Courtesy of David Mountford Campaign
By Agrippina Fadel
District 4 candidate David Witman Mountford hopes to bring teamwork and collaboration to the city commission.
A retirement consulting professional with Wall Street experience, Mountford says he always wanted to get involved with local government and is finally at a stage when he can run for office and do the job effectively.
Mountford grew up in Plantation, then lived all over the east coast before returning to Tamarac in 2004. He and his wife of 27 years, Marsha, now live in Woodmont Estates.
A high school graduate, Mountford considers himself a “self-made man.” He began working at 15 after his father passed away. His first career choice was aviation: with a dream of becoming a commercial pilot. He worked on planes and flew privately before a serious eye accident made it impossible.
Instead, he went into the financial industry, working on Wall Street before moving to a retirement wholesale business.
After working as a retirement plan consultant for two companies in New York, he went on to work for a third-party administration firm.
“Right around that time, I had a motorcycle accident which took me out for quite a while. I had 30 surgeries in ten years and have another one in April,” he said.
Mountford formed his own pension consulting firm, Witman Pension Consulting, L.L.C., located in Coral Springs.
“I don’t handle money anymore but do all the technical work and documents for pension plans and 401K,” he said, adding that his accounts are business owners, not public entities, so there will be no conflict of interest should he be elected and work as a commissioner.
A Tamarac University graduate, Mountford sits on the Police Pension Fund Board as a trustee and formerly served on the Planning Board. He works closely with Rotary Clubs, local charities, and youth organizations, including the North American Youth Exchange Network, where he is a Chair of Learning and Development.
Mountford says his career on Wall Street, various training, and exposure to the management aspect of different industries made him the right candidate for the job. “I have the necessary qualifications to be an effective commissioner and an ability to get results. I know how to communicate with people on different levels and motivate them to take action.”
He added that Tamarac needs change – for a multitude of reasons.
“We need to look out for our elderly and disabled, our homeless, and our youth. Everything that’s going on with the world will trickle down to the city level. The prices keep going up, the inflation is growing, and it will affect people, and I think we need to do something about it,” said Mountford when discussing his reasons for running.
He says he is not an “I” guy,” knows it takes a team to make things happen and had always run his businesses from a position of collaboration.
“The bottom line is that you have to work with people who you surround yourself with to be successful,” said Mountford, adding that on the dais, it would mean that all the commissioners and the districts should work together and look out for the residents and the city as a whole.
When asked about the 13th Floor development plan of the former golf course in Woodlands – one of the biggest votes coming up for the city commission, Mountford said he is not in a position to give an educated answer yet.
“I wasn’t privy to all the background work that went into it and the aspects of the project from the developer and the residents’ standpoint,” he said. “I would like to know what is transpiring. It is a matter of listening to all the aspects of the deal and deciding whether it makes sense.”
Mountford is running against Carol Mendelson, retired Broward County School Board administrator. Incumbent Debra Placko had not yet announced whether she would be running for reelection.
The qualifying period for candidates for the November election is from noon on Monday, June 13, through noon on Friday, June 17, at city hall. Tamarac’s mayoral and commission terms are four years.
Three seats are up for reelection: commissioners for Districts 2 and 4 and the mayoral seat.
Got News? Send it to Tamarac Talk.