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Should the Feds visit Margate?
• "It may not be ethical, but it's legal" - Jack Tobin
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Monday,
October 19, 2009
Most of you are familiar with recent FBI probes into the lives and bank accounts of various Broward and Miramar Commissioners, a Broward lobbyist and Broward School Board member Beverly Gallagher. People whose actions are paramount to treason, as they may have sold Americans out through cover ups, bribe taking and misappropriating taxpayer dollars -- money you and I work very hard for and entrust with elected officials and those they appoint.
Should the Feds visit Margate?
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Margate, a city with a torrid political past and governed by commissioners who have been on the dais for decades. A government known for no-bid contracts, poor financial management and their affiliation with Margate lobbyist Jack Tobin, a former Florida State Representative and Margate City Commissioner indicted on charges of bribery in the early 1980s.
Tobin was eventually acquitted, but it remains a mystery (or maybe not) why Margate politicians continue to associate with Tobin who, as a Florida State Rep, earned the name ‘Lobster Boy’ for his gluttonous penchant for lobbyist-paid lobster dinners at Tallahassee’s The Wharf restaurant.
Known for being too cozy with lobbyists, Tobin resigned from his state seat in 1998, surfacing two years later as a lobbyist himself and eventually jockeying the City of Margate as a client.
Since, Tobin has provided campaign backing for many a Margate City Commissioner – commissioners who Tobin parades private clients before in search of incentives which, if granted, become profitable ventures for Tobin and his company, Jack Tobin and Associates.
Margate City Attorney, Eugene Steinfeld, recently stated that Tobin’s contract was amended in 2005 to provide for such conflict of interest. Conflict of interest in that Tobin is paid by Margate taxpayers to lobby for the well-being of the City before state lawmakers in Tallahassee, while at the same time profiting from Margate taxpayers through persuading City Commissioners (both directly and indirectly ) to favor his client’s private interests.
Case in point – Tobin recently got city officials to completely rezone the old Aztec mobile home park on State Road 7 to accommodate his client, Aztec RV Resort Inc., a group of Canadian investors with plans to construct over 600 Class A luxury RV sites on the 102-acre parcel.
Tobin, a Class A luxury RV owner himself, must have been paid handsomely by Aztec RV Resort Inc. to close the $40 million deal. Maybe a luxury RV lot soon to be valued at $100,000 or more. Then of course there are the four of five city commissioners who hastily approved the project on behalf of Margate taxpayers with no financial guarantee that the Canadian investors actually had the capital to move the project forward or properly market the project to ensure viability.
Keep in mind Tobin is the same lobbyist who facilitated the displacement of hundreds of Margate residents from their homes two years ago when he came before Margate Commissioners on behalf of UniProp Manufactured Homes, owners of the Aztec Mobile Home Park and a company with profitable plans for a 700-plus unit townhome project which Margate commissioners approved. The project fell through and hundreds of Margate residents were carelessly evicted from their homes – residents who counted on elected officials to support them, not expedite their eviction.
To this day, Tobin threatens would-be candidates for Margate City Commission with ‘black-balling’ and name calling. He’s just short of being disrespectful to commissioners in chambers and is most certainly disrespectful to residents who disagree with his point of view. Behavior unfitting of a lobbyist paid by taxpayers to represent their best interest.
One Margate City Commissioner said that the reason Tobin’s contact was amended and renewed in 2005 was because Jack needed clients, not because he was doing the city any good. Might I add that the 40K a year Tobin is paid by taxpayers might better serve Parks & Rec initiatives in the City.
Lobbyists like Tobin are bad news for Margatonians -- and we have only ourselves to blame. We continue to elect the same public officials election after election, having no clue about what is really going on behind the scenes. I suspect Margate residents will vote for change in the city's next election in 2012.
When that day arrives, be sure to vote for change, not for more of the same.
In the meantime attend a city meeting or two. See for yourself how one Margate resident summed up so eloquently the City's political process after witnessing commissioners insult each other on the dais time and time again.
"This is better than TV," he said.
Sidebar: MargateNews.net was informed that Tobin has told future candidates who wish to have a political future in Margate to distance themselves from MargateNews.net editorial channels. We at MargateNews.net can’t blame him, because we continue to report on his sordid political history and questionable lobbying tactics in the city. 2012 can’t come soon enough.
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