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Broward Republican party chair politicizes county budget battle
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Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti, Jr.
Despite Broward County Mayor Stacy Ritter’s insistence that the county commission’s on-going budget fight with Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti, Jr. is not a partisan issue, Broward Republican Party chairman Chip LaMarca has just turned it into one, as reported by the Sun-Sentinel politics blog. Ritter is a Democrat (as is most of the county commission), while Lamberti is a Republican.
The fact that Ritter’s sharpest comments were made before the monthly meeting of the Broward Democratic Party didn’t help her non-partisan argument. Notably, however, Broward Democratic Party chairman, Mitch Caesar, issued a press release in June that deliberately did not support or attack either side in the debate, stating instead that the budget issue should not be a partisan battle. Lamberti, too, has resisted the temptation to refer to the commission or the mayor as engaging in party politics. Both sides have emphasized the actual issues involved – cutting the budget while maintaining the safety and security of the residents of Broward County.
LaMarca’s press release, however, does exactly the opposite. Saying that the mayor’s comments to the county’s Democrats were “the last straw,” he goes on to criticize the commissioners and the mayor for failing to restrict their own spending, including by hiring a consultant to review a proposal for the commission to take over operations at the county jail. Also criticizing the commission’s apparent investigation as to whether the county’s fourteen communities are underpaying the county for sheriff/fire-rescue services, LaMarca accuses the commission of “putting the squeeze” on the constituents they represent. He urges the county’s city mayors and elected officials to speak up and urge the commission to “back off and quit playing games” and wonders whether their silence is due to concern of reprisals in the Democratic Party.
Ignoring the fact that the current economic crisis did not exist until after Lamberti had taken office, LaMarca asks whether the commission would have conducted the same audit under previous sheriffs. Skillfully, he injects politics into every aspect of the budget debate, including that of removing jail operations from under BSO. He wonders whether the commission has considered privatizing the jail instead of taking it over. Ritter’s comments to the Democratic meeting did include privatization as a possibility, but LaMarca insists that the commission has not considered it as an option.
LaMarca concludes by arguing that the commission’s actions amount to “gotcha politics” and is reminiscent of election-year politics. Interestingly, however, he offers no suggestions or solutions to the budget crisis the county is currently faced with. He seems to be incensed that Ritter chose the Democratic meeting to air her grievances against the sheriff, and uses this to spark his engagement into the debate. Had he known that her appearance had been arranged well in advance of the current budget debate, perhaps his criticism may not have been as sharp.
By contrast, the brief June press release by Mitch Cesear made a point of not commenting on any of the ideas put forth by either the commission or the sheriff. When asked to clarify to the Sun-Sentinel, he insisted that the budget was not a political issue, and that the Democratic Party stands “with the residents and taxpayers.” When asked whether he thinks that the sheriff should have to accept the same budget cuts as other county agencies, or whether law enforcement is a higher priority, he replied, “That’s not for me to say.”
For More Information:
Republican party chairman weighs in on sheriff vs. County Commission battle
Democratic chairman weighs in on sheriff-county commission fight
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