Nine apply to be interim mayor of Coral Springs
After Coral Springs Mayor Skip Campbell died in October, nine residents have applied to temporarily fill the position. The mayor’s post calls for representing this community of more than 127,000 residents.
The deadline to apply for interim mayor was Wednesday, and the applicants are:
■ Alan Bernstein, a criminal defense attorney.
■ Scott Brook, an attorney and former Coral Springs mayor.
■ Lou Cimaglia, a real estate broker and former city commissioner.
■ Kurt Gardner, a sales and marketing executive.
■ Roy Gold, a former Coral Springs mayor.
■ Michael Mader, a financial adviser.
■ Daniel McGuinn, a communications consultant.
■ Peter Weinstein, a retiring judge and former state senator.
■ John West, whose resume includes banking in Nigeria and Switzerland.
The interim mayor would serve until voters select a new mayor in the special election March 12.
At a meeting last month where the City Commission was scheduled to pick a replacement, two commissioners said they wanted Weinstein in the job, but were shot down by Commissioners Joshua Simmons and Larry Vignola in favor of an application process.
The commission will interview the nine candidates and make a decision in advance of the March election. The special election will be on a school day, although Vignola — citing school safety — had lobbied for the date to be changed.
Vignola said the School Board agreed to open the schools as polling places during Spring Break later that month, but said the Supervisor of Elections office could not agree.
Elections Supervisor Peter Antonacci said it is a state law that the election must be that day in Broward. “The Supervisor can’t wave a magic wand,” he said.
He said the next election, in 2020, the schools are scheduled to be empty on election day.
Vignola said he circled back to the School Board to cancel school in the handful cities with elections, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach and Coconut Creek — “it would be selfish to just care about the kids in Coral Springs” — but was refused.
He said Coral Springs would have undercover police officers ensuring the safety of teachers and students with a “presence people will not notice unless they need to be noticed.”
Said Police Chief Clyde Parry: “I feel confident that we will be able to provide a safe and secure environment for the election to occur while keeping our schools safe for our children. … I can assure you that we will take measures to tighten security at the polling locations.”
The city’s March election could have a second seat; Commissioner Dan Daley will run for an open state House seat in the Legislature. He said he expects to resign in time for the races to both be on the ballot.