An Open Letter to Davie Police and Fire-Rescue Personnel

A particularly mean and untrue rumor has been circulated about me. It falsely states that I wanted to set abolition of the police and fire pensions as my first goal upon reelection; and that I also wish to freeze the police contract and not give police officers the next two raises that are contained in it. The alleged "proof" was a Miami Herald article to appear in a few days. I provided the police union official responsible for spreading this false rumor with names and phone numbers at the Herald to disprove his "source." I also asked for a retraction when his information was proved incorrect.

The police union official, promised to follow up on the information I gave to him. I don't know if he called the Herald. but he has not returned my phone calls. He also did not return my email inquiries. He also would not speak to me when I saw him in person. He also has apparently done nothing to stop the continuation and spread of this untruth by others. In my opinion, not a real stand up guy.

Since the police union persists on spreading this rumor, regardless of the facts, I'm giving you the facts myself. Here's my response to the emails I received through third parties. Its an An Open Letter to Davie Police and Fire-Rescue Personnel.

Mayor's Blog Suspended during the campaign

I've suspended updates on this Blog through the end of my campaign for re-election. The election is on March 10, 2009. See my election website http://www.davie.org for details.

Forest Ridge "Holly Day Parade and Fair"

Forest Ridge held it's 9th annual "Holly Day Parade and Fair" this past weekend. Hundreds of people attend this event every year. Civic pride runs high in Forest Ridge. When you attend the parade, it's easy to see why. Forest Ridge is simply a fantastic place to live. The residents are friendly and involved. The community's volunteer leadership is hard working and dedicated.

Congratulations on another successful parade and best wishes for the Holly Days!

Photo: Mayor Tom Truex and Janet Truex in the 2007 Forest Ridge Holly Day Parade. [*click* photo to enlarge]

Davie Rededicates Veterans' Park

This past Saturday, November 15, 2008, the Town of Davie, in cooperation with the Playland Village Community Association and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, held a rededication of Veterans Park. The park is located at 5750 SW 39 St, in Davie.

Veterans Park is dedicated to the memory of our American veterans from all wars. We honor the sacrifices that so many devoted men and women made to keep and protect freedom at home and abroad. As I noted in my remarks at the rededication ceremony, the Town has not always kept this park in the best of repairs. Likewise, our country has not always shown our veterans the respect they are due. I'm committed to keeping this park and our respect for our veterans in good repair in the future.

Photo: Rededication of Veterans' Park in Davie [*click* photo to enlarge]

The Agenda for the October 01, 2008 Davie Town Council Meeting is online.

The Davie Town Council Meets at Davie Town Hall for our regular meeting on October 01, 2008. The Agenda is online.
Note the following item, in which there may be general public interest*:

1. ACCIDENT TAX UP FOR FINAL READING (Agenda Item 6.2).  The Town of Davie will consider on October 1, 2008, the final reading of an ordinance to institute an "Accident Tax."  The law would charge a fee to "at fault" drivers who have a car wreck anywhere in Davie (or even outside of Davie), if Davie police or fire/rescue personnel respond.  I considered the proposal, when we discussed the fee for major accidents on major roadways.  For example if a tanker truck explodes on an Interstate Highway, why should Davie taxpayers get stuck with the huge bill to cover such an event?  It's happened in the past. However, the ordinance passed on first reading by a 3-2 vote would tax drivers for any accident, no matter how minor, on any roadway.  I voted against it.  Some of the murky details include:  (1) who is determined "at fault" in order to get billed; (2) how/if Davie residents get exempted; (3) the amount of the bill (apparently based on the nature of the response, independent of the nature of the incident); and (4) will the contract for billing services be placed out for bid or be awarded on an no-bid basis to the company which consulted with Davie on writing the ordinance?

 

FYI:  The Legislature may pass a law banning this type of tax.  Expect litigation.

