Hollywood commission candidate: I’m withdrawing

HOLLYWOOD – Frank Johnston says he no longer wants to be a Hollywood commissioner and is withdrawing from the Nov. 6 race.

But to make it official, he needs to send a signed letter to City Hall. As of Monday afternoon, City Clerk Pat Cerny said she had not received any such letter.

Johnston, 38, says it’s in the mail.

On July16, he sent an email to City Hall saying he planned to withdraw from the District 3 race. Johnston says he sent a letter the next day that might have gotten lost in the mail. He sent another on Thursday, he said.

Johnston’s name will not appear on the November ballot as long as he withdraws by Sept. 7, said Broward Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes.

Johnston says he moved out of Hollywood last week, but he declined to say to where. Some had questioned whether he lived in the district in which he was running, in central Hollywood between Sheridan Street and Hollywood Boulevard. He insists he did.

Like many cities, Hollywood requires candidates to reside in their district for at least six months before qualifying to run for office. Only Hollywood voters in Districts1, 3 and 5 will cast votes come Nov. 6.

Johnston’s exit from the race would leave District 3 voters with two choices: Incumbent Traci Callari, a nurse elected in 2012, and Thomas Richard Ungleich, a retired attorney for the U.S. Army.

Kevin Biederman, a local business owner elected six years ago to represent District

5’s western neighborhoods, has two opponents: Business owner Jack Anthony Izzo and Francisco Vargas, a teacher at Driftwood Middle School.

Commissioner Debra Case, who was elected two years ago to represent District 1’s eastern neighborhoods, is not seeking re-election.

Four people are vying for her seat: Itzhack Feldman and retired pilot Luis Prada, both former candidates who ran in 2016 but lost to Case; Caryl Sandler Shuham,anattorneymaking her first run for office; and Joseph Kaplan, a write-in candidate whose name will not appear on the ballot.

Johnston, a former U.S. Marine now working as a consultant, challenged Beam Furr for his county commission seat earlier this year but said he withdrew from that race as well.