State Rep’s Wife Wins City Commission Seat Unopposed
BY BUDDY NEVINS
There will soon be two Broward office holders named Moraitis.
Heather Moraitis, wife of state Rep. George Moraitis, snagged the Northeast Fort Lauderdale City Commission District 1 seat without opposition when the qualifying period closed at noon Monday, according to the city’s website.
Her background can be found here plus some reasons why nobody filed against her.
The couple won’t both be office holders for long. George Moraitis, a Republican who represents northeast Broward, will be leaving Tallahassee next year because of term limits.
Heather and George Moraitis
The major issues in the Fort Lauderdale election are coping with growth and how to pay for fixing the deteriorating infrastructure such as water and sewer.
There are two other open seats on the January ballot, plus a race for mayor and two opponents to Commissioner Robert McKinzie. The primary is January 16 and the runoff is March 13.
P. S.:
My first Candidate Trying To Fool the Voters Award goes to Dr. Ben Sorensen in open District 4.
Sorensen, who ran a losing race for state Legislature in South Broward against state Rep. Joe Geller in 2014, is using the title Dr, but he is not a medical doctor.
His website indicates that he is a doctor of ministry.
Technically Sorensen is a doctor, like Dr. Billy Graham. Many voters will no doubt believe Sorensen is a medical doctor when seeing Dr in front of his name.
Why does this matter?
Repeated surveys indicate that physicians are among the most respected professionals in the United States. In a tiny turnout race being held in January, fooling a few voters could make a difference.
Sorensen also claims to have a law degree, which would qualify him using Dr. Think Dr. Fidel Castro, who had a law degree and whose supporters sometimes used that title.
Most lawyers do not call themselves Dr. Sorensen does not have a license to practice in Florida, according to the Florida Bar.
Interestingly, his opponents include Warren Sturman, a practicing caridologist who is not using the title Dr in the race. Just plain Warren Sturman.
The third candidate campaigning for District 4 is Walter B. Duke III, owner of a longtime real estate appraisal firm in Fort Lauderdale who moved his home to the city after quitting a commission seat in Dania Beach.
November 13th, 2017 at 4:49 pm
Doctor of Ministry. What a fucking complete load of bullshit.
Go kick his ass Duke.
November 13th, 2017 at 5:27 pm
I nominate Bruce Roberts for the next Trying To Fool the Voters Award. He is holding himself out as the Infrastructure Champion despite continually voting to loot $106 million dollars from the water and sewer funds.
November 13th, 2017 at 9:20 pm
Buddy, I do not recall you critisizing the Supervisor of Elections for calling herself “Dr. Brenda Snipes” on every piece of campaign literature abnd every mailing from that office. Her degree has nothing to do with her current office.
FROM BUDDY:
School systems across the nation are infested with bureaucrats who have doctorates and who call themselves “doctors.” Its a laugh.
Brenda Snipes, a former Broward School’s administrator, has a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern. She has used the title Dr. for years. She was not in a competitive race in 2016 and was not using the title to enhance her candidacy.
I will quote from The Associated Press style book for news stories:
“If appropriate in the context, Dr. also may be used on first reference before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. However, because the public frequently identifies Dr. only with physicians, care should be taken to assure that the individual’s specialty is stated in the first or second reference.”
In my opinion, Sorensen should make is clear in type the same size that he is not a medical doctor. Otherwise, he is attempting to fool the public.
November 13th, 2017 at 10:37 pm
Congrats.
November 14th, 2017 at 4:46 am
Is Judy Stern still Ben Sorensen’s campaign manager?
November 14th, 2017 at 6:10 am
In educated circles people with non medical doctorates are called Dr or in the case of lawyers J.D.
FROM BUDDY:
Where are those “educated circles?” Or are you writing about colleges, because I agree? But I was writing about a city election, not the staff of Harvard.
It is only used in this campaign, in my opinion, to fool the voters.
November 14th, 2017 at 9:20 am
Is she a Bruce Roberts supporter or not? At this financial point in the city that is all a candidate needs to answer.
