Council member killed in accident

Plantation’s Jerry Fadgen fell off ladder in his yard

Jerome “Jerry” Fadgen, a longtime Plantation city councilman, died at his home Monday afternoon after a landscaping accident, his wife confirmed. He was 72.

A fire department spokesman said he was pronounced dead at the scene. A police spokesman said the incident is under investigation.

Former Councilman Rico Petrocelli said Fadgen fell off a ladder while trimming a tree and suffered a broken neck. He described his close friend as a “kind, gentle guy.”

He said Fadgen was gearing up for his third run for the mayor’s seat in November. “He said ‘I love this city.’ He wanted to make changes in the city; he wanted to be the person to lead the city after Diane left,” Petrocelli said, referring to Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic.

“People, their hearts are aching,” said Petrocelli, who had chatted with Fadgen earlier in the morning at the city’s Memorial Day event.

Fadgen, a certified public accountant, was a religious conservative who sparred with the sitting mayor for years about spending.

Still, the mayor rushed to his home Monday when she got the news.

“You put every difference aside; this has nothing to do with politics,” Bendekovic said. “Nothing is about politics when something like this happens. Team Plantation is a family. [He was an] integral part of our community for so many years.

“My heart and prayers and condolences go out to the family.”

When Fadgen was first elected to the council in 1995, he successfully led a push to abolish a lavish pension plan for elected Plantation officials that gave them and their families free health, dental and life insurance benefits for life.

He was guided by his religion. He served as a board member of the antiabortion group Broward Right to Life and his anti-abortion position was key in his platform during his unsuccessful run for a state House seat in 1990.

“Jerry is old school,” said his pastor, Pastor Michael Hoyer of St. Gregory the Great, who rushed to the family home when he heard.

“He believes in his country; he believes in God; he believes in civic responsibility; he believes in his church,” Hoyer said. “He was a good Christian, a real moral person. We need more people like Jerry.”

Mitch Ceasar, the former chairman of the Broward Democratic Party, has lived in Plantation for 40 years. He remembers Fadgen on the street corner the day after elections — win or lose — with a sign that said that simply said “Thank you.”

“I found him to be always courteous and a super gentleman whether you agreed with him or not,” Ceasar said. “In today’s market, that is a lost art. There is no question of his deep devotion to the city. His love for the city was undeniable.”

Former Coral Springs Commissioner

Fadgen