in which she lives or is she more concerned about staying visible to the public so she can run for another bigger office? Let’s just think about that for a moment. Ok, I vote for option 2. Nan has many good qualities and I respect her. However, there must be a better place than politics for her talents.

  4. Want Somebody New says:

    How old is Nan Rich? Isn’t she through yet?

    FROM BUDDY:

    She will be 73 years old in February.

  5. Joe Kreps says:

    Buddy Nevins is a hater.”Rich could not be reached for comment.” LOL. She wouldn’t give you the time of day. He is a bigot, sexest, & agest.

  6. Supervisor? says:

    County Commission needs more people out of local government, not less. Tallahassee is a different process than solving problems locally.

    Maybe Senator Rich could be our next Supervisor of Elections?

  7. John Henry says:

    If at first you dont get elected, lower your standards and try again.

  8. Just Saying says:

    County Commission needs more people out of local government, not less. Tallahassee is a different process than solving problems locally.

    A majority of our current Broward County Commissioner never served on local city commissions before serving on the County Commission. And 3 of them did previously serve in Tallahassee (Ryan, Kiar, Ritter) and they seem to be doing just fine in the office.

  9. Real Deal says:

    If Nan Rich runs for anything in Broward she will win. Plain and simple. It’s silly to even consider a run against her. That’s how much respect she commands here.

  10. Maybe says:

    Nan Rich at 73 it is time to retire.
    Mitch Caesar it was not to long ago democrats were calling for your ouster.
    The only logical candidate would be the Mayor of Sunrise Mike Ryan he is well liked a great speaker and brings many intangibles to the table.

  11. Derrick A. W. says:

    @Real Deal:
    “If Nan Rich runs for anything in Broward she will win. Plain and simple. It’s silly to even consider a run against her. That’s how much respect she commands here.”

    What is the proof of this statement? Nan Rich has never had an opponent who any stature. She has never even had a tough election. I remember she didn’t have a Democratic opponent when she won her Senate seat. Until she has proven she can win, no one can say she commands respect. Bob Butterworth commands respect and he couldn’t even win a state Senate seat.

  12. Plain Language says:

    Her age is irrelevant, pig. It’s what she can offer to the position that matters.

  13. Real Deal says:

    @11. Only one way to find out. Take your best shot or get out of the way. It will make no difference in the end.

  14. An Observation says:

    So far, this is the list of people whose names keep coming up, in alphabetical order:

    Robin Bartleman – School Board
    Mitch Ceasar – Chair Broward Demo
    Richard Kaplan – Mayor Lauderhill
    Nan Rich – Former State Senator
    Mike Ryan – Mayor Sunrise
    Dan Stermer – Mayor Weston

    Anyone else?

    And before anyone knocks anyone on the list, they all have credentials and pose a serious challenge. Each will have votes coming out of the starting blocks and have shown they can win. Of course they all have warts too.

  15. Maybe says:

    It would be great to see all these demos who usually play nice with each other battle for one seat. Ryan would get the support of Fire, police, attorneys, school board he has done so much for them in the past they owe him there support. Hands down Mike would win not even close.

  16. J.T. says:

    Interesting. The way I see it, this election would be decided by people from Plantation and Sunrise because most of the voters would be there.

    Rich didn’t show very well against Crist and I don’t think she would show well in this race. Her judgement is poor in that she was the only one that didn’t know she couldn’t win that race. That shows stubbornness or even worse. Not a good trait. Besides I thought she has no interest in it, unless she is just looking at this as a new start to something bigger. Again not good.

    Stermer would do well in Weston but not much farther. He is really good at what he does and I think he is happy with being Mayor.

    Bartleman I don’t know but I suspect would not do great. Just doesn’t seem to be as strong a candidate as the others.

    Ceasar is known among politicians but I don’t think would do nearly as well as he thinks among actual voters. His name recognition isn’t as strong as some others.

    Kaplan would do very well in Lauderhill, Tamarac and into some beyond (and could win if there are several candidates in a primary), but his name has come up for Supervisor of Election, Clerk of Court and State Rep for District 95. Not sure what his interest is, but he is term limited in office now.

    Ryan would do extremely well in Sunrise and somewhat beyond too. Being Sunrise is among the biggest portion of the District voters, and he has a strong voting following, I would also believe he would be the front runner. Not a slam dunk though. He does things that shows he has bigger plans, but no one knows what they are.

  17. Broward Voter says:

    Nan Rich would beat them all.

  18. Stephanie says:

    Going back on her own strong words against running for this office is unlike Senator Rich. Broward didn’t turn out for her when she needed them most. It would be an irrecoverable blow if she loses. There’s a wide field of candidates who “DO CARE” about county issues and who are steeped in knowledge on them. Very risky for Rich

  19. Tamarac Voter says:

    How thinly disguised, she was running for Governor and people were asking her “what ifs” should she lose. Her answer was the right one then. She has every right to recalcuate and nobody can say she doesn’t care about county issues, or any issues. Of course she cares. You guys pushing second rate candidates are going to need to do more than that. Go Nan! We need you.

  20. Maybe says:

    Why do we need Nan!!! What would Nan rich bring to the table that Kiar didn’t? Nan would be a step down from Kiar. We need someone who is energetic, bring fresh ideas, and is not afraid to speak there mind. Unlike Tamarac I do not believe 73 is the time to start a new political career most politicians are thinking of retirement. Look how fucked up Tamarac is when the seniors are in charge!

  21. Count LF Chodkiewicz Chudzikiewicz says:

    Look, the Democratic Party that Jewish seniors love is now dominated by leftists, who if Jewish hate the Jewish religion, bash Israel and APPEAR ON ANTI=SEMITIC PRO ARAB MOSLEM TERRORIST MS=NBC! Mitch Caesar will face a Jewish candidate who is NOT TARNISHED BY ASSOCIATION WITH ANTI=SEMITIC MS=NBC, and he will loose if this issue is highlighted.

    Nan Rich is a robotic big government, high tax, left-leaning liberal Democrat who ruined her reputation by preventing the Inspector General in Broward County from going after sleaze, corruption, and fraud in the School System.

    In total, both are disgraces, and with a younger generation of Jews, more educated and more aware of the anti-Semitic allies of Mitch Caesar and the sleaziness of Nan Rich, will be looking for a better, CLEANER CANDIDATE! I hope Martin Kiar’s County Commission District finds AN HONEST MAN IN BROWARD COUNTY, so far, for me, A HOPELESS EXPERIENCE.

  22. Lamberti is a Criminal says:

    Can’t we get any qualified new people. Why do these politicians feel that they can suk the public off for ever?

  23. Kevin says:

    Nan would be a great Commissioner….and I’m a Republican!

  24. Elaine Harmych says:

    Joe Biden, age 72; John McCain, age 78; John Kerry, age 71. That’s all I have to say.

  25. nancy says:

    we need more young people in office. New fresh ideas.