*
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Ive watched Sheriff Scott Israel stumble from one misstep to another during his first eight months in office.
Within hours of his taking office, Israel allowed former Sheriff Ken Jenne to tour the sheriffs HQ. *This is a guy who went to prison.
Then Israel stacked the ranks of his new employees with political hacks that helped on his campaign.
Dont forget the six-figure luxury cruise Israel took with his family and then valued it at the price of a Carnival vacation.
Those are all stunning political slip-ups that many novice city commissioners would have avoided.
Scott Israel with three campaign supporters he hired * (from left to right) Democratic activists Lisa Castillo and Ann Zucker, Israel and Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo (from Facebook)*
But Israels budget request that may have been his biggest blunder yet.
First he asked for a $94 million increase. It was a total miscalculation of the political winds.
When the commission understandably balked at such a huge increase, Israel cut his request overnight. Now its up roughly $31 million.
Slicing that much off the originally request didnt give commissioners must confidence in the sheriffs money management.* So when Israel showed up at the County Commission on Tuesday to justify any increase, commissioners were justifiably hostile.
They were even more unsympathetic when they discovered Israel wanted to use a big chunk of the money to give an extra 2 percent pay hike to deputies.
They were angry about another portion of the increase being used to hire more employees with resumes heavy on the politics and light on law enforcement experience.
The commissioners ignored his threats of layoffs.
Israel clearly didnt like being questioned in public.* He was all elbows and bluster.
Am I someone who supports public safety? Commissioner Chip LaMarca asked rhetorically.
I dont think you support it as much as you think you support it, Israel fired back, according to Brittany Wallman at the Sun-Sentinel.
And with that little exchange, Israel can say goodbye to any chance of appealing his budget to the state Cabinet.
Is the Republican state Cabinet going to entertain any request from the sheriff who questioned the public safety credentials of the commissions only Republican, LaMarca?
Just one more political misstep from the sheriff.
Israel clearly needs to regain his support on the county commission and other members of the Democratic political establishment.* Oh, Ds wont admit it publically, but Israel has been a major disappointment since he tossed out the GOP Sheriff Al Lamberti last November.
After I posted this I got messages and a call from the sheriffs supporters. *They rightfully pointed out that the commissioners and many Ds have never gotten along with the sheriff.
Ron Cochran, a Democrat, wasnt in office more than a month or two in the early 1990s when commissioners began a move to privatize his jails. *He beat back the effort.
Commissioners also had many public differences with Jenne, a Democrat. * And, of course, they openly feuded with Lamberti and Nick Navarro, another Republican.
Another source said: In the end, they all got re-elected despite the so-called insiders opposing them. one source said.
One e-mail started like this:
The Demos you refer to were never for Scott Israel to begin with.*All were for Scott Rothsteins Sheriff- Al ( 70 IQ)Lamberti.*The Demos in Broward couldnt get u wet in a rain storm.*Voters care about CRIME which is DOWN. They care about high profile gun busts.*No voter cares about this insidey shit.
However, the insiders can make trouble for Israel.
Not a week goes by that one Democratic insider doesnt complain about Israel to me .and that includes county commissioners.
They tell me, Israels gaffes are an embarrassment.* His budget was unprofessional.
Time For An Appointed Sheriff?
Israel conduct in less than a year has convinced some Democratic insiders to back changing from an elected to an appointed sheriff.* That alone indicates how much good will among his fellow Ds that Israel has squandered.
Despite all the shenanigans and alleged illegalities of Lamberti, commissioners felt moving against a Republican would look like party politics. * They have no such qualms about moving*against Israel because he is one of them a Democrat.
Creating an appointed sheriff would take a charter amendment being passed the commission.* Then approval by voters in a referendum.
Is it time for Broward to consider the system that every other large city and Miami-Dade uses an appointive chief law enforcement officer?
I dont know the answer.
I do know that Israel is one more big blunder away from kicking off that debate.
