Tamarac Commissioner Marlon Bolton and Anthony Bonamy of the “Tamarac Post.”
By Sharon Aron Baron
Tamarac Commissioner Marlon Bolton came under blistering criticism from fellow commissioner Elvin Villalobos at Wednesday’s city commission meeting after a website linked to Bolton published a post critical of Villalobos and Mayor Michelle Gomez.
Tamarac Post, which has been tied to Bolton and several of his political allies, published a post before the meeting criticizing statements and positions held by Villalobos and Gomez. The post, in the form of a news article, centered on Bolton’s opposition to a proposed land deal for Tamarac Village. The deal was defeated by the commission Wednesday.
During the debate over the deal, Villalobos said an email containing the inaccurate post was “blasted to the whole city from Tamarac Post.” He suggested Bolton was behind the operation of the Tamarac Post site. Previous posts on Tamarac Post have also criticized Villalobos and Gomez and been laudatory of Bolton.
“It is disgusting when you email blast the entire city and lie about things … Tamarac Post, you’re a fraud, you’re a liar, and it’s disgusting that you continue to do articles on your own colleagues to benefit your own,” Villalobos said.
“He’s attacking us with his Tamarac Post BS,” he added. “It’s enough.”
At Wednesday’s meeting, Villalobos cited a part of the Tamarac Post piece that said the site had “obtained city memos and renderings” regarding the Tamarac Village deal. He asked city staff for records about what Tamarac Post had obtained, how they obtained it, and who from the site had made the request.
In March 2021, the REDBROWARD news site reported that Bolton had deep ties to the Tamarac Post and that the site was owned and operated by Bolton ally Anthony Bonamy. State corporation records in 2021 showed that Tamarac Post Media LLC was owned by Anthony Bonamy and his wife, Violene Vil, REDBROWARD reported.
The city of North Lauderdale fired Anthony Bonamy from his position as deputy clerk after REDBROWARD revealed his Tamarac Post role, the news site reported.
Villalobos continued his criticism of Tamarac Post on Thursday, stating in an online newsletter that Wednesday’s post “contained misinformation that led to confusion and concern among the community.”
“I would like to clarify that I was one of the “NO” voters” on the proposed Tamarac Village deal, Villalobos wrote.
“It is my recommendation that you unsubscribe from TamaracPost.com, an online platform operated and authored by Commissioner Marlon Bolton. It has been known to disseminate misleading information to residents and has made political attacks on City Staff, Fellow Commissioners, and the Mayor.”
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