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Three take seats on homeowners board
By TIM GRANT, Times Staff Writer CARROLLWOOD -- Plantation residents elected three members Wednesday to their homeowners board during an emotional annual meeting. Four candidates ran for three open seats. Tony Rivera, Greg Marshall and Sharon Herbert received the highest numbers of votes out of about 185 ballots submitted. Candidate Jenny Lind Olin did not win a spot. "Everybody I talked to loves my newsletter (The Real Thing) and said they would come vote for me and they're not here," said Olin, who received 53 votes. Rivera, who coordinates Plantation's soccer league, was the most favored candidate, receiving 144 votes. Although he did not enter the race until the day of the election, his popularity was a clear sign that Plantation residents want positive activities for their children. "There is a need for youth programs in the community," Rivera said. "I feel like I need to step it up and provide more organized youth programs for the kids." While less dramatic than past annual meetings in Plantation, Wednesday's gathering revealed lingering frustration over the loss of Plantation's Boys and Girls Club program. "I want you to tell me why are there no youth activities in this neighborhood any more," Jessica Selvidge, 13, asked Olin from the podium. The after-school program moved out of Plantation in May after a group of residents, including Olin, prevented the non-profit group from building a permanent facility there. The residents' group took up other issues, including the competency of Plantation's management staff. Wednesday's election at Cannella Elementary School went much smoother, although it was not without a few personal attacks. "I'm not a lump on a log or a 'Yes Man' as Ms. Olin says I am," said Herbert, referring to a column Olin wrote in The Real Thing. "I have a brain and I can think for myself." Marshall, the re-elected board president, stressed his deep roots in the community. A single father, he told the group he grew up in Plantation and came back to live there as an adult. "I love this place," Marshall said. "It has so much to offer for my kid." Last year's election drew such a large and testy crowd that they had to move from Cannella Elementary School to the India Conference Center down the street. This time, they were back at Cannella and turnout was much lower. Homeowners had to wait 15 minutes to start the meeting, so they would have the required 10 percent of the 1,832 homeowners to hold an official vote. -- Tim Grant can be reached 269-5311 or at grant@sptimes.com
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From the Times |
