Contradictions! If Hallandale Beach's budget can nearly double in 6-8 years under Joy Cooper, with little tangible to show for it for taxpayers, why can't taxpayers at least have city employees who earn their salaries thru diligence, performance and attention to detail -instead of none of those? Like having a safe, well-lit area for Early Voters outside the city's Cultural Center for the first day of an event that's been known for SEVERAL MONTHS?; @MayorCooper

Butler1Mike YouTube Channel video: Hallandale Beach Mayor Cooper contradicts herself, saying that she didn't vote for the city's overly-generous pension plan in 2001 that lasted for many years, but then defends the pension plan that the city had that has (or will) make multi-millionaires out of several employees, including three former City Managers, as entirely appropriate for a city so small. Yes, here as she has so many times over the nine years that she has been mayor, Joy Cooper shows herself to be one enormous ball of contradictions, which is why there is never an intersection of logic and reason and genuine taxpayer accountability in her city. Just her doing whatever she wanted, saying whatever she wanted, and flying by the seat of your pants! Uploaded October 31, 2012. http://youtu.be/xhlnEezjZGU
http://www.youtube.com/user/Butler1Mike


No Broward city let's you down more consistently and more predictably when it comes to attention to detail than...

For those of you who were there last Saturday morning at 6:45 a.m. like me, how awesome was it to see all the hustle-and-bustle and nervous energy of so many voters, candidates and their friends milling around the Hallandale Beach Cultural Center, the only site in the city for Early Voting, and just as about any of us could've predicted, about half of the city's parking lot lights and safety lights around the Center were NOT working.

When it was near pitch-black.

Just like last week, last month and last year.

Just like 2008's Early Voting!

Like it always is!

All October 27, 2012 photos below by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

The light above in the foreground is from my camera's flash, otherwise none of the signs would be legible to you.

Again, without my flash, you'd see no shadowy figure crossing at the designated place. You know, without lights that actually work, those security cameras aren't nearly as effective.
Looks like the lights on the access route from S.E. 3rd Street were out, of course!
Not that the police or the police chief who drive on it constantly ever notice and do something about it. 
Nope!

Yes, you'd never know by the appearance of so very much neglected maintenance that the city's Police Dept. HQ was just steps away, given how very lax the city has been for so many years about basic safety and common sense and liability issues.

"Liability," what's that?

If you're like me, how funny was it to see the myriad candidates and their devoted friends and family members handing-out their campaign palm cards to voters lined-up on a median strip in the parking lot, south of the Cultural Center -and outside of the "no campaigning zone"- waiting patiently for a Broward Supervisor of Elections official to come out and have the first few people come inside to exercise their right to vote, and yet the folks at the end of the line could NOT even read the palm cards they were handed because they were so far from a working light and it was so very dark?

Yes, good times, indeed!

What could be better than lots of senior citizens parking and walking around in poorly-lit parking lots early in the morning? What could possibly go wrong? 

So, do you see all the dozens of Early Voters lined-up at 6:57 a.m.?

Who needs city Dept. heads and employees who actually show a little foresight once in a while, and who earn their salary thru hard work and attention to detail, when you can, instead, have SO MANY of the sort that we seem to have been blessed with here in Hallandale Beach?

Government employees who have a larger sense of entitlement -and a seeming chip-on-their-shoulders- than would seem normal based on the constant sub-par look of the city, both aesthetically and maintenance-wise.

City employees who, for whatever reason, perhaps tradition, think that their performance is NOT Job One, but rather an abstract idea that they never have to actually reach, just pretend to aspire to at Dept. meetings.

After all, if we've learned anything in nine years of living here, it's that there are absolutely no consequences to employees' continued poor performance or chronic bad attitude or perpetual surliness to taxpayers, the real bosses, of course.

(I sometimes wonder what it's like in the cities where all those City of HB employees live, since so few Dept. heads and regular employees actually live here, otherwise perhaps they'd take more pride in their job. Clearly, not, though.)

