A robomessage was texted to Tamarac residents Monday urging them to call the city commission and express their support for keeping Waste Management as the city’s waste service provider.
The messaging campaign comes ahead of a May 22 meeting at which commissioners are scheduled to vote on whether to retain Waste Management, Tamarac’s longtime waste and recycling hauler, or replace them with Coastal Waste & Recycling.
“If you want to keep Waste Management servicing Tamarac, please voice your support,” the robomessage reads. “City officials will vote WEDNESDAY to possibly CHANGE your trash service company. Call the City Commission @954-597-3460 to keep 13-year provider WM. CALL NOW.”
The message states it is from “Mark with Florida Committee for Accountability.”
Campaign finance records show that Jennings DePriest of Bradenton, a self-described “professional propagandist” whose firm Top Lobster LLC bills itself as “an elite team of digital assassins who do what it takes to win,” is a contributor to that committee, according to a report by The Bradenton Times.
DePriest’s firm was found to be responsible for messages sent to Manatee County residents that appeared to run cover for some county commissioners as they prepared to vote in favor of gutting Manatee County’s wetland protections, according to the news outlet.
On Monday, it was not known who was behind the Florida Committee for Accountability’s robomessaging campaign regarding Tamarac’s waste contract issue.
Jennings DePriest. {X}
The campaign comes as the city’s contract with Waste Management is set to expire. Waste Management’s main competitor for the new contract, Coastal Waste & Recycling, edged out Waste Management by one point in the city’s scoring process for proposals.
Waste Management, however, beat out Coastal by several points on pricing. The pricing difference led city procurement officials to recommend that Waste Management keep its role and receive the new contract.
Going against the experts’ recommendation, Tamarac Commissioners Marlon Bolton and Kicia Daniel pushed for Coastal instead at the commission’s May 8 meeting.
The pair’s efforts led to a vote for the city to scrap the contract recommendation and go back to the companies for their lowest, final bid proposals. The move, supported by Vice Mayor Morey Wright, came after Bolton brought forward a motion to hire Coastal. That motion failed.
Commissioner Elvin Villalobos and Mayor Michelle Gomez opposed the move to seek new bids and supported Waste Management for the contract.
Villalobos, at the meeting, also detailed Coastal’s contributions to Broward Vision PAC, an entity tied to Bolton. He alleged Bolton had been bribed in exchange for his vote in favor of hiring Coastal.
“This is unethical. This is corrupt. This is the problem that we have here [in Tamarac],” Villalobos said.
Bolton declined to recuse himself from votes regarding the contract award.
According to campaign finance records, Broward Vision PAC, the entity tied to Bolton, received $20,000 from Coastal between 2022 and 2023. Campaign finance records show that Coastal made the largest single contribution to the PAC, a $15,000 donation in February 2023. The company also donated $5,000 to the PAC in January 2022.
The commission’s May 22 meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in commission chambers at Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Ave.
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