Deerfield Beach reelects Michael Hudak and Ben Preston to City Commission

Deerfield Beach voters on Tuesday returned two incumbents to elected office.

Michael Hudak and Ben Preston, the incumbents on the City Commission, will serve another term. Hudak has advocated to increase fines for code violations to push for compliance. He promised that voters made the right choice.

“It’s going to be an honor to serve them the next four years,” he said when the results rolled in Tuesday evening. He said he would immediately get to work advocating for “smart development.”

“We want to preserve the look and feel of Deerfield Beach while we grow,” he said.

Preston, the city’s first Black firefighter, had sponsored a resolution to rename the Northeast Focal Point Senior Center. It’s now called the NE Focal Point at Braithwaite Center for Active Aging as an honor to the once-segregated school. Generations of African Americans attended Braithwaite from 1929 until integration closed it in the 1960s.

“This is a blessing from the Lord,” he said Tuesday night. “The seat does not belong to me. It belongs to the citizens of Deerfield Beach of District 2. It’s time to go to work. I’m humbled the people said they want me to continue.”

Deerfield Beach voters also faced a referendum question: They signed off on the sale of a 3.75-acre swath of public property for $6.5 million. City officials said they plan to build a “multi-use development” with workforce housing, retail and restaurant space, and a hotel. City officials said property valued at more than $750,000 must be voted on.

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The other Broward communities with elections were Coconut Creek, Hillsboro Beach, Miramar, North Lauderdale and Pembroke Park. Here’s a look at those contests:

Coconut Creek voters unseated Becky Tooley, who had been elected every four years since 2001, in District A. Voters picked Jeffrey Wasserman, an assistant principal at Cypress Bay High and a former history and civics teacher.

Wasserman campaigned to block the expansion of Florida’s Turnpike and prevent Monarch Hill’s landfill expansion.

In District D, voters chose John Brodie, the incumbent, over challengers Alfred Delgado and Nancy Gayle Fry. The commission last April appointed Brodie to the District D seat to complete the 11 months left in the term of Lou Sarbone, who resigned after an investigation found he was living in Fort Myers. Brodie said he supports more affordable housing.

Coconut Creek voters also faced a referendum question. They were asked to consider a charter change amendment that would require a vacancy on the City Commission to be filled by voters in an election, and not by appointment by other elected officials. The voters approved that proposal.

In Miramar, Mayor Wayne Messam overwhelmingly beat his challenger, Rudy Theophin. Messam became the city’s first Black mayor eight years ago when he defeated a longtime incumbent.

He had briefly considered the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019.

In Pembroke Park, voters rejected a bid for incumbent Reynold “Rey” Dieuveille to return to District 4, choosing his challenger Musfika Kashem, who had pledged to advocate for Black and brown communities.

A former elected official, Ashira Mohammed, was selected for District 5. Mohammed was first elected to the town commission in 2003 and elected mayor in 2011. She resigned after her 2020 state legislative bid, which she lost.

During her campaign she said she would focus on the city’s new police department, saying they were working mandatory overtime daily, “which not only puts our community at risk but also our officers’ safety.”

In District 1, voters chose newcomer Erik Morrissette, who is a section director of the Federation of Manufactured Home Owners of Florida (FMO), which defends rights of mobile home park residents. He campaigned for safer biking lanes.

In Hillsboro Beach, voters chose three commissioners out of four contenders. The winners were Vincent “Vinnie” Andreano, incumbent Barbara Baldasarre and David Anthony Ravanesi.

Baldasarre campaigned for undergrounding utility wires and preparing for sea-level rise by elevating State Road A1A.

Andreano, a retired Miami Beach firefighter, cited public safety and beach erosion on the town’s north end as concerns. Ravanesi is a former elected and appointed official in his hometown of Everett, Mass. He said he wants to pursue grants to assist with marine patrol and beach funding.

In North Lauderdale, the winner for District D is Darrell Lewis-Ricketts, a member of the zoning board. The vacancy on the commission opened in November when former District D Commissioner Samson Borgelin was elected mayor.

When that happened, Borgelin appointed Lewis-Ricketts to the open district seat. But two of the four commissioners wouldn’t agree, and so it went to a special election.

In Tuesday’s election, Lewis-Ricketts beat Michelle Jones, who had previously run for office in Tamarac. The two votes cast for a third candidate on the ballot will not be counted because of eligibility issues.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash