As homelessness turns political, it won’t help | Steve Bousquet

When the definitive political history of South Florida is written, a chapter should be devoted to the dysfunctional political relationship between Fort Lauderdale and Broward County.

Their leaders work a few blocks from each other, but they’re worlds apart politically. They rarely talk to each other, and when they do, it never ends well.

Remember the cringe-worthy workshop on the question of a bridge or tunnel for commuter rail? How about the ill-fated talk of a city-county “gateway” headquarters?

They can’t get along living in the same zip code, let alone the same building.

Such friction shows a lack of political maturity. It cheats taxpayers. It’s not healthy for the region’s future.

Against these odds, Warren Sturman is trying to improve things.

In the midst of a tense re-election campaign, the Fort Lauderdale commissioner eagerly volunteered to be the city’s point person in talking with the county on managing homelessness, one of the area’s most intractable problems.

Homelessness hits Fort Lauderdale especially hard. As the county seat, it is home to the county jail. People who are released end up on city streets where a world-famous beach beckons.

On July 2, commissioners informally agreed to make Sturman their homeless point person with the county, reaffirming the work he was doing. Commissioner John Herbst proposed it.

When Sturman promised his colleagues regular updates, Mayor Dean Trantalis said: “Great.” No one objected. We reviewed the video.

Sturman has an ongoing dialogue with County Commissioner Lamar Fisher, church leaders, health experts, the Salvation Army, United Way and others while navigating legitimate concerns about cleanliness, public safety and a NIMBY mindset.

The ideas, most tried in larger cities, include low-barrier shelters with minimal rules for entry; easy-to-build shelters known as pallet homes; and “safe parking” lots, where the homeless can securely sleep in their cars in a desperate solution to a desperate situation.

“We’ve got to get a couple of successes out there, and then we can start building on it,” Sturman told the mayor and commissioners Tuesday.

He’s right. Homelessness won’t go away. Progress will be incremental.

With Sturman part of a dialogue, Commissioner Steven Glassman objected, and said any city-county talks should be between the mayors of both bodies.

“I don’t want to read in the newspaper” about people in homeless parking lots, Glassman said. He protested Sturman’s use of the pronoun “we” and asked: “Who is the ‘we'”?

At Tuesday’s meeting, Glassman claimed the commission never approved making Sturman its homeless point person (the record shows otherwise but at conference meetings no votes are taken.)

Here’s the backstory. The worst-kept secret in local politics is that Glassman and Trantalis don’t want Sturman to win re-election in November.

Both would prefer that former Commissioner Ben Sorensen be part of a new three-member majority. Sorensen resigned a commission seat in 2022 in the midst of a term, ran for Congress unsuccessfully and now wants the District 4 seat back.

It’s no coincidence: Sturman is the commission’s most persistent critic of overdevelopment, including lifting height restrictions on new skyscrapers, and overly generous “P3’s,” public-private partnerships that favor developers over city taxpayers.

If Sturman can bridge a chasm with county government on homelessness, it will boost his credibility. He should be commended for his willingness to tackle an issue most politicians avoid because it’s usually a political loser.

As Sturman works behind the scenes, Trantalis, also seeking re-election, told residents in his newsletter: “We need to take a get-tough approach with those who put others at risk and, by their actions, weaken the fabric of our community.”

Such rhetoric won’t help. It will heighten tensions between Trantalis and Broward Mayor Nan Rich, who favors a more compassionate approach of services, prevention and affordable housing. (The two mayors are having lunch next week).

Sturman signed up for a thankless assignment, made more difficult by a heartless new law (HB 1365), making it illegal to camp or sleep in public and directing cities and counties to round up those who do.

Cities and counties across Florida are scrambling to pass ordinances to enforce the new law. Fort Lauderdale officials discussed broadening the sleeping ban by making it 24/7, not just overnight but during the day, and making camping a criminal violation because civil citations are ineffective.

The law takes effect Oct. 1. People can sue cities or counties if they do not comply.

The new anti-homeless law could create other, more serious problems. Aggressive sweeps of the homeless will strain city services. The city said Sheriff Gregory Tony is resisting using the county jail to house the homeless, which the city attorney said would be against the law.

“Let’s be pragmatic here,” Herbst pleaded with his colleagues. “What are we doing on Oct. 2?”

The answer is, they don’t have a good answer — and they know it.

Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor of the Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on X @stevebousquet.