Wins, and draws
tee he serves on, which he’ll lead in three years.
Seiler leaves the city a dramatically different place than the one he faced in 2009, when he replaced Mayor Jim Naugle.
Supporters and detractors agreed in interviews with the Sun Sentinel that Seiler loves the city and excelled at representing the city at public functions. Reviews about how he handled major issues — the homeless, failing water-sewer infrastructure, and high-rise development — are mixed.
“He’s obviously chaired one of the most prolific, prodevelopment councils in Fort Lauderdale history,” former Dania Beach mayor and recent Fort Lauderdale candidate Walter Duke said, “so if that was his goal, he achieved it.”
A pro-development, probusiness mayor, Seiler has seen the campaigns for his replacement focused largely on debate about whether the city grew too much, too fast, under his leadership. One of his allies, candidate Tim Smith in the District 2 race, told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board that Seiler “quit listening to the citizenry.”
“He’s very professional and he’s a real good spokesman for the city, the main cheerleader,” said Smith, a former commissioner. “… I think what happened is we let him stay too long.”
Mary Fertig, who is friendly with Seiler and was named Citizen of the Year for 2018 by the City Commission, shared the concern and said it has made activists work harder.
“I went to a meeting last July, and issue after issue after issue came up. It was all different issues. … It didn’t matter who got up or what they were talking about, the commission would listen and vote just the opposite of everything they said,” Fertig said.
Seiler chalked up the criticisms to “silly season” with elections around the corner. He said he never stopped listening, and said most of the feedback he gets is like the note he received last week from resident Vicki Mowrey, thanking him and telling him he’s be“sorely missed.” In the email, Mowrey told Seiler she “appreciate[d] your always prompt communication and cooperation on issues over these many years.”
Dan Lindblade, head of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, said that aside from the city’s disappointing failure to address its homeless problem, he had only good things to say about Seiler.
“If I was to grade Jack, I’d give him an ‘A’ and I’d say I wish we didn’t have term limits,” Lindblade said. “If you’ve got an MVP player, you hate to trade him and you want to build your team around him, and Jack’s an MVP player.”
Seiler lists the failing in “addressing the negative impact of homelessness” as two regretful losses. The other: the city’s deteriorating water/sewer infrastructure. Seiler’s last term in office was marked by repeated sewage spills, and an enforcement action by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“We should have planned better in terms of the infrastructure investments,” Seiler said. “That I fully acknowledge. I wish I had the information earlier. But at the same time, that’s on me. I take full responsibility.”
Seiler said he’s most proud of the city’s recovery from the Great Recession, the completion and activation of the Riverwalk walkway along the New River, the addition and expansion of city parks, and the attraction to downtown housing of young people.
“We brought the city back in terms of a much higher level of excitement and energy and enthusiasm,” he said. “… In a way we put a little bit of the fun back in Fort Lauderdale, without necessarily having a negative or adverse impact on quality of life.”
Downtown Development Authority Chairman Alan Hooper said despite the infrastructure challenges on many people’s minds now, Seiler will be remembered as a leader who brought people together, and presided over a collegial City Commission, after years of infighting on the dais before him.
“He’s one of the strongest leaders we’ve ever had, and I think we were lucky to have him,” Hooper, a developer, said. “He was a champion for the marine industry. He was a champion for the downtown and Las Olas, watching it become more vital and to grow.”
“He righted the ship,” former state Sen. Chris Smith, a northwest Fort Lauderdale resident, said. Smith said Seiler will be remembered for downtown’s development transformation.
“I think tremendous residential growth, all those condos downtown, and bringing the Millennials back to Fort Lauderdale, I think will be his legacy,” Smith said.
Here are some of the major challenges and victories from Mayor Jack Seiler’s tenure, 2009-2018: WINS Riverwalk: The brickpavered walkway along the New River downtown was finally completed and activated with events.
Tax rate: The property tax rate hasn’t increased during the mayor’s term (though tax bills did increase due to property values going up).
Economic recovery: Unemployment rates dropped and the economy rebounded after the Great Recession.
Boat show: The single largest boost to the city’s economy, the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, was secured for the long term with a 30-year lease at the city-owned Bahia Mar property at the beach. LOSSES Homeless: The city gained national notoriety for its handling of the homeless, when city police arrested 90-year-old Arnold Abbott for feeding homeless people at the beach. Efforts to remove a homeless camp in the heart of downtown outside the Main Library also gave the city a black eye, when city crews rolled in on front-end loaders and tossed peoples’ belongings into a dumpster. The camp quickly reemerged a few feet away, where it remains, on county property outside the library.
Water-sewer infrastructure: Over two years, 20.6 million gallons of raw sewage spilled from broken or overburdened pipes into local waterways. The state brought the city under enforcement with a consent order spelling out required improvements and fines if the requirements aren’t met or the spills continue. DRAWS The Wave streetcar system: The controversial plan that includes overhead wires and embedded rails in the roadway still is in limbo more than 14 years after the project emerged. The city recently reaffirmed its financial participation, but a majority on the incoming City Commission say they will overturn that vote.
Southside School: The historic school on South Andrews Avenue opened in time for Mayor Seiler’s last State of the City Address recently, but the project was marked by cost overruns, delays and construction mistakes, including leaking windows and wood flooring ruined by rain.
Aquatics complex / International Swimming Hall of Fame: A plan to modernize the city swim complex at the beach remains in the discussion stages after years of starts and setbacks.
Late night meetings: The city has taken a lot of heat for a pattern of holding important votes well past midnight. On the flip side, Mayor Seiler says the reason meetings run so long is that he welcomes public input and doesn’t curtail speaking time even when there are large crowds.
Federal courthouse: Seiler and the city continue to advocate for a new federal courthouse, but the funding hasn’t materialized.
bwallman@sun-sentinel .com, 954-356-4541 orTwitter @BrittanyWallman