Candidates Mull Broward County Municipal Races
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Elections for 14 Broward communities are set for November, but this is the week candidates will declare their intentions to run, and from Hollywood to Parkland, everything from Mayor to commission seats are in play.
Voters in Hollywood, Margate, Cooper City, Coral Springs, Hallandale Beach, Lauderdale Lakes, Southwest Ranches, Sunrise, Weston and Wilton Manors will have the chance to elect a mayor. Some mayors are seeing re-election, some have decided to leave the job, and others have been term limited out.
In all of the cities planning a November election, seats are available for city council members or commissioners.
Qualifying for the contested seats started Monday, and will close on Friday. At that point, incumbents will learn if they have opponents or have been automatically re-elected.
Voters will also learn the names of the candidates seeking open seats or challenging incumbents.
Other issues may also be on the municipal ballot, such as local questions or charter changes. Many municipalities have been adjusting the dates of their municipal election to match the general election in November.
Most Broward communities previously held municipal elections in March, but separate elections are costly and syncing with the general election will allow them to save money.
Here are the seats voters will be able to consider, city by city:
Cooper City: Mayor Debby Eisinger cannot run again because of term limits. District 3 and 4 commission seats are available. Commissioners Jeff Green and James Curran will run for re-election.
Coral Springs: Mayor Roy Gold cannot run again because of term limits. Commission seats 3 and 5 are available. Commissioners Larry Vignola and Tom Powers will run for re-election.
Dania Beach: Three at-large commission seats are available.
Hallandale Beach: Incumbent Mayor Joy Cooper is running and will be challenged, at the least, by Commissioner Keith London, whose seat will be open. At-large seats held by Commissioners Dorothy Ross and Anthony Sanders are also available.
Hollywood: Commissioner Fran Russo and Beam Furr will not be running for re-election to their seats for District 5 and District 2. All other commissioners are up for re-election. Terms will change for Districts 3 and 5.
Lauderdale Lakes: The mayor's seat and commission districts 4, 5, and 6, will be available.
Lauderhill: Incumbents for seats one, two and three are running again.
Margate: Mayor Pam Donovan is not running for re-election, and neither is commissioner Joseph Varsallone. All seats are the open.
Parkland: Commissioner David Rosenof and Vice Mayor Mark Weissman will run for re-election. Commission seats for Districts 3 and 4 are also available.
Southwest Ranches: Mayor Jeff Nelson's seat is available, as are those of District 3 Councilman Freddy Fisikelli and District 4 Commissioner Doug McKay.
Sunrise: Mayor Michael J. Ryan is up for re-election and so far unopposed. Commissioners Donald K. Rosen and Joseph Scuotto are up for re-election.
Tamarac: Two seats are open; District 3 Commissioner Diane Glassner and District 1 Commissioner Pamela Bushnell.
Weston: Mayor Eric Hersh could draw a challenger, and the at-large commissioner Seats 1, Angel Gomez and 2, Mercedes Henriksson, are available.
Wilton Manors: Mayor Gary Resnick is up for re-election, as are Commissioner Julie A. Carson and Vice Mayor Tom Green.
