Fort Lauderdale votes Tuesday on 10 charter amendments, including police and fire chiefs who would answer to the commission. District 1 has 3 candidates.
Every Fort Lauderdale voter will see 10 proposed changes to the city charter on Tuesday’s ballot. Two would take the police chief and the fire chief out from under the city manager and have them report directly to the City Commission.
Voters in Commission District 1 also choose a new commissioner. Commissioner John C. Herbst has resigned effective 11:59 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, the night before the election, according to the resolution calling the special election.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early voting ends Sunday.
The 10 charter amendments
The City Commission placed the amendments on the ballot on June 2, in Resolution 26-114. Each one passes if a majority of city voters who answer it vote yes, the city’s agenda memos said. The question titles and their effect, as worded on the ballot:
| No. | Ballot title | What a yes vote does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qualifications, organizational meeting, vice mayor | Updates the qualifications for mayor and commissioner. New members take office at the first regular meeting after their election is certified. The vice mayor is chosen at the first meeting after a regular election and every year after, instead of at the first meeting in April. |
| 2 | Submission of candidate documentation | Sets out how candidates for mayor or commissioner submit documents to the city clerk for review. |
| 3 | Elector challenges to candidates | Removes the commission’s power to rule on sworn complaints that a candidate is unqualified or broke the charter, leaving those to the courts. |
| 4 | Special meetings | Special commission meetings need at least 72 hours’ notice, except in an emergency, when notice is “as is practicable.” |
| 5 | Civil Service Board | Sets a tiebreak for nominations, changes the board that certifies employee elections to the Civil Service Board and ends the board’s role advising on job class specifications. |
| 6 | Primary references, newspaper notices, manager titles | Deletes references to primary elections, ends the rule of two newspaper notices for public hearings and separates the titles of interim and acting city manager. |
| 7 | Sale and lease of city property | Simplifies selling city vehicles, furniture, equipment and land other than parks. Adds limits on use agreements with private parties and on selling or leasing city land to other governments. |
| 8 | City-owned park land | Requires a unanimous vote of the full commission for any use agreement on city park land longer than one year. |
| 9 | Charter police chief | Makes the police chief a charter officer who reports to the commission, not the city manager, on terms the commission sets. |
| 10 | Charter fire chief | Makes the fire chief a charter officer who reports to the commission, not the city manager, on terms the commission sets. |
Read the full wording on the resolution (PDF) or on your own sample ballot.
The police and fire chief questions split the commission
The ordinances behind the other eight amendments passed on June 2 with no votes against. The police and fire chief questions did not.
Both passed 3-2 on June 2, the meeting’s action summary shows:
- Yes: Mayor Dean J. Trantalis, Commissioner Steven Glassman and Commissioner John C. Herbst
- No: Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen and Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman
Both items were added as walk-on ordinances at the May 19 meeting. The commission added a residency requirement for the police chief at that first reading, the city’s memo on the police chief amendment said. If both pass, the city would have six charter officers, the memo said. The memo listed no fiscal impact.
District 1: 3 candidates for 2 years
Three candidates qualified for the District 1 seat, according to the Supervisor of Elections’ list of candidates (PDF). The race is nonpartisan. In ballot order:
- Heather Moraitis
- John E. Rodstrom
- Garry Smyth
The winner’s term starts Tuesday, Dec. 1, and runs to Dec. 5, 2028, the resolution said. The whole commission is next elected on Nov. 7, 2028, according to the city’s election information page. That page also links each candidate’s campaign finance reports.
Only voters who live in District 1 see this race. Your sample ballot shows whether you do.
Early voting so far
Broward early voting sites processed 279,359 voters from Oct. 19 through Saturday, Oct. 31, according to the Supervisor of Elections’ unofficial daily totals (PDF). Saturday was the busiest day so far, with 32,759.
The Fort Lauderdale Branch Library/Art Serve was the busiest of the five sites with a Fort Lauderdale address:
| Early voting site | Voters, Oct. 19-31 |
|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale Branch Library/Art Serve, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd. | 11,930 |
| African-American Research Library, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. | 8,627 |
| Supervisor of Elections office, 4650 NW 21st Ave. | 3,719 |
| Tyrone Bryant Branch Library, 2230 NW 21st Ave. | 1,833 |
| Old Dillard Museum, 1009 NW 4th St. | 1,329 |
What it means for you
- Early voting ends Sunday, Nov. 1. Any of Broward’s 30 early voting sites is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You do not have to use your own precinct.
- On Tuesday, vote at your assigned polling place, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find it with the precinct finder. Bring a photo ID with a signature.
- Mail ballots must arrive by 7 p.m. Tuesday. On Monday and Tuesday, secure ballot intake stations are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Supervisor of Elections office, 4650 NW 21st Ave., and six branch offices, according to the intake station schedule (PDF). You cannot drop a mail ballot at a polling place.
- A mailer using the supervisor’s photo is not his. Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott said Oct. 28 that a political action committee sent campaign literature with his name, photo and title next to recommendations on candidates and ballot questions. “I did not authorize, approve, participate in the preparation of, or consent to the use of my name or photograph,” he said in a statement.
- Results will be posted on the county’s election results page after polls close. They are unofficial until certified.
Dates, ID rules and early voting addresses are in our Broward voting guide. Commission contacts are on who to call at City Hall.
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