Veltri dynasty in Plantation to soon end as mayor plans to retire
The Veltri dynasty, which has run Plantation at various times for more than three decades, is coming to an end.
Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic, who has led the city since 2011 when she defeated her opponents by getting more than half the vote, announced in an email to the South Florida Sun Sentinel on last week that she will not seek re-election.
Bendekovic’s father, Frank Veltri, was mayor of Plantation for 24 years.
“At the onset of my decision to run for an elective office in 2001 there is no denying the Veltri name opened doors; however, the Bendekovic name kept those doors opened for the past almost 18 years,” she wrote. “So Frankie Diane Veltri Bendekovic is shutting the public service door and looking forward to opening ‘the life is good’ door of retirement.” She declined further comment. Her tenure had some accomplishments. Voters kept the strong mayor form of government in 2014, a decision possibly a nod to her work. And she worked to build up rainy day funds in the city coffers.
But Bendekovic, who was first elected to the council in 2001, also has been a polarizing figure in Plantation politics since becoming mayor in 2011.
She publicly clashed with the police union over their benefits, saying in 2013 the union had an “entitlement mindset.” But cops pushed back, rallying at a popular Art in the Park