Broward News & Opinion

MIND THE GAP

I was talking to a Black Democratic lobbyist and political consultant who told me racism is on the ballot in Florida. I thought his theory was pretty compelling.

It started with a simple question: Who's the voter choosing Ashley Moody and David Jolly?

His answer was blunt: That voter will cross party lines before voting for a Black person.

Everyone expects Moody to win. But mind the gap. How far ahead of Donalds does she finish? Where does Jolly pick up votes that Nixon doesn't? Will that number even be significant?

Don't expect the voter he's describing to admit it out loud. Maybe it comes out at the door after a little prodding. Racism isn't fashionable. But in the voting booth, nobody has to explain a damn thing.

We'll spend election night talking about crossover appeal and independent voters. But we ought to have the backbone to talk about racism, too.

His argument is that the returns will tell a story that polling won't. The gap between Moody and Donalds. Between Jolly and Nixon. Between what people say and what they actually do.

County by county. Precinct by precinct.

Mind the gap.

EVERYBODY'S FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION UNTIL THERE'S A CHECK TO CASH

Broward's cities spent years agreeing on a plan for the region's garbage. Now comes the part where we find out how much they meant it.

Alpha 250 is 22 acres of county land in western Pompano Beach that consultants recommended keeping for the new garbage system.

I'm hearing Pompano Beach and Coconut Creek are interested in preserving the property for government use, possibly waste related. But an open market sale could bring more than either city is willing to pay.

If a sale leaves $35 million to distribute, the settlement formula puts Fort Lauderdale's share at about $5.75 million. Hollywood gets nearly $3 million. Davie gets $2.8 million.

Keeping the property public doesn't necessarily mean giving up the money. The settlement allows Broward County to retain the land by paying the net amount a sale to the highest qualified bidder would have produced.

Still, somebody has to write the check and distribute it to the cities. That's 18 boards with somewhere around 90 municipal elected officials, all with their own ideas and priorities about what they need.

Meanwhile, I'm hearing lobbyists, contractors, consultants and community advocates are already looking for partners. And all eyes are already on Pompano, where a bruising municipal election adds another layer of politics. The property sits within its borders, but the city isn't among the municipalities that were part of the old Resource Recovery ILA.

Then there's property tax reform. Even if voters reject Amendment 3, lawmakers could pursue other changes that squeeze local budgets. If that happens, those checks will look even better.

It's easy to agree on a garbage plan for the next 40 years. Let's see how committed everybody is when they need money for next year.

Source: 2015 settlement agreement, Exhibit A.