Ft Lauderdale mayoral race could split gay vote

Leaders in the gay community have pledged their support to Fort Lauderdale mayoral candidate Cindi Hutchinson. But now the city's first and only openly gay commissioner is planning to throw his hat into the ring.

Dean Trantalis plans to run for mayor in 2009, said Michael Albetta, board member of the Dolphin Democrats. Albetta said Trantalis told him his intentions last week.

Trantalis said he'll announce his political intentions at 5 p.m.  Monday at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale.

The Dolphin Democrats don't endorse candidates. But Albetta has personally pledged his support to Hutchinson -- a friend to the gay community -- after Trantalis insisted he had no plans to run.

"I said 'Dean you are doing something really not nice. It's going to put a wedge in the gay community because myself and various other people in the GLBT community are supporting Cindi Hutchinson,'' Albetta said.

Trantalis narrowly won a commission seat in 2003 and didn't run for re-election. At the time he said the commission was dysfunctional and a strain on his personal life.

Also running for mayor: State Rep. Jack Seiler.

Comments

[John]

Albetta is not a spokesman for the gay community. He is gay. His is politically active. He may speak for an organization. Albetta and his friends are obsessed with supporting people like Cindi Hutchinson and Hillary Clinton. Smart straight men scare them.

[ftl954]

Just because he is gay - as I am - doesn't mean I would vote for him. His behavior as vice Mayor of Fort Lauderdale was unethical. He used his authority to get away with illegal ,unpermitted work at his investment properties. This first came to light in 2005. Headline: Lauderdale vice mayor faces code violations on condo remodeling.
Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Publication Date: 26-JAN-05
Byline: Brittany Wallman
Jan. 26--FORT LAUDERDALE -- The city is enforcing its code rules with unprecedented vigor, but not in the case of the vice mayor, according to city records and interviews with staff.
City code files show that Vice Mayor Dean Trantalis remodeled his kitchen -- changing the plumbing, doing electrical work, even removing a wall -- without obtaining permits. Though he was cited for the violation seven months ago, Trantalis still doesn't have the required permits. But he hasn't been fined or brought before a special magistrate.