Hallandale mayor attacked with ad on mobile billboard
A mobile billboard accusing Mayor Keith London of being a racist, sexist bully and urging him to “resign today” made the rounds Saturday, swinging by City Hall and busy Hallandale Beach Boulevard for four hours.
London is in the middle of a race for mayor in the city’s Nov. 6 election, but opponent Joy Adams wasn’t behind the roving billboard.
Instead, the mastermind was a police union upset about a plan to reduce pension benefits, says union leader Jeff Marano.
London says he’s watching out for taxpayer money.
“The union president is attacking me because our commission voted not to allow him to steal $2 million from the taxpayers of Hallandale Beach by misinterpreting” pension benefits spelled out in the union contract, London said. “Our commission is committed to protecting the public, not lining the pockets of a union president who is not a Hallandale Beach police officer or a Hallandale Beach resident.”
The attack on London comes on the heels of a political storm that erupted Aug. 13 when London made snide remarks to Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub about her making a living off “sphincter bleaching.”
Lima-Taub, whose mother owns a med spa that sells anal bleaching products, has compared it to a #MeToo moment.
London has since apologized for the remark, but Lima-Taub says she doesn’t believe his apology is sincere.
Lima-Taub said the story “has exposed Hallandale’s culture of abuse where insults and nastiness were accepted behavior and even covered up by some at the top city administration positions.”
The anal bleaching storyline has not gone unnoticed by Hallandale Beach cops, Marano says.
Marano claims four women officers sent him emails saying they were offended by London’s remarks. He declined to share the emails with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, saying he wanted to protect the women’s identities.
As to whether drivers will see the mobile billboard making its way around town again, Marano said the union has not yet decided.
The union spent $1,200 to have the truck driven around town on Saturday, he said.