Currents March 2020 Mar 2020 _Currents web | Page 3

Currents March 2020 3 Churn I t has been said that the stream of time and life, runs one direction and one can never be in exactly the same place twice because the stream contin- ues to move. It has also been said that if one lives long enough, one sees everything repeat in one form or another. In the first millennial decade this writer was part of the review process for the City Char- ter. I was the committee chair when the movement to reform the city’s political response system last occurred and the current sys- tem was adopted. It was to include the most number of resi- dents to vote on city wide and district specific issues; and the process is less expensive when included in mandatory November elections as opposed to the now old system, of each municipality paying for a “special election” in its own special month. The logic remains the same today as it did then. As it did when the city police force was integrated into the county sheriff’s office. And then a decade later the move- ment was to inhouse the police department resurfaced and was defeated. The current system remains the most inclusive and cost effec- tive. Below are some local media pro and con remarks. On March 17th, Pompano Beach residents will get to vote on whether or not to make City Commissioner terms four years, to stagger the terms and to move those elections to March instead of November. (They had been in March until just recently). PROPOSED AMENDMENT #1: CHANGE MUNICIPAL ELEC- TION DATES, EXTEND CUR- RENT TERMS This amendment asks us to move City Commission and other municipal elections from Novem- ber to March. On the pro side, moving the election to March will allow greater focus on local issues since it wouldn’t compete against presidential or other major elec- tions. On the con side, less people tend to vote in March elections. In a rapidly changing city, we want as many people to vote as possible. We also don’t want to allow power brokers and other influencers to exert disproportion- ate control over city politics. The less votes cast, generally the more likely that the people who vote are the ones aligned to the power brokers. PROPOSED AMENDMENT #2: EXPAND DISTRICT COM- continued on page 5 > s tOP Y OuR W inDOW L eAk P ROBLeMs Be hu Prepa re rr Fi x you icane d for t r W sea he nO indow son W! Lea ks Dried out gaskets and window stripping will cause window leaks. I have the proper window stripping to repair all types of windows. I also do Screening, Wrol-up Repair and Sliding Glass Doors. e FRe Ates M i est C ALL P AtRiCk Cell no. 954-829-4348 [email protected] FPL independent Participating Contractor 3621 Washington street • hollywood, FL 33021