Mayoral Candidate Holly Hugdahl Discusses Outrage of Requiring Permits to Excercise Political Free Speech

Listen to Mayoral candidate Holly Hugdahl's interview with Jimmy Cefalo this morning on www.610wiod.com. She discusses the Town Attorney's actions in directing Code Enforcement to cite residents who don't get permits for their small political lawn signs!

Is it Safe for Them to go Back Into the Water?

The Nelson Vendetta

Do you know any of Jeff Nelson's history with Pembroke Pines?

Let us help you better acquaint you with the Mayor's past dealings with Pembroke Pines.  Jeff Nelson started working for the Pembroke Pines Golf course managing the pro-shop for $15,000/year in September of 1983 shortly after the City purchased the golf course and Nelson was later elevated to managing the entire golf course.   Since 1982, when the City purchased the golf course, it had lost about 2 million dollars during 8 of those years Nelson was in charge.  So, the City decided to privatize the golf course in 1993 giving up municipal management.

Incidentally, his father Charles Nelson was a Pembroke Pines commissioner at the time and voted against the privatization.  Is this vote a surprise... but hey, of course he wouldn't possibly want his son to be out of a job.  If his son Jeff were out of a job, then he might have to move back home !! So, the City offered Jeff a job at another facility.  Jeff turned that down and decided to file a lawsuit against Pembroke Pines, instead.  He won the lawsuit and the Judge awarded him $282,000 for his nine years of service for letting a facility run at a loss creating a 2 million dollar hole.  WOW!  If we all could be so lucky!  But, in all seriousness, any business looking at any sort of loss is going to look at replacing the management.  The fact that he walked away with this hefty sum seems idiotic, but that was the judgement.

We don't know about you, but we think that this shows a pattern.  We believe Jeff Nelson clearly has it out for Pembroke Pines now given he has a history of suing Pines.  In addition to his demonstrated litigiousness he also seems to have established a pattern of not being able to manage money.  Why did the golf course lose so much money and what fault lies with Nelson for this?  Consider the financial decisions he's made FOR Southwest Ranches. These range from the purchasing of parks in the Town which at one point saddled Southwest Ranches with over $30 million in completely unfunded obligations, to possible vicarious land deals with Ira Cor, to Richard Rubin's grant writing with wife Diana Wasserman Rubin, or the Prison plans that were not made so public. Also, he was willing to recklessly increase the prison bed count to get increased profits while it isn't in the best interest of the surrounding schools nor residents who have kids going to those schools.  This really shows poor leadership, poor financial responsibility, and poor judgement.

He even lists his specialty as "School & Education" on his bio on the Town Website.  We don't see where he was using these skills when he said "the school board should have looked at what was zoned for that area"..  when asked about the prison plats close proximity to the newly built West Broward High school.  Perhaps Mr. Nelson should have warned Broward County School Board that they were going to build a state of the art $140 million high school 1.1 miles from an immigration prison.  Is this the man you want to be Mayor of OUR TOWN? Do you want someone that is supported by Lawyers, Lobbyists and Private Prison companies just so they can remain in power of the Town and get more $$?

Feel free to review the following references:
Pines Ordered to pay Ex-Worker Sun Sentinel May 3, 1996
City to appeal decision  - Sun Sentinel May 9, 1996
Jeff Nelson recklessly agrees to increase of bed space from 1500 to 2200!! -
Email between Keith Poliakoff, Sam Poole (CCA Atttorney) and Mayor Jeff Nelson
Cash Cow - Broward-Palm Beach New Times, Bob Norman
Ira Cor FBI Sting - Broward-Palm Beach New Times, Bob Norman
Jeff Nelson's Campaign Contributions

Can SWR Handle the Truth?

As we all were confronted with our inability to process the truth by Jack Nicholson in this famous scene, the question is can Southwest Ranches government and her founders handle the truth?

Since our incorporation a short time ago in 2000, we have shown an amazing inability to manage ourselves.  We are now going on our 5th Town Administrator in 11 years of existance.  This is an average of 2 years and a few months tenure for each Administrator.  One might consider that it takes approximately 2 years in a position to be truly effective.  Our Town administration is very inexperienced at the very least.

Problematically, natura abhorret a vacuo.  This translates to nature abhors a vacuum and in our contemporary parlance is power abhors a vacuum.  In the absence of a strong administrator, the vacuum has been filled by the Poliakoff lineage.  As Town Attorney responsible for the founding of the Town, Gary Poliakoff and his son Keith Poliakoff have run the town as their little kingdom.  Notable investigative reporter Bob Norman ultimately concluded this about the Town and the Poliakoff's:

But Poliakoff -- who manages Becker & Poliakoff, one of the largest legal and lobbying firms in the state -- is just as much to blame for the town's blatant brand of corruption.
...
With guys like Poliakoff running Southwest Ranches, the town will never get much better...

You can read the entire New Times article here:  Bob Norman's Cash Cow 2

Anybody who's followed Keith Poliakoff's underhanded behavior in the entire CCA / ICE immigrant prison fiasco knows that he's acted in a very questionable manner including lying to Senator Bill Nelson's office regarding the prison roads, for example. Another example was reported by New Times and relates to Poliakoff's Cone of Silence which gagged the entire Town Council from talking with their constituents about the prison.

The establishment of the Poliakoff's fiefdom is so underhanded and premeditated that as a precursor to favorite son Keith now earning up to $600,000 for the year in legal service to the Town Papa Poliakoff enshrined their rule in the Town Charter itself.  The charter can be found here:  Southwest Ranches Town Charter .

The worst of corrupt, self serving poison pills is on page 8 and quoted:

Section 3.07. Town Attorney [appointment; removal; terms].
The Council shall appoint the Town Attorney for an indefinite term by an affirmative vote
of at least four Council members. The Council members may remove the Town Attorney
at any time by an affirmative vote of at least four Council members. The compensation
and benefits of the Town Attorney shall be fixed by the Council.  [underline added]

The Town Council has 5 voting members including the Mayor.  So, Gary Poliakoff ensured his control of the Town by requiring a SUPER MAJORITY to fire the Attorney.  The charter requires 4 out of 5 votes rather than the traditional simple majority of 3 to 5 votes.  The bar is raised from requiring 60% of the governing body to remove the Attorney to an unrealistic 80%.  This aspect of the Town Charter MUST be amended so that we have a shot of removing this corrupt force from our presence.

With guys like Poliakoff ... the town will never get much better.  That's the truth.  Can you all handle it?

If you can, then we all need to wake up to the fact that we need a competent administrator AND we need to BANISH the Poliakoff clan from our Town and let them do what they do best, which is lawyering.