Vote Cat Uden for Hollywood Mayor My name is Cat Uden. I am running for Mayor of Hollywood to improve our quality of life and protect and establish our city for the ...
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The late comedian Flip Wilson brought down the house during his '70s nighttime television show when he appeared as "Geraldine". The alter ego's winning line was, "What you see is what you get."
But what if what you see is not always what you get? What if the truth, as best as we can determine it, is more complex, complicated, nuanced? As citizens and voters, are we allowed to ask questions based on the public record even as we work to assess the deeper meaning of that public record? And is it reasonable to expect public officials - elected representatives - to respect our questions?
I've decided to introduce a serious topic this way because I hope it turns down the rhetoric and gets past assumptions that Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy apparently makes. You see, on Aug. 17, I stood outside of an early primary voting location at the Hollywood Library, which is adjacent to City Hall. As my shift was getting closer to its conclusion, Josh appeared. He came towards me, and I extended my hand to shake his. But he rejected my overture.
Instead, a heated conversation ensued, started by the two-term Hollywood mayor who is running for a third and final term in the Nov. 5 General Election. (I voted for Josh in 2016; this year, though, I back his toughest challenger, Catherine "Cat" Uden.)
In a nutshell, with lots of people nearby distributing campaign literature, my mayor essentially said I'm a shitty person. "You're not right. You're not right," was the way Mayor Levy began his attack. He then launched a claim that is all too typical these days. Politicians who don't get their way, or who maybe feel entitled to gentle press coverage, blame the messenger.
Josh was loud and clear on this point, as people listened and perhaps even watched. He accused me of working on an article that was an unfair assault on the Levy family and him.
Of course, I stood my ground verbally. I made my case in response, and afterwards, even spoke with a Broward County Commissioner who witnessed the dispute.
At one point, Josh told me to get away from him, even though he had approached me. So we continued our loud discussion.
However, out of nowhere the mayor jabbed me in the chest several times with one of his fingers.
Finally, though, Josh gave himself a timeout. And after minutes of possible reflection, he returned to speak civilly with me. He even told me that he hadn't read all of the email that I had sent him days earlier.
As readers, I'm sure you can sense that I'm shifting from a more lighthearted approach, mixed with background and context, to the serious topic at hand.
So, ready? Set. Here goes:
According to the City of Hollywood website, about 50% of the city is not connected to our sewer system. You can also learn online that Hollywood leaders have approved two septic-to-sewer projects. The first one covers a small part of Hollywood Hills, including Mayor Levy's home. The second more extensive effort starts this fall.
That project involves Washington Park and its industrial area. Again, based on public information, the Levy family last November announced that it had purchased almost $10 million of property in this industrial park. In other words, the Levy family is batting two for two even as many city residents continue to wait for sewer-hookup projects in their neighborhoods.
Get it? This is what you see from the public record. But is that all? Is it what you get?
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