Garry Smyth, a nonprofit executive and longtime Fort Lauderdale resident, has dropped out of what was a three-way Special Election for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission’s District 1 seat this week, saying he needs to deal with “personal matters that require (his) full attention.”
“I would not be able to give this campaign the time and energy it deserves. I also do not want my candidacy to stand in the way of Democrats coming together and being united in this election. Stepping aside is the responsible decision for me, my family, and the community,” he said.
“I am deeply grateful to everyone who believed in me, supported this campaign, and encouraged me along the way. I remain committed to serving Fort Lauderdale and contributing to the community I love.”
The withdrawal came less than a week after reporting on Smyth’s past legal troubles by The County, a Broward-focused political news website that former congressional candidate Elijah Manley owns and operates with the use of artificial intelligence.
Those troubles include a 2023 arrest on charges of intoxication and a quarrel with police and two credit card debt lawsuits filed against him this year, among other things.
The report said the Broward Sheriff’s Office took Smyth into custody on April 29, 2023, after he drunkenly tried to kiss a comedian performing at the Dania Pointe Improv. When management called the police, Smyth confronted the responding officer and allegedly touched him.
He was booked on charges of battering an officer, disorderly intoxication and trespassing. The case ended about a year later with adjudication withheld, meaning the Judge found Smyth responsible, but chose not to enter a formal criminal conviction against him.
By that time, Smyth had entered a plea of no contest, accepting potential punishment without admitting or denying guilt.
Smyth was also a defendant in two lawsuits Capital One filed in Broward County this past March over more than $15,000 combined in unpaid credit card charges.
On Aug. 28, after Smyth failed to appear at a pretrial conference for one of the cases earlier that month, Judge Clermont Woody entered a default against him, ordering that Smyth pay the original $5,273.18 charge, plus $377.25 in court costs.
The second case is ongoing.
The County also highlighted a LexisNexis SmartLinx report that showed Smyth filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which allows individuals with regular incomes to repay debt over a specific period rather than see their homes foreclosed and assets liquidated, and prior federal tax liens. Smyth also faced foreclosure-related litigation in the early 2000s, the outlet found.
Smyth’s campaign website listed fiscal responsibility and accountable government as priorities.
His departure from the District 1 race leaves two remaining contenders: education professional Heather Moraitis, a former City Commissioner and the wife of former state lawmaker and congressional candidate George Moraitis, and lawyer John Rodstrom, a member of the prominent Rodstrom family and the son of a past Fort Lauderdale Commissioner and Mayor of Sunrise.
The winner of the Nov. 3 contest will succeed John Herbst, a former Fort Lauderdale auditor who announced his resignation, effective Nov. 2, in May, just two years into his current four-year term, following the death of his brother.
Florida Politics contacted Smyth — the co-founder and Executive Director of the Fellowship Recovery Community Organization, a Margate-based nonprofit that helps people recovering from substance abuse disorders — for comment Wednesday, but received no response by press time.