Miami Herald: Replacing Broward County commissioner offers predicament for Crist

The Miami Herald published this article on September 24, 2009

BY AMY SHERMAN
asherman@MiamiHerald.com

As Gov. Charlie Crist prepares to appoint a replacement for Broward County Commissioner Joe Eggelletion, he must balance the pressure from Republicans to appoint one of his own — in a district that is overwhelmingly Democratic and black.

Eggelletion and School Board member Beverly Gallagher were charged in separate federal corruption probes officials announced Wednesday. Crist suspended both officials.

Potential African-American Republican contenders for Eggelletion’s seat include Broward College trustee Levi Williams and NAACP activist Gwen Watson.

As Crist faces a contest within his own party from Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate primary, any appointments he makes will be scrutinized.

“I just think it should be a black Republican,” said Clarence McKee, an African American and communications director for the Broward GOP, who is not seeking the appointment.

If Crist appoints a Democrat, “I don’t think it would anger some activists, I think it would anger about 242,000,” McKee said, referring to the number of registered Republicans in Broward.

Crist faced a backlash among Palm Beach County Republicans after he appointed a Democrat to a county seat over the summer. Since then, Palm Beach Republicans held a vote to censure Crist — which failed on a tie — and have scheduled a straw poll for the U.S. Senate race.

“I doubt seriously if there would have been such a large vote for censure had he appointed a Republican to that seat,” said Sid Dinerstein, chairman of the Palm Beach GOP.

But in Eggelletion’s district — where about 72 percent of voters are Democrats and nearly two-thirds black — there isn’t a long list of prominent black Republicans. The district spans several cities between Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach. All of the commissioners are Democrats.

Crist will make interim appointments in the next several weeks. The appointees do not have to live in the districts they would represent, said Sterling Ivey, a Crist spokesman.

Among those African Americans who said they might seek Eggelletion’s seat:

• Levi Williams, an attorney who represented the Broward GOP in the past. The Fort Lauderdale resident serves on the board of Broward College and on the Florida Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys. Williams does not live in Eggelletion’s district.
• Gwen Watson, a community activist in Lauderdale Lakes. She is active in Broward’s Republican Party, the state NAACP and local voter registration efforts.
• Dania Beach Commissioner and Republican Al Jones. “If my name is submitted, I certainly will look at it,” he said. Dania Beach is not in the district.

Democratic chairman Mitch Ceasar said he would be very surprised if Crist appoints anyone other than a Republican.

“He is in a battle with a conservative. He has taken flak from the far right, I think it has forced him to move further to the right,” Ceasar said.

But some African-American Democrats have said they will apply, including:

• John Billingsley, a former Lauderdale Lakes city commissioner who lost a race against Eggelletion last year. Billingsley, a business instructor at American Intercontinental University, is married to the county’s purchasing director, Brenda Billingsley.
• Allen B. Jackson, who lost races against Eggelletion in 2004 and 2008. He is senior pastor of Living Word Community Church and lives in Fort Lauderdale.

Former Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Carlton Moore said he hasn’t decided whether to apply.

Gallagher’s southwest Broward school board district is about 53 percent Democrat and 24 percent Republican.

More than half the voters are minorities although the largest group is white voters.

Henry Rose, who lost a race to Gallagher last year, has been mentioned as a potential candidate to replace her. He could not be reached for comment. He is a vocational counselor at Flanagan High School.

Miami Herald staff writer Patricia Mazzei contributed to this report.