Brown for mayor and Sokolow for city commission

In Tuesday’s election, voters in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea get the chance to pick two leaders who can protect their smallbeach-town feel from getting washed away by South Florida’s development crush.

The Sun Sentinel recommends they elect Mark Brown as mayor and re-elect Commissioner Elliot Sokolow to the five-member city commission.

Brown and Sokolow are proven leaders capable of helping Lauderdale-by-the-Sea address its growing pains, without surrendering its beach-town charm.

Mayor

Brown offers the experience, energy and vision needed to lead this beachfront community of 6,000 full-time residents, wedged between Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach.

Brown, 66, served on the commission for nearly six years before resigning in December to run for mayor. He’s also served on the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, which oversees regional transportation issues. As a commissioner, Brown championed efforts to protect and bolster the beach. He led the push to plant sea oats to guard against erosion and buffer storm surge. He also helped land free sand from a federal beach re-nourishment program after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. His opponent, Commissioner Chris Vincent, initially opposed the free sand, suggesting it might not be compatible or clean.

“I don’t see how you can be the mayor of a beachfront community and not stand up for sand on the beach,” says Brown.

Brown also supported adding landscaping, widening sidewalks and making other improvements in the downtown district, as did Vincent.

But Brown is an idea sparkplug who stays abreast of what’s happening elsewhere. As a member of the Florida League of Cities, he learned about another small town that’s using Uber to provide public transportation. He asked his commission colleagues to back a local six-month trial run, at a cost of about $5,000. He wondered whether residents might find door-to-door service better than waiting outside for the Pelican Hopper shuttle — a free trolley that costs the town about $200,000 per year. Brown’s proposal would have had residents pay a portion of their Uber rides.

“I like to think big,” said Brown, a retired congressional chief of staff and former local newspaper publisher. “New ideas. New ways of doing things.”

Vincent and the other commissioners balked at the trial run, saying the Pelican Hopper is a “huge, huge asset” that people don’t want to lose.

And that’s the big difference between Brown and Vincent, a 59-year-old building contractor who faces term limits after eight years on the commission.

The two largely agree on the everyday city issues, but Brown is willing to explore and test new ideas and possibilities. Vincent is more reserved.

The Sun Sentinel endorses Mark Brown for mayor of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

Commission Seat 1

Commissioner Elliot Sokolow offers a sense of calm, steadfastness and experience that his Seat 1 opponent doesn’t match. Sokolow, 75, has been on the commission since 2014. He is a previous mayor and councilman in nearby Sea Ranch Lakes. He exudes confidence in his ability to watch the budget, contain spending and keep property taxes low. “I have been there. I have done it. I know how to do it.”

Sokolow opposes building a new town hall complex anytime soon and last year found the size and cost of proposed designs for such a project concerning. He expects building a big new town hall complex would lead to hiring more city employees, which he doesn’t believe is needed. “One would feed on the other.”

We would encourage Sokolow to pay closer attention to sea-level rise and the threat it poses waterfront communities like the one he calls home. Saying he doesn’t yet see signs of worsening beach erosion and that he’s “not sure what we can do” shows he needs to do further inquiry.

Sokolow’s opponent, Alan Bluestein, 60, is a financial adviser who would also keep a watchful eye on the budget, but he’s only lived in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for 2 1⁄2 years. A candidate who uses the 1/2 year to boost his brief time in a community is like a grade schooler trying to convince his parents he’s old enough to stay up later. Bluestein would be a better candidate if he’d first volunteered on a city board and built some experience in city government.

For Seat 1, the Sun Sentinel recommends Lauderdale-by-the-Sea voters return Elliot Sokolow for a second term.

Brown

Sokolow