Residents were blindsided when the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (LBTS) Town Commission voted 3-2 to approve a resolution to co-designate Sea Grape Drive as “President Donald J. Trump Drive.” Other than the agenda posted on the town website, there was no broader public notice to residents in this small town. With only a few days’ warning before the Sept. 10 meeting, residents scrambled to organize and turn out in opposition.
During that contentious meeting, the majority of speakers were LBTS residents opposed to the
proposal, despite what the mayor later claimed in a letter to the Sun Sentinel. Out of 37 LBTS
residents at the meeting, 33 spoke against it, and only four spoke in favor. Among non-LBTS speakers, 10 opposed and 9 supported the change. That’s hardly evidence that opposition was
“mostly” from non-residents, as has been asserted by the mayor and other supporters of the resolution.
Patrick Ferguson is a long time resident of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. (courtesy, Patrick Ferguson)
Commissioners in favor of the street naming argued that LBTS is predominantly Republican and Donald Trump carried LBTS during the previous presidential election to justify the co-designation name change. That logic doesn’t hold. Of all registered LBTS voters, 59% percent are not Republican (approximately 32% NPA, 27% Democrat, 41% Republican). Voting for a presidential candidate is not the same as wanting a politically charged street sign, especially one that risks alienating visitors and businesses and undermining LBTS’ long-valued nonpartisan civic culture.
Local business sentiment reflects that concern. Cathy Cather, who attended the Town Commission
meeting on Sept. 10, decided to canvas 50 LBTS businesses and found 46 opposed to the Sea
Grape Drive co-designation and only four in favor.
However, it was not until the most recent Commission meeting, on Sept 24, that the highly partisan nature of the street co-designation was revealed. It turns out that only residents who were registered GOP voters received a notice of the vote that would take place at the LBTS
Commission meeting on Sept. 10. Meanwhile, there was no notice to the rest of us, and once we learned of the item on the agenda just days before the vote, we scrambled to let everyone know.
While Broward GOP Committeeman and LBTS Commissioner Richard DeNapoli, who proposed the resolution, insisted that the proposal was “fair and nonpartisan,” it was clearly not. With notice
sent only to registered GOP voters, the highly partisan nature of the resolution and the close
partisan coordination to ensure its approval became abundantly clear. Two weeks after the vote,
a town resident stood during public comment to reveal that her husband, a member of the GOP
and Sea Grape resident received a text message that read: “Support President Trump Tonight 9-10-25 at the LBTS Commission at Jarvis Hall. Be there at 6:30 p.m. to support co-designating a single sign in our town for our president! Obama has a whole street in Broward and Trump should have at least one sign in recognition of his huge victories here! It’s about fairness.”
Her husband remains strongly opposed to the idea, as do many other GOP residents.
The Broward Young Republicans, Fort Lauderdale Young Republicans, and the Broward County
Republican Party organized a countywide turnout in support of the resolution. Commissioners
have insisted there was nothing partisan about the co-designation, yet three days later, they
were publicly praised from the stage at the Republican Party’s Ronald Reagan Dinner for
“getting a Trump street” in our town, complete with a photoshopped Trump street-sign in the
backdrop.
As the Broward Republican Party Chairman pointed out during public comments before the 3-2 vote of approval, the Broward Republican Party headquarters is located at the Sea Grape intersection. The direct partisan intervention in our town’s governance is unmistakable. Providing notification only to GOP registered voters is not “fair” nor is it “non-partisan.” Public trust in our commissioners has been seriously eroded by the vote of three members to trade in the peace of our town for a political billboard and a springboard for their personal, partisan ambitions.
Patrick Ferguson is a long time resident of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. He is an attorney and a senior campaign organizer working for the Sierra Club Florida Chapter.
