Guest Column OPINION CRITICISM OF FORT LAUDERDALE OFF THE MARK

The Sun Sentinel editorial of April 20, “A low-water mark for unity in Fort Lauderdale,” is hyperbolic, shortsighted and off the mark.

I am obliged to provide a response that provides clarity regarding our position here in Fort Lauderdale.

not be safe for them using words like ‘harm’ and ‘assault,’” said Commissioner Chris Caputo. “This has been acknowledged with disappointment by the CVB, our local business community, and many businesses that I’ve spoken to … It’s a little misleading and it’s definitely causing harm to tourism and our local businesses. It’s clear when you read the comments, they have not read the advisory in detail to learn why Equality Florida did it.”

Mayor Scott Newton also soft-pedaled the travel advisory, which places tourists and residents at risk.

“I understand why they said it but at the same time you’re hurting the state of Florida, especially South Florida. I don’t think that was their intention.”

TWO vehemently disagrees with this assessment and urges the commissioners to elevate their fight against DeSantis. Wilton Manors and Fort Lauderdale should be Ground Zero in countering DeSantis and leading counter offensives.

“Wilton Manors, as well as Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, must lead the resistance against DeSantis,” said Besen. “These ‘leaders’ are punching below their weight and signaling to DeSantis that he can brazenly bully the LGBTQ community without consequences. It’s time to answer the call to action and use their positions of power to fight back.”

Earlier this month, Besen had an op-ed published in the Sun Sentinel. In the piece, he spoke out against canceling LGBT Prides in Florida in reaction to new anti-LGBT state laws.

First, I want to say how saddened I am for the loss of property and the heartbreaking suffering our neighbors have had to endure. Our area was hit by a 1,000-year supercell thunderstorm that, with very little advance warning, poured 26 inches of nonstop rain — a record for Florida — over Fort Lauderdale in a matter of six hours. The U.S. Geological Survey defines a “1,000-year flood” as an event with a one in a thousand chance of occurring in any given year. Almost immediately, our emergency response teams, in coordination with our mutual aid agencies, came to the rescue and helped save more than 600 people, resulting in no deaths in such a freak weather phenomenon.

After a community experience of this magnitude, it is important to help those in need and expedite recovery. At our last commission meeting, we focused on how those in need were getting aid and support, not only from the city, but from other agencies as well. We also discussed the next steps and what it would take to fully recover. Once those two critical topics were done, we should have continued to discuss pending city business for the sake of our neighbors and stakeholders. That is what resilient cities do.

Fort Lauderdale is not a hamlet; we are the kind of well-managed, strong community that can walk and chew gum at the same time. For the Sun Sentinel to say that it was a serious mistake for the commission to carry on our business is astonishing. Please tell me how conducting our business in any way impeded the recovery efforts on the ground. It simply did not.

Besides, we had more than 50 residents on the virtual meeting who waited more than three hours to speak on a duly noticed public meeting agenda, and that is why I objected to the adjournment that left them hanging. We carried on with the other meetings that day and night, so what was the panic about for our first meeting of the day? Baffling. Our local newspaper, instead of editorializing on the rapid response, the door-to-door visits and all the good that happened and is still happening, instead nitpicks on emotions that my colleagues displayed on the virtual dais. Certainly, city officials are not shrinking violets; we sometimes get passionate and disagree with each other. That does not mean that “unity” has been shattered.

The paper highlighted what it called a “clash” between Commissioner Warren Sturman and me but omits the fact that a few minutes later, we were joking with each other and were just fine.

Focus on the good, Sun Sentinel, rather than kick the community you cover in the teeth just for online clicks.

This commission and city staff are working together to deal with all aspects of this humanitarian crisis and that will always be the case. At the same time, it is important to demonstrate to our residents, the state, the country and the world that, even under an emergency order, we are able to meet the needs of all residents and that we are open for business.