Yes, the fact that it's been known for several months now that this location would be the City of Hallandale Beach's ONLY site for Early Voting made it entirely predictable that on the first day, many voters would think they'd beat the rush by showing-up to vote first thing at 7 a.m.

And for those of you reading this far from these shores, yes, even here in sunny South Florida, at this time of the year, it's very dark at 6:45 in the morning.

Of course, most of these voters, unlike most of us who regularly attend civic meetings or City Commission meetings at or around Hallandale Beach City Hall, and thus, who already know how bad things are safety-wise around City Hall and Bluesten Park two blocks away when the sun is NOT out, could't have planned for how very poorly prepared the city was.

I guess it was a good thing, after all, that there were no surprise guests from the Romney-Ryan team showing-up as some had been saying via the grapevine and some emails I received the night before, since even with the TV camera lights, with so many city lights out, it would've been hard to do anything that would've looked good on TV, either LIVE or recorded for airing later in the day.

Yes, I'd gone there early that morning after getting no sleep overnight to lend some encouragement to some friends who are running for office as pro-reform candidates -Keith London for mayor, and Csaba Kulin, Michele Lazarow and Gerald Dean for City Commission- observe a bit and and snap some photos and video of the activities.

But instead, even while doing those things, I walked into what was yet another discouraging reminder of how poorly-run this city has been under Mayor Cooper the past nine years, and how consistently poor performance has no consequences for employees, no matter who they are or how much money they make.

Changing that pernicious culture of entitlement, bad attitudes and sleepwalking performance at HB City Hall, of making sure that Hallandale Beach taxpayers REALLY DO receive a dollar's worth of work and services for a dollar's worth of taxes, and, finally having real consequences for city employees who are NOT performing up to the public's expectations, no matter who they are, is why I'm voting the way I am on Tuesday.

If you live here and really care about what sort of future this city will have, of what kind of quality of life you and your family can enjoy, I strongly suggest you do the same.

Vote London, Kulin, Lazarow & Dean, YES for City Charter Question #5, and NO to all the other HB Charter questions.

It's now five days and counting 'till the day you can finally reclaim your city back from the very people who have taken you and your neighbors for granted, have constantly tried to squelch your rights whenever they could, and who have made an art of wasting your tax dollars in ways that would be laughable if they weren't so painful and expensive.

There are four candidates in this city who have stood-up when it counted -including right now.
You already know their names - I just said them

Not perfect people, of course, but people much like yourself who genuinely care about this city's future, and who fervently believe that this city's residents deserve -at a minimum- to be properly respected once again by a Mayor and City Commission that doesn't continually embarrass them thru their repeated poor judgment and ethical lapses.
Imagine that?

Actually represented by a Mayor and City Commission with some genuine integrity, and represented by people who are properly-prepared for public meetings, and who aren't afraid of the hard work and heavy-lifting that will surely be required to get this city out of its current slide into irrelevancy.

You've said for years that you wanted honest and hard-working people in charge at City Hall who would fight for real reform and financial accountability, and finally clean-up this city's poor image.
Well, now it's up to you to actually show-up and vote for it and the candidates who will make it a reality.

What sort of city do you want to wake-up to next Wednesday morning?
THAT'S the question you as a voter have to answer positively when you get the chance.

http://kulin2012.com/

http://michelelazarow.com/

http://keithlondon.com/

BetterBroward.org: Hallandale GOP Executive Committee endorses Csaba Kulin, Michele Lazarow and Gerald Dean in non-partisan Hallandale Beach City Commission races, rejecting Comm. Anthony A. Sanders and Bill Julian - "Sanders and Julian simply cause more problems than they solve and we deserve better."

This past week, all over town, the email inboxes of Hallandale Beach's most-concerned and well-informed residents and small-business owners received what I can only characterize as a most-welcome bolt out-of-the-blue regarding the upcoming city elections on November 6th, 16 short days from today.

I reproduce, below, that positive news about calls for increased financial accountability, increased scrutiny of public policy and increased use of transparency at Hallandale Beach City Hall -and recommendations for just who will make that a reality- courtesy of BetterBroward.org. 

