By: Jen Russon
A mental health professional and a frequent speaker at Tamarac city commission meetings has become well-known to her fellow citizens for saying what she really thinks about elected officials.
And she doesn’t hold back.
Darcy Schiller, Ph.D., holds a degree in social welfare, specializing in emotionally disturbed delinquents. A Florida resident since 1983, she has lived in Weston and Tamarac, in Sabal Palm Village for 13 years, then in Kings Point for eight.
Never married, the 62-year-old said she devotes her life to her career and activism.
“People tell me all the time to run for public office, but I think I can make more of a difference as an activist, getting the other constituents to see what I see,” said Schiller, adding that in the last few years, she’s noticed how corrupt local government has become.
She specifically named Commissioners Marlon Bolton and Mike Gelin as shirking their responsibility to uphold fiduciary responsibility.
But before delving into constituents’ concerns about money, Schiller attacked what she sees as a lack of professionalism.
“Mr. Bolton and Mr. Gelin, you both wanted the Athenian Oath resolution. Even though both of you signed it when you became a commissioner, you display the exact opposite behavior when you are so horribly rude to the mayor and to each other,” she said.
Schiller cited the audacity Gelin showed when he called Commissioner Villalobos a “puppet” for disagreeing with him.
She added residents look to their elected officials to quell such behavior, not to exemplify it, all the while demanding Commissioner Bolton keep his eyes open as she addressed him.
At the same meeting, she called out Commissioner Marlon Bolton, a church pastor and someone who claimed to want to convert to Judaism because his pulpit was adorned with a Jewish prayer shawl called a Tallit, which she felt was insulting to her religion.
Schiller indicated B0lton’s church, Praise Experience Outreach Church closed since the commissioner stands accused of defrauding the federal government of $36,000.
She addressed Commissioner Mike Gelin for failing to disclose over $100,000 his company received for a health benefits contract for the City of Miramar; allegedly, the attorneys who drafted that contract applied to be the next Tamarac city attorney,
“When is the city going to do something about all these questionable acts of misconduct?” Schiller demanded.
Turning to City Attorney John Herin and City Manager Michael Cernech, she said she wasn’t the only constituent to express her disgust and dismay.
“This malfeasance is horrifying. We the people demand change,” she said, adding that when the next commission elections take place, she is going to actively campaign for Bolton and Gelin’s opponents.
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