Voters may get the chance to rename Broward County to Lauderdale County, after the City of Fort Lauderdale. [Courtesy]

By Judy Wilson | Associate Editor

Deerfield Beach – Commissioners here have given a resounding “no” to a move to rename Broward County to Lauderdale County. At last week’s meeting, Mayor Todd Drosky said he had been asked to get an opinion from the board before its next meeting Nov. 18 and so he polled the board as to their feelings.

The suggestion is the initiative of State Rep. Chip LaMarca, who told The New Pelican, “The name Lauderdale evokes recognition and understanding of an area that many others have embraced over the years. Such as Visit Lauderdale, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, formerly the Broward Alliance: Fort Lauderdale Fleet Week, formerly Fleet Week Broward County, and most recently the Lauderdale Workshop, formerly Broward Workshop.” 

LaMarca will introduce a bill putting the idea on the ballot in 2026, although the matter could be decided in Tallahassee with a super majority vote. LaMarca said, “I would never take the power away from the voters, who elected me, to make this decision.” In 1997, Dade County voters chose to add Miami to the county’s name.

Drosky called the renaming a bad idea and a mistake. “It’s exclusive, not inclusive. Only cities like Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Lauderhill, or Lauderdale Lakes would support the change.”

Commissioner Mike Hudak cited the cost of the change adding, “What benefit would Deerfield Beach get?” Commissioner Daniel Shanetzky agreed. “It would be a waste of money. There is no purpose.”

Commissioner Tom Plaut, who did some research on the county’s namesake, said Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte Broward was responsible for draining the Everglades, making South Florida habitable. “I am thoroughly against it. Without Broward we would still be a swamp. I hate to mess with history.” Vice Mayor Ben Preston asked, “Who even thought of this?” 

County Commissioner Nan Rich has also publicly said she is not for the renaming.

Word about the proposed change has spread beyond this county. The Boca Raton Tribune ran a scathing editorial last week, calling the notion, “A truly terrible idea.” Broward is home to two million people and the editorial pointed out that only 10 percent of its population lives in Fort Lauderdale.

Napoleon Bonaparte Broward was Florida’s governor from 1905 to 1909, during which time he established contacts in Washington that resulted in the grant which drained the Everglades and which was supported by the county’s Democratic leadership.

At least three states, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, already have a Lauderdale County.

Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909, and namesake of Broward County. [Courtesy]

CG&A protest fails

In other business last week, the commission heard a request from Calvin Giordano & Associates (CG&A) that the decision to hire CAPS Government to manage the city’s building department was, among other things, capricious.

CG&A had twice been given top ranking by a city selection committee, but, in October, responding to numerous complaints from residents about how CG&A had been running the department, commissioners gave CAPS the contract. 

CG&A’s attorney argued that the decision was not warranted because Commissioner Daniel Shanetzky called the situation “David versus Goliath,” inferring CAPS was a small organisation that he wanted to give a chance. 

The attorney said CAPS is part of an international conglomerate and the analogy was not an  appropriate basis for change. CG&A representatives also said the Century Village East guardhouse (a project in the works since 2023) was delayed by internal permitting problems.    

A CAPS representative pointed out that CG&A’s bid was not as profitable as theirs and that the commission decision was not “capricious.”

Justen Shiff, president of Shiff Construction, said CG&A employees have always been “courteous, professional, true stake holders, experienced, and responsive.” Shiff was the contractor of the Braithwaite Center for Independent Living and is currently building the marine science center.