\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned from the County Commission to the state Legislature, when you bring a difficult conversion forward you learn a lot about the issue and you also learn a lot about the people you are debating and discussing it with,\u201d LaMarca said.<\/p>\n
LaMarca, a former Lighthouse Point city commissioner, has supported a name change since 2011, his first full year on the Broward County Commission. As he prepares for his final legislative session \u2014 he leaves office after next year\u2019s election because of term limits \u2014 he had hoped it would be a chance to get the referendum before voters.<\/p>\n
He said he still thinks it\u2019s a good idea, and will continue to support future efforts to change the name. He said his research into the 1997 addition of Miami to Dade County\u2019s name showed it took 40 years and six failed referendums before voters approved the seventh attempt.<\/p>\n
LaMarca said he hopes renaming Broward will come to pass \u2014 and won\u2019t take four decades. \u201cUltimately it\u2019ll be a decision for the voters, and that was my intent from the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a citizen of the county, I would like to see my elected officials work to make our community more attractive to high-paying jobs with America\u2019s top companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TFL-L-name-change-action-1115-1.jpg\")
State Rep. Chip LaMarca has supported a change of Broward County’s name since 2011, his first full year on the Broward County Commission. Shown is the interior of the Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 12, 2025. (Carline Jean\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
The Broward Workshop, the influential organization of the county\u2019s top business executives, recently took up the mantle<\/a> and began pushing the name change. \u201cThe idea will continue with the support of the business community,\u201d LaMarca said.<\/p>\n He said other elected officials and opinion writers \u201cwho have come out against this have said that the idea is half baked or will have a large fiscal impact.\u201d LaMarca said they ignored provisions of the legislation that provided a two-year grace period for the name change. He said an even longer period, seven to 10 years, would have been allowed for things like changing signs and labels.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have elected officials questioning the cost of vinyl stickers on school buses when they should be counting the hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impacts of a name change,\u201d LaMarca said.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TFL-L-name-change-action-1115-2.jpg\")
A public opinion poll released Tuesday morning found overwhelming public opposition to a proposal to change Broward County’s name. The Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale is shown on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (Carline Jean\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n