*Items on the agenda may be tabled. Links to agenda items are PDF files and require a PDF Reader. This blOg does not constitute an official notice of any sort from the Town of Davie. The Agenda items listed above are a partial list of the Agenda. That is, not every item on the Town Council Agenda is listed on this blOg. If you want information about any particular agenda item, you should consult the official documents provided by the Town Clerk's office.

Prayer Rally Packs Town Hall in Davie.

This is one event that is hard to describe if you were not there to experience it for yourself. Inclement weather forced us to use the backup location, inside the Town Council Chambers, rather than the front steps of Town Hall, as planned. It's hard to say how many people would have joined us for prayer outside. As it was, the inside of Council chambers was filled to capacity, with many more listening outside on speakers.

The prayer rally was multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-denominational and non-political. It was completely about praying to God--which was done in abundance.

Photo: Mayor Tom Truex addresses Prayer Rally at Davie Town Hall [*click* photo to enlarge]

Liguori's Fired Up Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting

Yesterday I joined a large group from the Davie-Cooper City Chamber of Commerce at the grand opening and ribbon cutting at Liguori's Fired Up! This business is a wood oven pizzeria. Wood is actually used to fire the pizza ovens. I have eaten a lot of pizza in my life--some of it quite good. But I don't think I've ever tasted better pizza than at Liguori's Fired Up. Highly recommended, and well worth the drive from all points in Broward, Dade, Palm Beach, Monroe, Collier, Martin counties, and beyond. Fortunately, it's close to my house, so we'll be back soon to try some of the other items on their menu.

Located at 5810 S. University Drive, Davie, FL; which is the Northeast Corner of University Drive & Stirling Rd. (the Target shopping center--located on east side of Plaza near Office Max ).

Photo: Liguori's Fired Up Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting [*click* photo to enlarge]

Problems with the election count in Broward County (again)???

• Fact # 1: Almost any method of counting votes is adequate in a landslide election.
• Fact # 2: No method of counting votes is completely accurate in an extremely close and big turnout election.

I participated in the recount of the presidential election in 2000. A few years later I was an official observer of the recount of a local election with the "touch screen" voting system. The "new" technology now implemented by the Supervisor of Elections is no better than the previous methods--and probably worse. I don't blame the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Brenda Snipes. She didn't have much to do with selecting the technology or buying the equipment.

Based on the primary election on August 26, 2008, I'm smelling the potential for a meltdown at the elections office next November. For one thing, it took hours after the polls closed for the returns to start being posted by the Supervisor of Elections. For another thing, as I write this note late in the morning the day following the election, there are still a number of precincts listed on the Supervisor of Elections web site as "not reporting."

• Possibility #1: All precincts have reported, but someone forgot to update the web site. Lack of attention to detail is never a good sign.
• Possibility #2: All precincts really have not been tallied. In an election with about a 10% turnout, not having the votes counted by the next day is not a good sign either.

Graphic: Map of precinct activity the morning after the primary election. Note the light gray areas which represent precincts "not reporting." [*click* photo to enlarge; or look at the other screen saved from the Supervisor of Elections web site the day after the primary, showing only 725 out of 779 precincts reporting. That's 7% still missing! ]

Broward County Commission Moves Forward With Airport Plans

The Broward County Commission is marching forward with plans to expand the Airport--ignoring all indications that costs will top a billion dollars, and will seriously impair the quality of life for many thousands of Broward County residents. Follow the money. I've linked a slightly edited Memo from the Town of Davie, summarizing the latest County Workshop; and link to the County's Powerpoint presentation (4.9 MB).

Davie's PAL Receives a Grant from the Hollywood Hills High School SHAPE Program.

I was honored to represent the Town of Davie at a grant reception this afternoon. Davie's PAL program received the grant from the Hollywood Hills High School SHAPE program. This grant program is run by a great group of community minded students, in association with the Hollywood Hills High School Key Club and the Hollywood Kiwanis Club.