(return to media page)South Florida Sun Sentinel, October 24, 2007
Ortis leading local effortPembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis is being tapped to chair the Broward campaign against the proposed Hometown Democracy amendment to the state Constitution.
Under the proposal, local governments would have to get voter approval in referendums for changes in their growth plans - issues now handled by municipal and county commissions and councils.
Backers say it would control sprawl and reduce the influence of developers. They hope to get the proposal on the November 2008 ballot.
Business groups depict it as a potential catastrophe that could stop growth and hurt the state�s economy.
Ortis expressed similar concerns in a statement, calling the proposal "a threat to our state's jobs."
"If passed, this amendment would seriously endanger the stability of our communities and the preservation of our quality-of-life," he said.
Opposing Hometown Democracy is the business-sponsored Floridians for Smarter Growth. Its campaign manager, Michael Caputo, said Ortis would be named as Broward chairman on Thursday.
Ortis is the president of the Florida League of Cities, and local government officials don't like the Hometown Democracy idea because it would take away their authority over land-use changes.
He is also a significant force in organized labor in Florida as president of the Florida State Council of Machinists and a member of the executive board of the Florida AFL-CIO.