Conservative is new Fort Lauderdale commissioner

Heather Moraitis supports The Wave, development

A conservative former educator will join the Fort Lauderdale City Commission in March.

Heather Moraitis, whose husband is the new leader of the Broward Republican Party, will bring a development-friendly viewpoint to the commission. She supports The Wave rail system and the Bahia Mar redevelopment on public land and is against a temporary building moratorium.

Moraitis said she’s a “listener, a collaborator and a problem solver.”

Her presence on the dais should ensure some vibrant debates. Candidates running for two district seats and for mayor have said they oppose The Wave, and as voters complain about development, some candidates have said they’d consider a building moratorium while infrastructure repairs are taken on.

A Fort Lauderdale native and University of Florida graduate, Moraitis has worked for the YMCA and has been active in volunteerism, including serving as president of the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale. She’s also the mother of two daughters, and a former educator who worked at Westminster Academy, a Christian private school that’s part of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church she and her family attend.

Mayor Jack Seiler has publicly praised her, saying on Twitter that she has “impressed me daily with her passion, commitment and dedication to public service.”

In Coral Ridge Isles, where she lives, homeowner association leader Mary Cotton said Moraitis “gets things done” and is an innova-