*
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Ive watched Sheriff Scott Israel stumble from one misstep to another during his first eight months in office.
Within hours of his taking office, Israel allowed former Sheriff Ken Jenne to tour the sheriffs HQ. *This is a guy who went to prison.
Then Israel stacked the ranks of his new employees with political hacks that helped on his campaign.
Dont forget the six-figure luxury cruise Israel took with his family and then valued it at the price of a Carnival vacation.
Those are all stunning political slip-ups that many novice city commissioners would have avoided.
Scott Israel with three campaign supporters he hired * (from left to right) Democratic activists Lisa Castillo and Ann Zucker, Israel and Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo (from Facebook)*
But Israels budget request that may have been his biggest blunder yet.
First he asked for a $94 million increase. It was a total miscalculation of the political winds.
When the commission understandably balked at such a huge increase, Israel cut his request overnight. Now its up roughly $31 million.
Slicing that much off the originally request didnt give commissioners must confidence in the sheriffs money management.* So when Israel showed up at the County Commission on Tuesday to justify any increase, commissioners were justifiably hostile.
They were even more unsympathetic when they discovered Israel wanted to use a big chunk of the money to give an extra 2 percent pay hike to deputies.
They were angry about another portion of the increase being used to hire more employees with resumes heavy on the politics and light on law enforcement experience.
The commissioners ignored his threats of layoffs.
Israel clearly didnt like being questioned in public.* He was all elbows and bluster.
Am I someone who supports public safety? Commissioner Chip LaMarca asked rhetorically.
I dont think you support it as much as you think you support it, Israel fired back, according to Brittany Wallman at the Sun-Sentinel.
And with that little exchange, Israel can say goodbye to any chance of appealing his budget to the state Cabinet.
Is the Republican state Cabinet going to entertain any request from the sheriff who questioned the public safety credentials of the commissions only Republican, LaMarca?
Just one more political misstep from the sheriff.
Israel clearly needs to regain his support on the county commission and other members of the Democratic political establishment.* Oh, Ds wont admit it publically, but Israel has been a major disappointment since he tossed out the GOP Sheriff Al Lamberti last November.
After I posted this I got messages and a call from the sheriffs supporters. *They rightfully pointed out that the commissioners and many Ds have never gotten along with the sheriff.
Ron Cochran, a Democrat, wasnt in office more than a month or two in the early 1990s when commissioners began a move to privatize his jails. *He beat back the effort.
Commissioners also had many public differences with Jenne, a Democrat. * And, of course, they openly feuded with Lamberti and Nick Navarro, another Republican.
Another source said: In the end, they all got re-elected despite the so-called insiders opposing them. one source said.
One e-mail started like this:
The Demos you refer to were never for Scott Israel to begin with.*All were for Scott Rothsteins Sheriff- Al ( 70 IQ)Lamberti.*The Demos in Broward couldnt get u wet in a rain storm.*Voters care about CRIME which is DOWN. They care about high profile gun busts.*No voter cares about this insidey shit.
However, the insiders can make trouble for Israel.
Not a week goes by that one Democratic insider doesnt complain about Israel to me .and that includes county commissioners.
They tell me, Israels gaffes are an embarrassment.* His budget was unprofessional.
Time For An Appointed Sheriff?
Israel conduct in less than a year has convinced some Democratic insiders to back changing from an elected to an appointed sheriff.* That alone indicates how much good will among his fellow Ds that Israel has squandered.
Despite all the shenanigans and alleged illegalities of Lamberti, commissioners felt moving against a Republican would look like party politics. * They have no such qualms about moving*against Israel because he is one of them a Democrat.
Creating an appointed sheriff would take a charter amendment being passed the commission.* Then approval by voters in a referendum.
Is it time for Broward to consider the system that every other large city and Miami-Dade uses an appointive chief law enforcement officer?
I dont know the answer.
I do know that Israel is one more big blunder away from kicking off that debate.
*