Our efforts have made a significant impact, yet the journey to maintain Fort Lauderdale as the safest and best place to live continues. Explore the progress we’ve achieved below. I am committed to keeping Fort Lauderdale on the right track, ensuring our residents enjoy the highest quality of life possible.
Leading the way on infrastructure improvements
- Fast-tracked the critical installation of the new central sewer line— under budget and in record time
- Broke ground on a new high-tech water treatment plant to meet city needs for clean, clear water well into the future.
- Demanded a new pump station downtown adding over 360 million gallons of annual sewage capacity.
- Since becoming mayor, have led the City’s installation of more than 19 miles of water pipe, 17 miles of sewer pipe, and 15 miles of stormwater pipe.
- Launched Fortify Lauderdale to invest $500 million to stormwater and flood prevention systems, in addition to $200 million in new flood mitigation drainage in our most vulnerable neighborhoods.
- Completed innovative new seawalls in the Isles and in Rio Vista.
- Installed hundreds of new tidal-control valves, built new outfall connections, and rebuilt swales.
- Invested in new technology to better plan for flooding and rising sea levels.
- Mapped thousands of water distribution valves so public works crews know where to go to test and maintain these critical links in the infrastructure.
- Undertook computerized modeling of the entire water system to identify improvements to improve pressure and pipe durability.
- Purchased new regional water reservoir capacity to safeguard our drinking water.
- Fought for new undergrounding of electrical lines to help protect our power grid from storm damage.
Ensuring our community is safe
- Expanded police and fire protection with 35 additional police officers and 26 new fire personnel in the last two years.
- Broke ground on a state-of-the-art new police headquarters after leading a public referendum for responsible voter-approved funding.
- Led major overhaul of fire-rescue facilities, including the construction of Emergency Medical SubStation 88 south of the New River.
- Increased rescue unit staffing for better emergency response.
- Created a new Community Support Unit in the Police Department to address neighborhood concerns.
- Placed tactical analysts in the Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center for more efficient response.
- Installed new ShotSpotter technology to deploy office response more effectively via GPS.
- Initiated the use of body cameras for police officers to increase transparency and accountability.
- Supported responsible police reforms to ensure all people are treated fairly and with full transparency.
- Enacted new laws to curb the problem of aggressive panhandling.
- Increased the number of police officers assigned full time to homeless issues.
- Closed the longtime homeless encampment that had taken over the area between the main county library and Stranahan Park.
- Assigned local police officers and worked with the School District in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting to ensure safety at local schools.
Protecting our quality of life and neighborhoods
- Rewrote the municipal development code to provide greater transparency in the development review process, protect neighborhoods from adjacent development, and ensure development fits its surroundings with proper setbacks and appropriate amounts of landscaping and tree canopy.
- Worked with fellow commissioners to implement smart-growth strategies in analyzing projects needing commission approval, reducing the size of some developments, and forcing others to address concerns of surrounding residents.
- Implemented responsible sober house regulations with minimum standards that included a prohibition on drug and alcohol use and a 1,000-foot separation requirement between homes.
- Supported restrictions on vacation rentals including minimum standards, requiring registration, and establishing penalties for non-compliance.
- Ended gun shows at War Memorial Auditorium to enhance public safety and protect areas where children play.
- Supported the construction of new housing that is affordable to families, workers, and seniors on fixed incomes.
- Sold city-owned lots for the construction of single-family homes that must be marketed to the public at affordable prices.
- Pushed for rewriting the city’s noise ordinance to better protect residents from late-night noise and to provide businesses with clear rules to follow.
- Banned smoking on the beach.
- Fast-tracked cleanups of George English Lake and the Tarpon River, addressing pollution from sewage spills.
- Established a large-scale water quality monitoring program, providing weekly public updates on water conditions.
- Won LEED for Cities Gold certification in recognition of the city’s efforts in environmental protection.
- Worked to get the city inducted into the All-America City Hall of Fame for our community collaboration to get things done, topping off our previous prestigious recognition by the National Civic League as an All-America City.
Helping to improve education
- Partnered with the school district and non-profit organizations to run a summer enrichment program to help children and teens master new skills.
- Partnered with the Barbara Bush Foundation on the Book Explorers Reading program to promote literacy.
- Helped bring the Global Institute of Sport to Fort Lauderdale to provide educational options for students interested in pursuing careers in sports business.
- Launched an avionics program at Atlantic Technical College in partnership with the school district, local colleges, and the business community.
- Proposed that the city explore starting a charter school program to expand school choice for families and boost educational achievement in the community.
