Roots of political distrust: School Board, City Hall

Re: They stayed at a vendor’s beach house. Now a School Board member and director face an ethics complaint

The distrust infecting our politics starts locally. Let’s begin with Broward School Board Member Donna Korn, whose social and political relationship with a vendor don’t pass the smell test. Amid concerns of high prices and questionable bids, the school district purchasing unit asked the board to vote against the recommendation of a selection committee to give cap and gown vendor Herff Jones an exclusive three-year contract.

Korn was the only board member to vote against it, calling it unfair to vendors. She also was part of a unanimous vote to award Herff Jones a contract in 2016 as well as several extensions and about $500,000 in extra funding.

Next is Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Ben Sorensen. A city audit said he was partly to blame for a contractor doing nearly $1 million in work without city approval. Auditors found that Sorensen directed staff, working with a contractor, to restore the Rio Vista neighborhood. That’s a no-no under the city charter. Commissioners caught giving direct or indirect orders to staffers or vendors can be removed from office.

So what do Sorensen and his colleagues do? A choked-up Sorensen acknowledged the findings and apologized, and fellow commissioners heaped praise on him. As Mayor Dean Trantalis said: “We’re not here to judge one another.” But voters will judge Sorensen’s conduct, and the mayor’s lack of leadership and discipline, in the 2024 election.

Howard Tescher, Fort Lauderdale