By Agrippina Fadel and Sharon Aron Baron
Tamarac resident Carol Mendelson took to the podium during public comments on Nov. 10 to share her disappointment with the commission’s recent behavior.
“Congratulations, once again, you have provided the newspapers with an ability to have a field day showing the deplorable behavior exhibited by the commission at the last workshop. Enough is enough.”
A resident of Woodmont, Mendelson retired after working as an administrator at the Broward County School Board for 31 years. She has sat on numerous boards during her career, including committees in Coral Springs, where she once lived. She often worked alongside some “extremely challenging personalities,” where it was necessary to put egos aside for the good of the issue to attain a positive result.
“There are some really nasty things going back and forth,” she said.
Her concern was bullying by some of the commission — and intimidation by others.
“We live in a world where every nuance is under scrutiny and attack, and the commission provides the fuel to make it legitimate,” she said, adding they had forgotten the true responsibility for their role, and local news often reminds residents of its inadequacies.
Mendelson refers to the recent Tamarac Talk article about the city commission workshop on Oct. 25, where a discussion between Commissioner Marlon Bolton and Vice Mayor Villalobos on policy became heated, even after mutual calls for order by Mayor Michelle Gomez.
That wasn’t the only meeting, she stated. The same conflicts arise in others.
“As a leader, it would behoove you to behave professionally in a manner fitting your position. You are, sadly, an embarrassment to a position you hold. Children behave better than you do,” she told commission members.
She stated in an interview that in a perfect world, they should have conflict mediation or training to work more effectively — and has recommended this, but it has not come to fruition. She said the only way past this would be to vote in new people on the commission, even if it’s one person at a time.
“You are a dysfunctional team. You are not representing your districts, nor do you live by Tamarac’s mission or vision. You are not serving the people based on the platforms you ran on. You make nasty and sarcastic remarks to one another, or you remain mute for fear of intimidation,” she said.
Our city deserves better, she said, adding she will work to help achieve this at the next election.
“We want a board with integrity and professionalism that serves the city with dignity and fairness, based on the value of people living in the city. You work for us. Change is long overdue.” she concluded.
Mendelson’s speech was met with loud applause from the public at the meeting.
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