By Sherry Nabbie-Singh
On Monday, while Commissioner Mike Gelin was promoting his news on the official Tamarac account on Nextdoor, his colleague jumped in creating an unprofessional exchange between the two.
Vice Mayor Elvin Villalobos responded to Gelin’s post on the City of Tamarac account by saying that focusing on what matters to Tamarac residents is more important to constituents than what happens in other areas — pointing out that Gelin promotes items outside the city instead of what’s happening in his district.
“Our residents are more important than what you, our commission, I want,” wrote Villalobos. “I’ll recommend the commission start paying attention, listening, and hearing what they are saying.”
Commissioner Gelin retorted that he was very in tune with what his residents want and wouldn’t be responding to his outbursts anymore.
“Elvin, please be respectful and get off my page,” he said.
The comment sparked a response from Villalobos, who thanked his colleague for paying attention and pointed out that Gelin was on a public page.
“Just remember this isn’t your page. It belongs to the people of Tamarac,” said Villalobos.
Two other residents also reiterated the same sentiment reminding Gelin that he was not on his personal page and had no authority to demand anyone to leave or stop commenting.
While Gelin did not respond, Villalobos took to his personal Facebook page, saying that the constituents’ best interest comes first with the actions of the five elected officials who represent the commission.
“When a dialogue that’s in the best interest of our constituents are met with ‘get off my page,’ we should be concerned,” he wrote.
At the May 26 commission meeting, City Attorney John Herin reminded the commission several times to maintain decorum after outbursts and name-calling occurred during the proceedings.
Villalobos confirmed that he would address the social media exchange at the next commission meeting on June 9.
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