- Partnered with Broward College to expand access to post-secondary education and workforce training.
Celebrating our community’s diversity
- Hosted the North American Mayor’s Summit Against Antisemitism in Fort Lauderdale, bringing municipal leaders from throughout the continent together.
- Renamed part of Davie Boulevard as Rubin Stacy Memorial Blvd in memory of the last person lynched during the segregationist Jim Crow era in Fort Lauderdale.
- Approved a landmark ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity in the city.
- Created new sister city relationships with Constanta, Romania, and Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Renewed the 10-year-old sister-city agreement with Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with an agreement pledging closer cooperation between our yachting economies.
- Launched the celebration of the annual Jewish holiday of Tu BiShevat by planting trees in city parks.
- Recognized the Hindu festival of lights, known as Diwali, for the first time in the city’s history.
- Increased the city’s rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index to 100%.
Improving parks and public amenities
- Worked with the InterMiami pro soccer team to build Chase Stadium and its corporate headquarters to Fort Lauderdale at no cost to the taxpayer. With a $165 million investment, InterMiami built the stadium, a smaller community stadium, a state-of-the-art training facility — paving the way for international soccer superstar Leo Messi to play in Fort Lauderdale.
- Reopened the reimagined Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center with refurbished pools and a 27-meter dive tower – the highest in the western hemisphere — to once again host international and national swimming and diving competitions as well as attract extreme sports events.
- Spearheaded the agreement for a modernized War Memorial Auditorium that includes the Baptist Health IcePlex with rinks for the public and Florida Panthers hockey team, at no cost to the taxpayers.
- Opened the new L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center.
- Entered into a public-private partnership to build OneStop arts park, a cultural center and European-style marketplace surrounding a 2-acre park designed with community input at no cost to the taxpayer.
- Signed a partnership to build The Fort, a major pickleball facility with a lakefront beach area at no cost to the taxpayer.
- Launched a $200 million initiative to expand and improve the city park system.
- Added to the city’s beachfront experience by building Oceanside Park, beginning a reimagining of D.C. Alexander Park and renovating the streetscape along State Road A1A.
- Worked with the Downtown Development Authority to redesign Huizenga Park with a lush shade canopy and civic lawn, dog run, and a waterfront restaurant.
- Initiated the development of LauderTrail, a 7-mile network of connected bike paths across.
Seeking ways to reduce traffic and improve transportation
- Required Broward County to construct a bypass road through Port Everglades to relieve congestion on SE 17th Street.
- Approved a feasibility study to create a one-way traffic loop around downtown for a dedicated rapid-transit, wider sidewalks, and bike paths.
- Lobbied the county to expedite better synchronized traffic signals on primary roadways.
- Fighting to protect downtown by promoting the construction of a tunnel rather than a high-rise bridge to cross the New River if Broward County expands commuter rail service.
- Launched LauderGO!, a free, on-demand shuttle service in partnership with Circuit as a convenient and eco-friendly transportation option for residents and visitors alike.
- Supported the creation of a quiet zone along the Florida East Coast Railroad to improve the living environment of nearby residents.
- Approved the replacement of older city bridges, including those on Coconut Isle, Castle Harbor Isle, West Lake Drive, and South Ocean Drive to ensure safer and more reliable connectivity for residents.
- Working to find ways to enhance the Las Olas Boulevard corridor, and save shade trees.
- Working with the Florida Department of Transportation to make modifications to Sunrise Boulevard to alleviate congestion.
- Championed road and streetscape improvements in the North Beach Village area and increased funding for new sidewalks citywide.
Ensuring sound financial stewardship
- Ended the practice of raiding utility funds to pay for general operating expenses, ensuring the money is now allocated directly to improving the city’s aging infrastructure.
- Maintained the city’s tax rate unchanged for 17 consecutive years.
- Worked with national financial rating analysts to raise the city bond rating to AAA, the highest possible rating to ensure the lowest cost cost to pay for critical infrastructure projects.
- Negotiated fiscally responsible contracts with city unions, including the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Fire Fighters.
- Backed a reconstruction of the Las Olas Marina to support our marine economy.
- Secured a permanent home for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, reduced the amount of development and provided locals a waterfront promenade and Intracoastal park at Bahia Mar.
- Approved a partnership to build a full-service production studio complete with sound stages, movie sets, a backlot for location filming, and an accredited film school.
- Made the city a charter fellow of the Alan Levan Center for Innovation at Nova Southeastern University, a world-class tech incubator and accelerator to attract investment and talent for our local economy.
- Created a high-tech startup incubator in Fort Lauderdale with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Energy.