By: Sharon Aron Baron
A Meet and Greet event for candidate for Broward County Commission Nan Rich was held at the home of former Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, who once held the seat before she was term-limited in 2014.
Lieberman (also known as Michelson) who along with her husband Stuart, invited residents from around the Woodlands Country Club to meet with Rich and ask her questions. The District One seat, which covers Davie, Lauderhill, Plantation, Sunrise, a portion of Tamarac and Weston is currently occupied by Mayor Marty Kiar, who will be stepping down to become the next Property Manager in November.
Lieberman said that both she and Rich go back many years when was the Mayor of Lauderhill and Rich was a community activist for children’s issues, women’s rights and was President of the National Council on Jewish Women.
“When she was elected to the Florida House and subsequently the Florida Senate, she was the county’s go-to person on the health and human services issues,” said Lieberman. “Her knowledge in Medicare, Medicaid, mental health and children’s preventative healthcare is extensive, and she helped secure funds for many Broward County projects.”
Rich was first elected to the State Senate in 2004 after serving two terms in the House of Representatives. She was also the first woman to be elected Senate Democratic Leader – a position she held from 2010 until she was term-limited in 2012. In 2014, she ran for Governor but lost the Democratic primary to Charlie Crist.
Rich told the residents that she is concerned about affordable housing and that our county was last out of all Florida counties when it came to the disparity of wages paid to the cost of housing.
“This huge disparity makes it so that a lot of people that are working very hard, maybe two, three jobs – they can’t make ends meet to buy a house. The rental prices are sky high. So this really is a serious problem in our community,” she said.
Rich believes that when you have a county with the type of economic engines that ours has, you cannot say that your county is whole unless you take care of everybody.
“There are 2,300 homeless children in Broward County Public Schools. These are the kinds of issues when you’re talking about making sure we have a quality of life here for everybody, you have to look at everybody in our community, and that’s what I’ve done in the legislature.”
Rich said she still has excellent relationships across the board with those in Tallahassee and believes she can get things done here for her constituents in Broward County.
Lieberman said that she wants the next county commissioner to be someone who is familiar with the issues that face those in the local community.
“I know Nan will delve into those issues and will care deeply about the concerns of her constituents,” said Lieberman. “Stuart and I are extremely happy to support Nan and know she will be an outstanding County Commissioner.”
The Democratic Primary election will be held on August 30, 2016.
