Questionnaire: Judith “Judy” Paul, candidate for Davie mayor – Sun Sentinel

Name: Judy Paul

Campaign website: vote4judypaul.com

Date and place of birth: June 5, 1940, Hackensack, NJ

In your opinion, is your city generally on the right track or wrong track, and why or why not?
Davie is on the right track on the things residents feel every day: public safety, a Triple A bond rating, a rollback rate for tax relief, and major work already underway. That includes roads and drainage, parks and public safety planning with community input, a new Town Hall under construction, workforce and affordable housing in approved projects, and free local bus routes.

That does not mean every neighborhood is satisfied. Traffic, flooding after heavy rain, and housing costs are real. The job is to keep the town on solid footing while we finish what we started and protect what makes Davie special.

List in order of importance the three most important issues in the city and briefly explain what you would do about each.
1. Public safety and core services. Keep police and fire strong. Plan for public safety facilities. Do not raid those budgets to paper over a state tax change.

2. Infrastructure. Keep roads, drainage, utilities, and the new Town Hall on schedule and on budget. Residents notice when streets flood and when a civic building does not work.

3. Housing people can use, with transit to match. Keep requiring workforce and affordable units in development projects. Use the $18 million CRA housing agreement with Broward County, plus SHIP and CDBG help for first-time buyers, rehab, counseling, and rent support. Keep the Green, Blue, and South Florida Education Center bus routes running.

Do you support or oppose Amendment 3, and why?
I oppose Amendment 3 as written.

Homeowners want relief. Davie already moved toward that with the rollback rate. Amendment 3 would take a large share of non-school property tax revenue from cities and towns with no state replacement. School taxes stay. Town services do not run on goodwill. Police, fire, drainage, parks, and the new Town Hall are paid with a local budget.

If voters pass it, I will work with Council to protect core services first. I will not pretend a constitutional cut of that size can be absorbed with no choices. The honest path is public discussion, not a promise that nothing changes.

If you are elected and Amendment 3 passes, you will have to reduce services or raise other fees. Can you cite a specific city program or service that is wasteful or unnecessary?
It is difficult to name a program as waste when so much of what we do is so important to our residents. The first cuts would be the items we already flagged if revenue drops fast: delay some capital projects, re-time maintenance, review facility hours, scale back studies and matching-grant spending, reduce special events and programming, and cut or end consulting contracts that are not essential.

Public safety, water and sewer, stormwater, and the people who deliver those services come first. Any plan would be built in public, including with our unions.

How would you assess your city’s ability to manage growth, development and related issues such as traffic, noise, pollution and demands on city infrastructure?
Davie can manage it if we stay disciplined. The town is large and still has rural and neighborhood areas that need protection. We should put housing and commercial projects and transit corridors that keep noise and traffic from spilling into established neighborhoods, and finish drainage work so new rooftops do not make flooding worse.

The weak point is not a missing slogan. It is capacity: pipes, lanes, and public safety. That is why infrastructure stays at the top of my list.

What single factor most distinguishes you from your opponent and why?
I know how to finish town work. This office is budgets, contracts, Council votes, County partners, and follow-through. I have done that. A campaign can list problems. A mayor has to keep the lights on and get the next project across the line. Experience is key during times like we are in.

List in reverse chronological order colleges or universities attended with years of attendance and degrees.
Montclair State College, New Jersey, Master of Arts, 1969

Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, Bachelor of Arts, 1963

List in reverse chronological order your work history for the past 15 years.
2009 to present: Mayor, Town of Davie

(Retired Broward County educator before taking office as mayor)

Have you ever been a party to a lawsuit, including bankruptcy or foreclosure? If so, provide details of the case and disposition.
I have not filed for bankruptcy or been through a foreclosure. I have not been a party to a personal lawsuit that I recall. Like most sitting mayors, I have been named in my official capacity in matters involving the Town. Those cases are Town business, not personal claims against me.

Have you ever been charged or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, including an adjudication of guilt withheld? If so, provide charges, dates and terms of sentence.
No

Why should voters elect you instead of your opponent(s)?
Because the next term will test this town. If Amendment 3 passes, the budget gets harder overnight. The new Town Hall still has to be finished. Drainage and public safety do not wait. I have kept Davie on a Triple A rating, advanced tax relief through the rollback rate, required workforce and affordable housing, and kept local bus service in place. I came to this work as a teacher. I still show up, listen, and follow through. Experience matters when the choices get real. I am asking for the chance to keep doing that work.