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Margate Resident kicks-off 2012 City Commission Race
• Four-time City Commission Candidate Lesa Peerman officially registers
Tuesday,
August 24, 2010
Originally from Lockport, Illinois, 52-year-old Lesa Peerman moved to Margate in 1996. She’s been working for the Broward County School System for 22 years and has officially registered as a candidate for Margate City Commission in 2012.
Peerman believes in term limits for commissioners, accountability to taxpayers and a heightened level of constructive input and participation by Margate residents at City Hall meetings.
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Peerman became active at Margate City Commission meetings circa 2003. She has spoken to the city’s need for cold water fountains in the parks, canopies over playgrounds and the historic value of barber poles, which the first Community Redevelopment Agency in the city wanted to ban for no good reason, Peerman said.
“Why would anyone want to get rid of barber poles? They’re not hurting anyone,” she said, adding that Margate’s Community Redevelopment Agency has come a long way since, and is significantly more focused than the city’s CRA of yesteryear.
Peerman has been instrumental in getting monthly bulk pick-ups in the city and would like to see sign codes amended to allow for more variety – something other than monument signs.
“I never wanted to live in a community where everything looked the same,” she said.
With regards to closing the gap on the city’s $3.7 million budget deficit, Peerman would like to first eliminate employee vacancies (unfilled positions), which artificially increase the size of budgets, and for city administrators to take a closer look at some of the smaller cuts they can make which don’t impact city services as much.
A former FOPE (Federation of Public Employees) union member herself, Peerman said that city unions asking for more money during these deplorable economic times is discouraging and that she’s disappointed with Margate Commissioners for taking a three percent pay increase effective Fiscal Year 2009 when city coffers were already stressed out.
“You can’t say you’re in dire straights then you give yourself a raise,” said the 14-year Margate resident.
2012 will be Peerman’s fourth run at Margate City Commission. She’s starting her campaign early to get a jump on fundraising and says she’ll work for about 30 percent less than what City Commissioners make now.
“I won’t work for more than $21,000,” said Peerman, “which is how much city commissioners were making when I first ran.”
The remainder, Peerman said, would ideally be put into some type of trust for Margate residents experiencing severe personal hardship.
Peerman said she doesn’t need health insurance, a pension or a cell phone benefit because “I already have all that,” she said.
“Serving as city commissioner is all about the residents…it’s all about what I can do for the residents,” said the City Commission candidate.
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All five Margate City Commission seats are up for re-election in 2012. Three will be sworn into office in January 2013 and the remaining two the following year.
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