Stuart Michelson at the City of Tamarac’s clerk’s office Tuesday morning filing to run as a city commissioner.
By Kevin Deutsch
On Tuesday morning, Stuart Michelson, a former Sunrise City Attorney, and director of Save the Woodlands, filed to run for Tamarac City Commission.
The retired attorney, who served as special counsel to several Broward County cities, including Parkland, Lauderhill, and Deerfield Beach, has been a Woodlands resident for 25 years.
He filed papers Tuesday to run for the District 2 seat held by Tamarac Vice Mayor Mike Gelin.
A well-known figure in Broward’s legal and political circles, Michelson is married to former Broward County Commissioner and Mayor Ilene Lieberman Michelson. Before taking county office, she was mayor of Lauderhill.
Stuart Michelson, who practiced law for more than four decades, said his legal practice was devoted to civil litigation, appeals, and administrative issues, concentrating on the representation of municipalities, municipal officials, municipal employees, and police officers, among several other areas.
His work included representing public officials and public employees before the Florida Commission on Ethics and the Florida Elections Commission and insurance and commercial litigation.
He is also a retired amateur boxer.
Michelson said his “legal experience, and particularly my involvement in the field of municipal law, makes me uniquely qualified to address the issues facing the City of Tamarac.”
He said he’s “devoted much of my time over the last five years to opposing 13th Floor’s development plan, which would destroy the unique and serene character of this neighborhood and diminish the value of the existing homes.”
Overdevelopment is among the key issues driving his run.
“At some point in time, cities need to learn that their infrastructure can’t support unending development,” said Michelson, seeking his first elected office. “This is a real problem in Tamarac…our infrastructure can only handle so much development.”
Candidates who previously filed paperwork to run against Gelin for his commission seat include newcomers Tyneka Rene and Joseph Lanouette.
Gelin has also filed papers to challenge Tamarac Mayor Michelle J. Gomez for the city’s top elected office in another closely watched Tamarac race.
The District 4 commission seat, held by Debra Placko, is also up for reelection.
The qualifying period for Tamarac commission 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.
Got News? Send it to Tamarac Talk.