Candidates resolve to reduce gridlock

Pembroke Pines mayor’s race on ballot as early voting starts

Early voting begins Saturday and voters in Pembroke Pines have more to think about than the candidate for president of the United States.

Pembroke Pines, one of Broward County’s largest cities, has the mayor’s seat up for grabs, with incumbent Mayor Frank Ortis squaring off against Commissioner Angelo Castillo.

There also is the contest for the commission post representing the District 2, the northeastern part of the city that includes the city’s two hospitals and the Pembroke Lakes Mall. In that race, political newcomer Mark O’Loughlin faces incumbent Commissioner Jay Schwartz.

Here’s a look at the candidates.

Angelo Castillo

Castillo, 61, who has been on the City Commission since 2004, said residents are concerned about traffic, water quality and taxes. Castillo said traffic tie-ups are a lingering, unsolved issue with “a fractured plan to address growing gridlock east to west in our city.”

“Road projects are not being delivered timely and one of my first tasks will be to convene a city task force with residents, and stakeholders to develop and publish an inclusive traffic plan for our city that is realistic and can be urgently implemented,” he said.

And he accuses City Hall of doing “a poor job” of providing information about the city’s water quality. He pushed for monthly water quality testing, instead of quarterly.

As commissioner, an accomplishment was pushing for police body cameras amid unrest across the country over officers’ use of force, particularly on minorities.

“There will be two types of police departments five years from now: the ones that saw it as the right thing to do and got it done, and the ones that lament that they never did it,” he said in 2016.

Castillo once was a member of former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel’s command staff, and also is the former director of the Broward County Human Services Department.

Frank Ortis

Ortis, 76, was elected to the Pembroke Pines City Commission in 1996 and has been the mayor since 2004. His cam

paign issues include traffic and safety.

Ortis said he has advocated for ways to improve the traffic flow in this bustling city by widening roads and adding new fiber optics for traffic-signal synchronization. And he said he pushed to hire more police officers to boost safety.

He has been in the news for not falling for suspicious activity.

The FBI sting that led to corruption charges against two lobbyists and two mayors in Miami-Dade County tried to catch him, too.

Ortis was approached with the same fictional deal but he didn’t take the bait by lobbyists.

“I went to our city attorney and said something doesn’t seem right with this,” Ortis recalled.

Ortis is the owner of The Mayor’s Café & Bagel Emporium. He’s also a union leader and lobbyist for the Sugar Industry Labor Management Committee, which includes Clewistonbased U.S. Sugar Corp. and Florida Crystals Corp. in West Palm Beach.

Mark O’Loughlin

In the District 2 seat commission race, O’Loughlin has not served in elected office. But he has government experience through appointments, such as serving on the Pembroke Pines Economic Development Board, the Technology Advisory Committee for the School Board, and the Broward County Housing Authority.

O’Loughlin, 53, said he advocates for the city to pay more attention to making improvements in the eastern part of the city.

“Pembroke Pines is fast becoming a tale of two cities. In the east, we have infrastructure that is now 60 years old, meaning everything from drainage to sidewalks to lighting are well overdue for maintenance and upgrades,” he said.

Jay Schwartz

Schwartz, 49, who has served on the commission since 2012, said he opposes building new high-density housing projects.

“We do not want projects that will create more traffic,” he said. “I have a long documented record of opposing high-density apartment rental projects.”

And he said he supported the Charles F. Dodge City Center project — the complex that includes City Hall, a theater with thousands of seats and The Frank art gallery because it was voter-approved.

Outside of that, “I have not voted for any rental or high-density projects. These types of projects have shown it dramatically increases traffic and puts a strain on the our police and fire services.”