Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Voters should reelect Frank Ortis to a fifth term in Pembroke Pines
In the March 17 race for Pembroke Pines mayor, city voters will choose between two familiar faces: long-time Mayor Frank Ortis and long-time Commissioner Angelo Castillo.
Ortis, 76, has been mayor for 16 years and on the city commission since the mid-1990s. Castillo, 60, has been on the commission since 2004 and vice mayor four times.
Castillo is a big personality who challenges people, makes waves and ruffles feathers. Ortis is a calming force, a happy warrior and a local institution.
Ortis is the better choice, largely because of his temperament and leadership style. Plus, in a joint meeting with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Castillo failed to make a persuasive case that it’s time for Ortis to pass the baton.
Take crime, for example. Castillo said residents of this growing and diverse southwestern Broward city feel unsafe because of concerns about crime. But aside from anecdotes, he offers zero evidence.
Indeed, Pembroke Pines has long been viewed as one of Florida’s safest cities. Between 2014 and 2018, its crime rate fell 14 percent. Between 2017 and 2018, it fell 11 percent, according to the city police department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Castillo, who previously worked for former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, said crime statistics are irrelevant if people “don’t feel safe enough.” He wants to hire more police officers and add more road patrols. If elected, he promised to bring concerned residents to City Hall to discuss “a strategic plan” on crime and other issues.
So why not do that now? Castillo said he lacks the authority because he represents only one district. “That’s the job the mayor should do and that’s part of why I’m running,” he said.
To solve a public problem, however, you first must define the problem. On that score, Castillo doesn’t deliver. And if concern about crime were at the level he suggests, people would show up, no matter where they live.
Castillo says the city’s 170,000 residents also are concerned about traffic, water quality and taxes. He said the city must overhaul its “fractured” plan for addressing traffic congestion and noted that extending Pembroke Road to U.S. 27 remains a mystery.
Castillo also criticized Ortis and city administrators for failing to clearly address water quality concerns a couple of years back. Ortis, meanwhile, blames Castillo for injecting himself into how water-quality test results were communicated, resulting in a $45,000 fine to the city.
On taxes and spending, Castillo said the next mayor needs to exercise “fiscal restraint,” though it’s hard to see how adding more police officers and transportation fixes will hold the line on spending. It’s also worth noting that the current millage rate is the lowest it’s been since 2009-10, according to the latest city budget report.
While calling for a change in direction, Castillo supports keeping Charles Dodge in the city manager’s office, a position
Dodge has held since 1989. If serious change were needed at City Hall, you would think it would be needed in the manager’s office, too.
Castillo suggests Ortis has too many conflicts of interests because he owns a local restaurant — Mayor’s Café and Bagel Emporium — and works as a union lobbyist.
Ortis has been a union leader for decades and lobbies on behalf of the Sugar Industry Labor Management Committee, which includes Clewiston-based U.S.
Sugar Corp. and Florida Crystals Corp. in West Palm Beach. As such, the mayor lobbied against the reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee that when built, should help end the blue-green algae outbreaks of recent years. Ortis said he stood with workers whose jobs were at risk. U.S. Sugar has contributed $500 to his mayoral campaign.
We don’t support mayors or county commissioners lobbying other governments on behalf of private clients — unions or otherwise — because the public’s agenda could face the backlash. But the law says they can.
Ortis also is in a legal battle with a former restaurant employee, who has accused him of sexually assaulting and harassing her. However, the Broward State Attorney’s Office found insufficient evidence and closed its investigation of the matter. The woman has filed a civil lawsuit. Ortis has countersued.
To us, this election appears not about turning a corner, but about “it’s my turn.”
Pines politicians have long been waiting for Ortis to retire. Castillo said Ortis had told him that he wasn’t planning to run for re-election, then called to say he’d changed his mind. Castillo decided against backing off.
“Commissioners came to me and said, ‘We’re afraid that the commission will be disruptive if everybody runs for mayor at this time,’” Ortis told us. Besides Castillo, he said Commissioner Jay Schwartz and Vice Mayor Iris Siple also had planned to run for mayor.
“I want to make sure our city keeps going the way it’s going,” Ortis said. “I’m a good mayor. Residents are very happy with our city.”
Castillo is a smart and engaged commissioner who stirs things up. While there’s a place for fiery commissioners — in this case, at this time — it’s not in the mayor’s seat.