The same few antagonists in our city continue to publicly bash the current commission for a recent vote regarding term limits.

These individuals continue to spread misinformation and blatant lies, and it must STOP! Our residents deserve better.

So here are the FACTS.
 
FACT: The city commission recently voted NO (3-2 vote) on a proposal that would allow members of the commission to serve 12 years, take a two-year “break,” and allow them to run again for another 12 years. The candidate could potentially repeat the cycle endlessly.
 
FACT: I made my position clear from the beginning and voted NO, because…
 
FACT: The particular proposal presented to the commission in no way implements adequate term limits. You can try to sell this proposal as placing “term limits” on the local commissioners and mayor, but the language of this proposal has no teeth. It is a useless proposal, and if implemented would be used as a slick ploy, so that some individuals could tell constituents that “we have implemented term limits,” when the reality is that under the current proposal, someone can serve 24 out of 26 years, or even 36 out of 40 years. If someone starts early enough and lives long enough, they can even serve 72 out of 82 years on the commission! What good does the current proposal do, if it allows someone to be in office for decades?
 
FACT: I was the only member of the commission to propose amending the ordinance to allow a candidate to serve a total of 12 years…PERIOD. If you want term limits, there should be no opportunity to run again for city commission after you have served for 12 years, whether the years are consecutive or not. My proposed amendment would have created a REAL TERM LIMIT! If the candidate wants to continue to be a public servant, then they can run for school board or statehouse.
 
FACT: My amendment, designed to implement a real term limit of 12 years, did not have the necessary three votes from the current commission to be approved.
 
FACT: The initial proposal which allows a candidate to serve 36 of 40 years, solves no problems that exist within our current political system. I can only speculate that this issue is being raised at this moment in time, not in order to effectuate meaningful reform, but instead so that some individuals can use the topic to bolster their own campaigns for commission next cycle.
 
FACT: These antagonists, who seem to intentionally ignore the facts, continue to spread false and misleading information about this issue online.
 
FACT: I am here to serve and represent you! The residents of this city voted me in with overwhelming support. As a servant leader, I will always vote with YOUR best interests in mind, and I will not vote in support of proposals that do not adequately address the problem we are trying to solve.
 
Those are the FACTS!
 
- Mike Bracchi, city commissioner of Wilton Manors