As Fort Lauderdale’s District 2 commissioner, Steve Glassman has been the voice for a high-profile district that includes the beach, downtown and Las Olas Boulevard since his election more than six years ago.
Glassman may well serve another four years should he win a third and final term in the city’s Nov. 5 election. But first, he’ll need to declare victory over two challengers: Charlotte Rodstrom, a former Fort Lauderdale commissioner who beat him in 2009; and Chad Van Horn, a bankruptcy attorney making his first run for office.
The winner will be among the highest-paid elected officials in Broward County.
Fort Lauderdale commissioners earn $88,500 and are guaranteed automatic pay raises. Come Dec. 1, commission salaries will rise to $89,100.
Glassman has won key endorsements from the police union and the Sierra Club. Van Horn has been endorsed by the fire union.
Glassman won office in March 2018 and was reelected in November 2020. A retired teacher, he served six years on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board and spent 11 years as an administrator for the Broward County Cultural Division before retiring in 2008. He also has served as president of the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation and the Central Beach Alliance neighborhood association.
He touts his experience, hands-on work ethic and institutional knowledge as reasons voters should choose him.
“I first ran in 2018 because I was very concerned about the lack of attention to major issues, such as infrastructure,” Glassman told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We have turned that around. We cannot have amnesia. We must recognize the mistakes of the past. I am very proud of what we have accomplished. And I want to continue that work because we have more work to do and challenges ahead of us.”
Rodstrom, the wife of former County Commissioner John Rodstrom, is angling for a comeback after a series of election defeats in recent years.
Glassman has not been shy about bringing up Rodstrom’s past election losses.
In an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, he said residents still remember her decision to “walk away” after being reelected to the City Commission so she could run for a seat on the County Commission. Fort Lauderdale then held a special election that cost taxpayers close to $300,000.
“And then she subsequently lost three more elections after that,” Glassman said. “We cannot return to those days.”
‘Still a neighborhood girl’
A former flight attendant who now runs a medical billing business, Rodstrom first won election to the City Commission in 2006. She was reelected in 2009 and 2012, but resigned to run for the Broward County Commission later that year. After losing that race, she ran for City Commission again in 2013 but lost by 20 votes to Dean Trantalis, the current mayor. In 2014, she again ran unsuccessfully for County Commission. Four years later, she lost a race for mayor of Fort Lauderdale.
Why is she running?
“I’m very angry,” Rodstrom said. “I’m angry at the current commission, especially my opponent Steve Glassman. I’m not happy with the way the development is accelerating. And I’m not happy with the way the infrastructure is not being expedited. I’m still a neighborhood girl. I grew up here. My main goal is infrastructure. We are behind the eight ball in solving the problems of stormwater and water and sewer infrastructure.”
Rodstrom argues that she has a proven track record of standing up to developers on several key votes.
“The current commission’s culture needs to change,” she said. “It’s become a cash-register government and our city deserves better. The commission is at a crossroads, with developers poised to take over our city. I believe in a moderate approach to growth, which has been lacking for years.”
Van Horn says he jumped in the race partly because he was alarmed by the fast pace of development downtown.
“I’ve been here for nearly two decades at this point and I remember (the city) was on a great trajectory,” Van Horn said. “And then, unfortunately, over the last few years, it has started to fall apart. We see the flooding. We see the homelessness issues. The infrastructure is just failing. I had sewage in my street a few weeks ago. I live in Flagler Village and I’m surrounded by tower after tower. A lot of young professionals have one foot in and one foot out in Fort Lauderdale.
“I’m all in. I have rental real estate here. My home’s here. My employees are here. If Fort Lauderdale fails, I fail. And that’s the reason I’m running.”
If elected, Van Horn said he would bring new ideas and a fresh perspective.
“Unlike my opponents, I am not a politician,” Van Horn told the Sun Sentinel. “I plan to live here for the next 50 years of my life. I am the only candidate pledging to commit my entire commission salary to nonprofits to combat homelessness.”
Van Horn and Rodstrom both object to the pace of development in Fort Lauderdale and hold Glassman partly to blame.
“I left in 2012,” Rodstrom told the Sun Sentinel. “And the only reason I’m back is because I’m angry at what is happening. There’s a lot of people upset about all the development. And they’re worried we don’t have the capacity. I am hearing a lot of complaints about what Mr. Glassman is doing now.”
Van Horn said he also has concerns about the impact of what he called “rapid and unplanned” growth on the city’s roads and sewer pipes.
“The surge in high-rise buildings and commercial developments, especially downtown and along our coast, has stretched our aging infrastructure to its limits,” Van Horn said. “We are seeing more frequent flooding, sewer overflows, and deteriorating roads due to inadequate stormwater systems and utilities that were not designed to handle this level of demand.