I also remind you that you can always check the most current (and past) campaign financial reports of all mayoral and city commission candidates here:
http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=228

http://clicks.electionemail.com/preview/?c=19560&g=156&p=c513b343814d3805483bbb0790f65ab7

FANTASTIC NEWS! CANDIDATES FOR HALLANDALE COMMISSION RECEIVE VOTE RECOMMENDATIONS! []]        Three of the six candidates running for the non-partisan Hallandale Beach Commission have received unanimous "Vote For" recommendations from the  Hallandale GOP Executive Committee Members. Written GOP Voter's Guides are being delivered to all 4,500+ GOP voters in Hallandale. But we wanted to get this news out quickly for your consideration and benefit using Absentee and Early voting.      Hallandale GOP Committee members recommend you cast your TWO VOTES from among these three candidates. You may only cast two votes, but are electing three Commissioners. Why, well in a most undemocratic "sleight of hand" after the election process had begun, Commissioner Lewy maneuvered an unpublicized procedure causing you to be electing three Commissioners by only two votes. The third-highest vote-getter will be elected to the third seat by default. Thus, it is critical in this election you vote for two candidates for commission irrespective of having in the past cast just one vote in a "Bullet Vote."  The Hallandale GOP recommends you vote for two: Candidate   Recommend for:    Mr. Gerald Dean      N.W. Hallandale Conservative Activist "Palms Community Coalition, Inc." serving families in the NW section of Hallandale. Gerald opposes Sander's lack of service to the NW suburbs, all the while Sanders and his wife Jessica benefited personally from his commission seat. eMail:  gerald-dean@att.net  Phone:  (954) 610-0856   Mr. Csaba Kulin      Eastside experienced businessman, HB condo President, Community conservative activist, and extremely knowledgeable of city government and Commission shenanigans with our CRA monies. Csaba Opposes Red Light Cameras. Csaba has received endorsement from The Hispanic Vote.org organization. eMail:  Csaba@Kulin2012.com http://www.kulin2012.com     Phone: 440-759-6696  Ms. Michele Lazarow      East side community activist, long time HB Business owner, champion for small government, opposes intrusive local government regulation imposed under the the incumbent Sanders, Lewy and past Commissioner Julian. Ms. Lazarow has received the Endorsement from the Hallandale Beach Fire Fighters.    http://michelelazarow.com/ michele@michelelazarow.com  (305) 607-5683       The Local GOP leadership, your neighbors, are making these recommendations without regard to party affiliation but rather to achieve better Hallandale Beach Government. In fact  party affiliation has never been questioned in our consideration.         By Electing these three candidates to the Hallandale Beach Commission, We the PEOPLE stand a far better chance at getting a smaller, leaner lower cost city government without suffering loss of quality service. These are experienced business owners and community leaders who have evidenced a sincere desire to deliver good government for the people and put an end to cronyism.       We similarly recommend not voting for Sanders, Julian or Henigson, who are the remaining Commission candidates. Sanders and Julian are not recommended as they are part of the long term problems at City Hall and have exhibited lack of judgmental integrity and in the case of Sanders who is under investigation by the Broward Inspector General for possible self-dealing and receiving unjust enrichment in office. They are both simply a problems that need to be left behind. These two candidates have left a legacy of haunting problems that have pervaded the Council Chambers and its time to move them to the history files of Hallandale Beach.  Sanders and Julian simply cause more problems than they solve and we deserve better.        Ms. Henigson, while we believe she is sincere, lacks the community credentials that could draw our support at this time.       We urge you to consider these candidates carefully and cast your TWO votes from among the RECOMMENDED candidates WE DESERVE BETTER HALLANDALE GOVERNMENT   LET'S VOTE TO GET IT. Your Hallandale GOP Leadership Team: Mr. Gerald Williams Y001 Ms. Gineen Bresso, Y005 Ms. Emma Bumsteyn Y003 Dr. Sam Colton Y005 Mr. John Patchen Y003 Paul Cooney Y007 Chad Lincoln Y014 NOTICE: you can still request an Absentee Ballot from the Broward Supervisor of Election up to October 31st.  You may make this request by Telephone, Mail or Online with the Supervisor's office.  BROWARD S.O.E.  (954) 357-7050