November 14th, 2017 at 9:29 am
If growth and infrastructure are the major issues, Former Commissioner Tim Smith may have a tough election ahead. He was once called the most pro development commissioner in the history of the city. But more that just voting for development, he had a pattern of showing up for landscaping work for the projejects he was voting on. Marriott, the Ireland Family, Gaddis and others would employ him before or after a vote. Ask him about this.
Much of the development he voted on is responsible for the overflowing sewers that we have today. The sewer system was never designed for the 100 to 300 unit per acre projects that have come online.
I don’t think the voters will select the most pro development commissioner in the history of the city.
November 14th, 2017 at 10:59 am
Dr.Snipes earned that title.My pet peeve is these honary doctrate that are awarded.No again she sacfracied alot to use that title…
November 14th, 2017 at 2:58 pm
Rev. Dr. Is the norm in clerical circles or in the case of my Reform Temple Rabbi Dr Nathanson.
FROM BUDDY:
“Dr” Nathanson is not on the ballot.
Rabbi Sheldon Harr, longtime spiritual leader of Temple Kol Ami in Plantation, ran for that city’s commission in 2011. He did not use the title Dr. in the campaign.
November 14th, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Buddy, competitive race or not, Brenda Snipes not has not only used “Dr. Brenda Snipes” on her campaign literature, but has used the title on EVERY communication (millions of pieces at this point) since she was appointed 14 years ago. She also requires her staff (unoficially, of course) to address her as “Dr. Snipes.
November 14th, 2017 at 11:38 pm
Judy Stern is most definatly running his campaign she has her hooks deep though Ben denies this,
And Bruce the selling unfrastructure another crock of crap,.
Judy has 2 beauties and possible Dean as well,
mean while Seiler the creep will sit back and laugh at this nightmare he left us with.
November 15th, 2017 at 7:52 pm
Robert Walsh, I never said that Dr Snipes did not earn her title; I said it has nothing to do with her position. She earned her title. so did Dr. Sorensen!
November 17th, 2017 at 9:15 am
Sad state of affairs for Ladanowski and Dave Brown to have their run against Snipes called “not a competitive race”
November 18th, 2017 at 5:39 pm
Buddy.. setting the record straight, I never did any work for Gaddis, my landscape company secured Marriott Hotel accounts a decade before I got on the Commission, I did a little work for Ireland’s Inn, but had been off the Commission years prior to Ireland Inn’s vote… one of my competitors voted for that 🙂 People should not lie on these sites.
November 18th, 2017 at 5:43 pm
PS … I’m the only Commissioner who ever successfully proposed and got enacted a building monitoring on the beach …
November 20th, 2017 at 8:09 am
Smith trying to claim victory for a moratorium rings hollow when taken in the context of his actual VOTING RECORD. This is a typical Smith strategy. DEVELOPMENT VOTES BY SMITH (courtesy of the Sun Sentinel):
Alhambra barrier island condo
The Atlantic beachfront condo-hotel
Bridgeside Square parking garage/retail complex
Capri beachfront hotel-condo and commercial complex
Castillo Grand (now St. Regis) beachfront hotel-condo
Fortune House barrier island condo-hotel
Gold Coast Resort beachfront hotel
Jackson Tower condo at beach
L’Ambiance condo on barrier island
Las Olas City Centre downtown office tower*
Las Olas Grand downtown condo
Las Olas Place downtown condo*
Lauderdale Beach Hotel condo
Le Club barrier island condo
Marshall’s Point condo (now Esplanade on the New River)
Ocean Dunes beachfront condo-hotel
Palazzo Las Olas garage/condo/retail
River House downtown condo
Riverside Hotel expansion*
Riverside Hotel after-the-fact vote on alterations to site plan
Summit apartment tower downtown
Symphony residential high-rise, first version
Symphony, larger version
Trammell Crow downtown office tower*
Water Garden downtown residential high-rise
Waverly condo and commercial complex
* Commission declined opportunity to “call up” the project for public hearing; approved at staff level.
December 4th, 2017 at 11:53 pm
Is Judy Stern helping Dean?