Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
In Hollywood, Shuham, Ungleich and Biederman would best rein in spending
Hollywood City Commissioner Traci Callari sat looking mournful as would-be commissioner Thomas Ungleich rattled off complaints about the city with the precision of the military lawyer he once was.
“Six years ago I was in his shoes,” she said, during their joint endorsement interview with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. “It’s not as easy as it looks.”
She’s right. It’s not easy. But judging from the range of solutions offered by the six aspirants and two incumbents whose names appear on the Nov. 6 ballot for the Hollywood City Commission, some think it is.
Of the eight, Ungleich is the most hawkish on taxes, wasteful spending, bad fiscal judgment and overall mismanagement.
None of the candidates favors the fiscal mess in which the city finds itself. But the others don’t breath fire in quite the way Ungleich does. Nor are the rest so ready to slam the spending door shut until order is restored.
The two incumbents point to improvements in the ailing pension fund, taking it from an F rating to a D. Ungleich, by contrast, is aghast that it was allowed to get that bad. Whether the subject is missing sidewalks or failure to repair them, the purchase of unbudgeted police cars with GMC financing or the giveaway of city land to non-profit cultural groups, Ungleich is on the case.
Ungleich says he was prompted to run when the city decided to pull together a plan to float a $150-million general obligation bond, seeking voter approval in a special election in
2019. Putting the question to a vote in a special election — with nothing else on the ballot — will cost the city an extra $240,000. A similar scheme last March helped Pompano Beach win approval of three bonds with only an 8 percent voter turnout.
The bond issue would raise taxes yet again in a city that already levies one of Broward County’s highest tax rates. And it would make dubious contribution to the general health of the city, which suffers from myriad infrastructure failings, says Ungleich.
At least $60 million would go to a new police station, one that would have a higher hurricane rating than the current station. The second and third biggest chunks would be spent on the city’s two golf courses and appearance projects yet to be determined.
Frivolous, wasteful, typical of the spendthrift ways of a cashstrapped city not serious about restoring fiscal order, Ungleich says.
The improvements are necessary, argue a majority of the other candidates, with only the other incumbent, Kevin Biederman, opposed.
Traci Callari, for example, is most proud of her efforts to preserve green space and park land and promote traffic calming, according to her campaign literature. “I am working to continue to address our community’s traffic issues … and to improve code enforcement,” she says.
Those all are legitimate concerns, but all fall short of addressing the graver fiscal problems with which the city must deal.
A city commission needs a balance of talents to function at peak efficiency. The field of candidates before the voters this year fails to achieve that balance.
Callari is hard-working, earnest and caring, an ideal representative of family interests. Ungleich uniquely brings the all-important critical eye to the proceedings. But because they both come from Commission District 3, only one can be chosen.
Vote for Callari and you lose Ungleich. In our view that’s not a trade worth making. The city’s need is for the skills he offers.
The field in District 1 offers an easier choice. Lawyer Caryl Sandler Shuham stands out so clearly ahead of her two challengers, Itzhack Feldman and Luis Prada, it is hardly worth discussing.
Shuham would bring sharp intellect and analytic skills to the commission and would contribute some of the qualities that would be lost with the parting of Callari.
Kevin Biederman is an able representative and has done a sound, though not stellar job representing his District 5 constituents and the city in general. He claims credit for playing a part in solving the budget crisis. One of the components of the budget fix was a substantial raise in the city’s fire fee.
In any case, neither of his two opponents stand apart. Francisco Vargas, a math teacher at Driftwood Middle School, is wellmeaning but needs seasoning. His heart is certainly in the right place and he should continue his pursuit of public office.
Jack Izzo, a small business owner who expresses mild contempt for politicians who promise much and deliver little, confesses to knowledge gaps. He understands that his lack of experience puts him at a disadvantage facing an incumbent. Win or lose, his vow is: “I’m still going to be as active as I can possibly be.”
With mixed emotions, the Sun Sentinel endorses, Caryl Sandler Shuham, Thomas Ungleich and Kevin Biederman for the Hollywood City Commission, in Districts 1, 3 and 5, respectively. Only voters who live in those district can vote for their commissioner on Nov. 6.