Absolutely pummeled! Hallandale Beach Comm. Anthony A. Sanders & ex-Comm. Bill Julian both bomb at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Editorial Board meeting for HB candidates Monday morning, while Csaba Kulin, Michele Lazarow and Gerald Dean shine while enthusiastically making the case for a pro-reform City Hall that actually serves taxpayers to replace the corrupt and unethical one we've been stuck with for years under Joy Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew; Kulin, Lazarow & Dean recount in detail most of the major issues and recent scandals; @SandersHB, @AlexLewy

Hallandale Beach City Hall. October 13, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Not that this news will come as any great shock to anyone who pays close attention to what actually happens in Hallandale Beach, but if you didn't already hear, the word on the street courtesy of some of the people who were at the table themselves is that sphinx-like HB Comm. Anthony A. Sanders and former ten-year commissioner, general laughingstock and 2012 candidate William "Bill" Julian absolutely bombed at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Editorial Board meeting Monday morning before their three-employees asking questions.

That group consisted of editorial writer Douglas Lyons, columnist Michael Mayo, and someone else whose name I have forgotten at the moment, speaking to the six City Commission candidates for a little over an hour at the Sun-Sentinel's HQ, following the one hour mayoral candidate interview with Mayor Joy Cooper and Comm. Keith London.

Typically, both Sanders and Julian seemed completely unprepared for what they were walking into, which is how they usually appeared to me and others observing them at City Commission meetings over the years, unprepared to get at the heart of any particular matter other than to repeat or mumble things they's heard city staff tell them prior to the meeting.

Talk about a lack of work ethic!

Sanders and Julian seem to have thought they were going to a friendly family Bar BQ dinner, somewhere where everyone would say nice things about each other, instead of a vetting panel of serious people who didn't care about their feelings who would be asking probing questions about their truly terrible and embarrassing records in office, as well as ask them to explain what their future plans were if re-elected and elected in their respective cases.

What Julian and Sanders also clearly hadn't counted on so much was not only the directness of the probing questions fired at them by the three employees of the Sun-Sentinel, but the glee and eagerness with which three of the other four candidates -my friends Csaba Kulin, Michele Lazarow and Gerald Dean- were prepared to positively hammer them over-and-over with cold-hard facts and votes they couldn't refute and even some embarrassing questions and admissions, too. 

Surprise!

From all accounts, more than three years after-the-fact, Sanders could STILL NOT intelligently

explain to the Sun-Sentinel with a straight face what the specific facts and context of the

sale of his and his wife's land to the city were, and why, 

a.) they received more money than the property was really worth,

b.) why there was and STILL IS no city plan for the building that taxpayers like you and me 

paid $235,000 for, but only receive the measly sum of $20 a year in rent from a non-profit run

by Dr. Deborah Brown, who is, 

c.) a longtime Joy Cooper ally who has been receiving tens of thousands of dollars a year in CRA funds and city grants.

The folks from the Sun-Sentinel simply were NOT buying the cock-and-bull story that Sanders was trying to peddle to the, and it didn't help him at all that Michael Mayo was one of the three people peppering him with knowing questions since Mayo has already written several fact-filled columns on the land transaction over the last few years that positively blister Sanders and unmask his carefully-crafted image and show him as the not-so-ethical pastor he is.

Mayo was all-too-familiar with the germane facts that Sanders has found far too painful to share with HB taxpayers in public at any point in the last three years, as I've been saying here on the blog for so very long.

Sanders basically cut his own throat in public and was exposed for what he is, which is fine with me.

I only wish there was video of it so I could play it for you here, so you could see it for yourself and many people in town could finally admit that they were conned.

By the way, lest we forget, thanks to a Bill Julian motion made in 2009, Sanders & Co. get to keep using the city-owned building for free until it is leveled... whatever year or

decade that turns out to be.

