5 rivals compete for single spot on commission

Three political rookies, a repeat candidate making her sixth run for office and an ex-commissioner who lost his last election want to fill a vacant commission seat in Hallandale Beach.

Come March 13, one of five candidates will be elected to a commission known for its fiery politics: businessman Mike Butler, former Commissioner Bill Julian, retired secretary Ann Henigson, insurance broker Thomas Sands and retired New York City corrections officer Jean Stassi.

Squabbling on the Hallandale Beach commission has put the city in the spotlight for years, with feuding and personality clashes making headlines and being shared on social media.

Amid the bickering, it took four years for commissioners to embrace a fullscale body camera program for cops, partly due to resistance from the police union. Commissioners are now researching whether to merge the city’s police and fire departments with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, a prospect that has candidates talking.

Seat 1 has been vacant since August, when Anthony Sanders stepped down in the wake of a Broward Inspector General’s investigation that accused him of using his elected office for financial gain.

The victor in the special election will serve until November, when Sanders’ term ends.

Butler, who has served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board and Code Advisory Board, says it’s too soon to say how he’d vote on merging the police and fire departments with the Sheriff ’s Office.

“I’d have to see the data,” he said. “You need to understand how that’s going to affect the city.”

Butler says he thinks he can bring change to the dais and calls Cooper’s recent ouster a step in the right direction.

Cooper was arrested on Jan. 25 on felony charges and removed from office the next day by Gov. Rick Scott.

Julian was the incumbent commissioner in a 2016 race but lost the election.

Julian lost the 2016 election after audio recordings surfaced implying he may have solicited favors from a developer in exchange for a “yes” vote on a high-rise project. Julian was accused of asking the developer to get him a van for a pet charity along with 300 campaign workers In the end, Julian was cleared when the State Attorney’s Office said there was no evidence he received any benefit of any kind.

Henigson, a retired secretary making her sixth run for office, thinks she has a shot this time because she’s a people person.

She entered her first Hallandale race in 2007, and now promises to bring term limits to the city.

Sands said he decided to run only after Sanders resigned.

“I want to give the west side a voice,” Sands said. “Right now all of our elected officials live on the east side. And the way it’s been going, the west side of the city has been neglected.”

Stassi said he thinks he can maintain peace on the dais.

“I just don’t like what I see,” he said of the commission. “I think it needs new blood. I just think they need to show more respect up there on that dais.”

He would like to see Hallandale hire more police officers and firefighters. And he’s won’t support a merger with the Sheriff ’s Office unless it has the backing of the rank-and-file.