“Traffic congestion has worsened, making commutes longer and more stressful for residents. Our quality of life is declining as our unique neighborhoods are replaced by dense developments that don’t reflect the character of our community.”
‘That was the plan’
Glassman says the development and growth that his opponents take exception to was all planned under Rodstrom’s watch.
“The downtown master plan was formulated when she was a commissioner,” Glassman said. “We’ve lived up to that master plan. (Van Horn) mentions Flagler Village and all of the high-rises, but that was the plan. What we’re seeing now in Fort Lauderdale is exactly what was planned 15 years ago.”
Flagler Village was once a blighted neighborhood rife with drugs, crime and prostitution, Glassman noted.
“There was no connectivity for people to walk,” Glassman said. “There were no galleries. (The) neighborhood is now becoming a place where you can go to a restaurant, where you can go to a gallery, where you can walk because we are improving the connectivity. Flagler Village has grown to be exactly what was planned. End of story.”
As for the city’s infrastructure woes, Glassman said Fort Lauderdale is spending hundreds of millions on improvements to address that.
“When I was elected, I was as mad as everyone about the lack of maintenance and investment that resulted in major infrastructure failures,” Glassman said. “We were tired of management issues, delays and excuses. It’s a big reason why I ran, and the reason why I have voted for $1.6 billion in fast-tracked below- and above-ground improvements for water and sewer mains, stormwater flooding upgrades, roadway and digital infrastructure. It is a job-one priority for me, and I am demanding it gets done fast.”
Rodstrom argues the city is not moving quickly enough to replace its aging infrastructure.
“I would increase impact fees on developers so they contribute their fair share toward the master plan,” Rodstrom said. “My opponent claims to have fought for $1.6 billion in infrastructure spending, but in reality only a small fraction has been allocated. And the pace of improvements is much too slow given the existing and already approved development. Residents are paying higher stormwater fees but are still waiting for projects to begin, which is unacceptable.”
Rodstrom said she objects to what she calls land giveaways, including the pickleball complex being built at Snyder Park and the food hall/concert venue that has yet to break ground on city-owned land in Flagler Village known as the One Stop Shop.
Van Horn was also critical of what he called generous deals that turned over public land in some cases for $1 a year.
He pointed to the deal the city made with the billionaire owners of the Inter Miami soccer team. “Leasing 40 acres of public land to a private entity for just $1 per year while only securing four days of public access annually is not a fair or sustainable deal,” Van Horn said. “The promised 20-acre public park remains unbuilt, with delays and uncertainty surrounding its completion. As an attorney, I know the importance of having essential terms clearly defined and enforceable in any agreement.”
Van Horn said he would have voted against the pickleball complex currently being built in Fort Lauderdale’s Snyder Park.
“If the city wanted to build pickleball courts, it could have done so independently without giving away valuable public land,” he said.
A different take
Glassman defended the deals, saying they were not giveaways at all.
“We’re not giving away anything to the lobbyists or developers because we still own these facilities,” Glassman said. “We own the stadiums at Lockhart. We own the facilities at Holiday Park. We will own the (food hall) at One Stop Shop. We will own all of the projects – even pickleball (at Snyder Park). And we are gaining public use for these public lands, making incredible amounts of revenue for the city.”
Rodstrom criticized the commission’s decision to expand the boundaries of the high-density Downtown Regional Activity Center, saying she fears it will strain the city’s infrastructure and bring more gridlock on the roads.
“We’re already seeing the effects, with increased stormwater flooding downtown due to reduced permeable ground for water to reach the aquifer,” Rodstrom said. “Sewer breaks are ongoing and will worsen as more residents move in. This commission has already approved over 48 new developments, adding more than 18,000 units to downtown, more than doubling the current 13,000 units and further straining the system. Traffic and neighborhood impacts will only intensify once these buildings are completed.”
Glassman accused his rivals of having a negative take on what he considers a beautiful, growing city.
“We must be doing something right to attract the likes of a Leo Messi, to attract the likes of all of the young people who are filling up all of the buildings that are being built in our city,” Glassman said. “Look at the downtown, which is getting a lot of criticism from my opponents. That downtown has developed exactly the way that it was planned 15 years ago. Twenty years ago there was no one downtown. No one was living there. I have a very different take on our city than my opponents. They have a very negative take. I have a very positive take.”
Glassman admits that traffic is sometimes gridlocked, but says it’s a good problem to have.
“You know, a successful city is going to have some traffic issues,” Glassman said. “And we’re working on that. Cities that are dying, cities that are closing up shop like downtown San Francisco, those traffic issues are lessening. You know why? Because no one wants to be there. Because no one is coming there. Because no one wants to live there. We have the opposite. Traffic is always going to be a byproduct of our success. I would rather have some traffic issues to work on than have no traffic issues because that would mean that our city is not growing and no one wants to be here.”
Susannah can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
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