If you can believe it, despite you and me and seemingly everyone else here talking about it for so long -and so disappointingly, after the HB City Commission essentially changed the election rules in mid-course and dis-enfranchised us- the folks at the Sun-Sentinel did NOT know that thanks to the doings of that same City Commission, three candidates will be elected to office in three weeks, on November 6th, even though the ballots will still remain marked to Vote for No More Than Two -NOT THREE.

That particular point came up when my friend Csaba Kulin complained about the way the HB City Commission -thanks almost entirely to the partisan and selfish efforts of Comm. Lewy, a.k.a. Lewy the Liar- had completely botched the entire election process by cancelling the originally-scheduled January 15th vote for someone to serve the remaining two years of Comm. London's term, because he resigned effective Election Day in order to run for mayor against Mayor Cooper in three weeks.

(You know, where Lewy ignored the fact that prominent Broward Democrat Angelo Castillo already did in Pembroke Pines and what Charlotte Rodstrom was and is now doing in Fort Lauderdale that Lewy pretends that he's so very, very upset about here -London running in January for his old seat if he lost to Cooper. 

But, of course, Lewy is far too chicken to ever say anything publicly about Castillo and Rodstrom, of course. 

Nope, he just keeps his mouth shut because he knows what would happen to him, the unctuous career-politician-in-training, if Broward Dems got a whiff of what he'd been saying in HB about London and heard him say the same thing about Castillo and Rodstrom, even though it's the exact same thing, 

yes, once again proving that for the young self-aggrandizing Lewy, always trying to play the angles, principles are more a matter of convenience than anything else.)

According to what Csaba told me hours later on Monday afternoon, the folks from the Sun-Sentinel were, literally, dumb-founded at finding out how this process had been mishandled -intentionally as we all know- and that the three of them seemed aghast that they did NOT know such a crucial fact before the meeting started.

To which I say, yeah, so imagine how WE feel, knowing that we are being prevented from voting for a third candidate in an election for an all At-Large City Commission where three candidates WILL be elected, not two.

Last pre-Election Day Hallandale Beach Resident Forum meeting is tonight at 6 p.m. at The Village at Gulfstream Park -and it should be VERY lively!

Above, the northern entrance on Hallandale Beach Blvd. to Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Florida. October 9, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Don't forget about tonight's Resident Forum meeting at 6 p.m. being hosted by Comm. Keith London, the last one before Election Day - THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY.

And over in plenty of time to get back home and watch the second presidential debate.

Like the last two meetings, it'll be held at The Village of Gulfstream Park in the retail space next to Krön Chocolatier, 1240 Silks Run, as all the pro-reform, pro-accountability candidates in Hallandale Beach -Csaba Kulin, Michele Lazarow and Gerald Dean- will likely be attending as well.

Why wouldn't they, after all, it's the one time every month where the best-informed and most- concerned residents and small business owners of Hallandale Beach can actually get together and speak freely about what's really going on in this city -or NOT and ought to be.

I'm just talking out loud here but maybe, just maybe, some of you folks at local South Florida TV stations who fairly regularly call me or send me emails, and who almost reflexively proclaim that you're definitely going to come by HB...

a.) "soon,"

b.) "sometime in the near-future,"

c.) "one of these days,"

might actually make it your business to do so, and stop making excuses for why you can't actually take advantage of an opportunity to observe and engage with the best-informed people of one South Florida community.

A community where many of the citizen taxpayers who regularly attend really ARE much better-informed than the city's elected leaders and highly-paid bureaucrats...

It was my experience in living and working in Washington, D.C. for 15 years and being involved in all sorts of corporate and philanthropic endeavors, and more specifically, being involved on both sides of the glass for dozens and dozens of focus groups, that you usually have to pay to get this many smart people together as a focus group to talk about matters and ideas that you want to know more about.

All this time, South Florida reporters, columnists, editors and anchors could've been getting it all for free.

-----

Below, the email I received this morning...

Reminder Commissioner Keith S. London Last “Resident Forum” Meeting Everyone, Just a reminder Commissioner London’s LAST “Resident Forum” will be held, Tuesday, October 16, 2012 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. As your City Commissioner, I have been holding monthly meetings for over five years helping residents understand the process of their government. I have had the pleasure of interacting with many of you and still remember when over 100 people came to hear the three land use experts I invited to discuss the Diplomat Country Club building over 1050 units on the golf course. When elected Mayor I promise to continue these well attended meetings. Please come out and join us for the last Commissioner London “Resident Forum” meeting ever! PLEASE NOTE:  This meeting is has been relocated to the Villages at Gulfstream Park, 1240 Silks Run. Free parking is available in the North garage and our venue is just to the right of the parking garage pedestrian exit.  Free refreshments will be served. Please join us and participate in “Our” City. Warm Regards, Keith Commissioner Keith S. London
Phone: 954-494-3182 613 Oleander Drive Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 email: keith@keithlondon.comwww.keithlondon.com Political Advertisement paid for and approved by Keith S. London for Hallandale Beach Mayor, Non Partisan

Disturbing news re political intimidation in Northwest Hallandale Beach, and naturally, campaign signs are involved -Comm. Anthony A. Sanders' signs. Team Sanders has been illegally placing Sanders yard signs in residents' front yards without their permission!; @SandersHB

Above, campaign signs along the commercial area of West Dixie Highway & S.W. 7th Street, Hallandale Beach, FL. September 15, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

Disturbing news re political intimidation in Northwest Hallandale Beach, and naturally, campaign signs are involved -Comm. Anthony A. Sanders' signs. Team Sanders has been illegally placing Sanders yard signs in residents' front yards without their permission! @SandersHB

I received a phone call from Csaba Kulin this afternoon and he mentioned several disturbing things to me that I believe that all concerned Hallandale Beach residents ought to know about.

Some of the facts he shared are ones that we all might've predicted would happen at some point in the final six weeks with Comm. Anthony A. Sanders re-election effort, given,

a.) the truly abysmal job Sanders has done in office the past four years, and the fact that he's refused to meet with resident taxpayers like you and me in public and simply tell the truth about what really happened with that 2009 land sale to the city, where the only parties who profited was Comm. Sanders and his wife, Jessica, and,

b.) Sanders foolishly and illegally refused to recuse himself that Spring, and actually voting to give himself free use of the building he "sold" until it is demolished, courtesy of a motion by then-Commissioner and current candidate Bill Julian that passed 4-1.

So you have the proper context, now that he has his own yards signs, Csaba has been busy campaigning and walking neighborhoods in Northwest Hallandale Beach for the past week, sometimes with Gerald Dean, sometimes by himself.

Csaba told me that he is being told over-and-over by residents that he speaks with at their homes that someone from Comm. Sanders' campaign have been a very busy beaver, indeed.

It turns out that someone from Team Sanders has been illegally placing Sanders yard signs in residents' front yards without their permission.

According to Csaba, they're everywhere- but not by choice.

When asked why they don't simply remove them or call to complain, residents say that they know that regardless of what they do, another Sanders sign will be placed there overnight if they do anything to remove it, which is apparently what has already happened to some people who wouldn't put up with the effort to coerce the neighborhood.

Given these circumstances, some residents, esp. older residents, are quite understandably

intimidated, and reluctant to draw attention to themselves by removing the illegally-placed campaign signs from their own yards. 

They have become unwilling victims of Sanders' desire to stay in office and ride the gravy train however long he can, by hook or by crook.

Not that Sanders is telling the truth to anyone in NW HB, either, since as we've all discussed previously, the truth is NOT Sanders' friend!

It's one of the reasons why Sanders initially refused to cooperate with the Broward Inspector General and his team of investigators,

Additionally, one of Comm. Sanders' sons has twice been observed/caught removing Gerald Dean's campaign yard signs, and Gerald has personally called Comm. Sanders to let him know that he is on notice that:
a.) Gerald knows about it, and, 
b.) that if Gerald's signs are illegally removed again, or otherwise tampered with, he WILL call the Police and file a formal complaint.

Keep your seatbelt on and your eyes and ears open, folks, because the next 40 days are going to be very bumpy!