The late comedian Flip Wilson brought down the house during his 70s nighttime television show when he appeared as “Geraldine.” The alter ego’s winning line was, “What you see is what you get.”
But what if what you see is not always what you get? What if the truth, as best as we can determine it, is more complex, complicated, and nuanced? As citizens and voters, are we allowed to ask questions based on the public record even as we work to assess the deeper meaning of that record? And is it reasonable to expect public officials—elected representatives—to respect our questions?
I’ve decided to introduce a serious topic this way because I hope it reduces the rhetoric and challenges the assumptions that Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy apparently makes. On Aug. 17, I stood outside an early primary voting location at the Hollywood Library, which is adjacent to City Hall. As my shift was nearing its end, Josh appeared. He approached me, and I extended my hand to shake his, but he rejected my overture.
Instead, a heated conversation ensued, started by the two-term Hollywood mayor who is running for a third and final term in the Nov. 5 General Election. (I voted for Josh in 2016; this year, though, I back his toughest challenger, Catherine “Cat” Uden).
In a nutshell, with many people nearby distributing campaign literature, my mayor essentially said I’m a terrible person. “You’re not right. You’re not right,” was how Mayor Levy began his attack. He then launched a claim that is all too typical these days: politicians who don’t get their way, or who perhaps feel entitled to favorable press coverage, blame the messenger.
Josh was loud and clear on this point, with people listening and possibly even watching. He accused me of working on a Democracy Chronicles article that was an unfair assault on the Levy family and him.
Of course, I stood my ground verbally. I made my case in response and later spoke with a Broward County Commissioner who witnessed the dispute.
At one point, Josh told me to get away from him, even though he was the one who approached me. So, we continued our loud discussion.
However, out of nowhere, the mayor jabbed me in the chest several times with one of his fingers.
Finally, Josh gave himself a timeout. After a few minutes of possible reflection, he returned to speak civilly with me. He even admitted that he hadn’t read all of the email I had sent him days earlier.
As readers, you might sense that I’m shifting from a more lighthearted approach, mixed with background and context, to the serious topic at hand.
So, ready? Set. Here goes:
According to the City of Hollywood website, about 50% of the city is not connected to our sewer system. You can also learn online that Hollywood leaders have approved two septic-to-sewer projects. The first one covers a small part of Hollywood Hills, including Mayor Levy’s home. The second more extensive effort starts this fall.
That project involves Washington Park and its industrial area. Again, based on public information, the Levy family last November announced that it had purchased almost $10 million of property in this industrial park. In other words, the Levy family is batting two for two even as many city residents continue to wait for sewer hookup projects in their neighborhoods.
Get it? This is what you see from the public record. But is that all? Is it what you get?
With no offense to Flip Wilson, or his fictious pal Geraldine, I think we need to dig deeper to get closer to understanding what’s happening here.
For starters, Broward County Commissioner Beam Furr was kind enough to speak with me at the early polling location on Aug. 17. As a former Hollywood city commissioner, Beam said the Washington Park area has long needed improvement.
I agree, which is why I encouraged him to speak with Mayor Levy and suggest he put this position in writing in response to the questions that I sent him. I also told Beam that I would give Josh as much space as he needed to state his case. And that I’d do it without editing; I’d run his comments verbatim!
But thoughtful Hollywood residents and voters, casting ballots in a Presidential Election year, may also consider some of the following perspectives.
For instance, let’s say the City of Hollywood did everything right in approving two projects that clearly benefit members of the Levy family. Is it still possible that Josh is guilty of being politically tone deaf? Doesn’t he realize how at least some city residents will feel when about 50% still wait for Hollywood to find the money to install sewer systems in their neighborhoods?
What’s more, doesn’t the mayor trust residents and voters to think independently? My point being this: Maybe some voters will be upset by the revelations in my article. But will this information be enough to convince people to vote him out of office? Or is it possible there are a range of nuanced decisions Hollywood voters may make?
Among other things, registered voters who turn out on Nov. 5 may already oppose Josh’s reelection bid. Still others may be upset by the smell they sense from the sewer projects but not give it much weight. These voters can then feel fine handing Josh a third term because they don’t give the sewer project issue much weight, and have concluded that overall he’s done a fine job as mayor.
Ultimately, though, by lashing out at me on Aug. 17, Josh does a disservice to the people he wants to continue representing. It sends out fumes that he doesn’t trust voters very much. Besides, as I told him after we “went to our corners” to cool down, not that many people read Democracy Chronicles. He agreed, adding he wasn’t worried about the impact of my article.
His insight sets up another nuanced point. Josh wasn’t worried about the small Democracy Chronicles readership. So, what then, was really bugging him?
Obviously, I’m not a political shrink. We’ll need the mayor to answer this one, if he wants to be transparent.
But I can tell readers this. My encounter with Josh was not the first time a worked-up Mayor Levy trashed people in public. During a lively City Hall meeting about a proposal to put up to a 30-story tower building at city-owned land and property on the south side of Hollywood Beach, Josh jumped all over the media coverage and local critics. A city commissioner who agreed with the mayor even flipped the finger to a city resident, according to an article in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
In conclusion, to be transparent, here are the questions I emailed Mayor Levy:
Basic Questions
- Is it true that about 50% of Hollywood uses septic systems instead of sewer systems?
- Why is it important to transition from septic systems to sewer systems?
- The city had a financing plan that was not legal. Where do we stand now, and how will we fund the necessary improvements throughout Hollywood?
Direct Questions with an Out
- The first septic-to-sewer project was in a part of Hollywood that includes your home, if I’ve interpreted the data correctly. Am I right? If so, was your home included by design or coincidence? In other words, why was the first project conducted in your area?
- Public records indicate that Levy family members purchased approximately $10 million worth of industrial land at the Washington Park location in November 2023, about a month after the city advertised the project on October 2, 2023. Is it a coincidence or by design that the Levy family has a stake in two septic-to-sewer project areas?
Nuanced Questions
- Why Washington Park? Why was it chosen now, rather than some other part of the city?
- What other parts of the city are awaiting the next phase of the septic-to-sewer project?
Steve Schneider says
Someone just posted the below comment at the “Hollywood Needs a Full time Mayor” article that ran last month at Democracy Chronicles. I’m reproducing it here because the full time mayor piece and this “What You See Is What You Get” article both talk about Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy.
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August 29, 2024 at 1:15 pm
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Robin Drulard says
1) you did not name the place
2) this has nothing to do with anything on this topic. Please delete.
Clive Taylor says
The commissioner that used the middle finger was not directing it at anyone
That commissioner was showing people in the audience that day what they sometimes see from the residents that attend meetings that are unhappy with the commissioners, the government or what they are hearing. The commissioner was stating we sit up here and this is what we see from our seats sometimes as the commissioner then held up the middle finger. People then falsely stated That a Hollywood City Commissioner was shooting residents of Hollywood the bird.
. A verbal statement of we get the bird sometimes probably would’ve been a better way instead of an actual example, but that is not how it was meant and it was only to show the audience that sometimes It’s difficult, not only to be verbally assaulted, but also have insulting hand gestures while you’re sitting on the dias.
Steve Schneider says
Hi Clive,
As a prominent member of the Hollywood Historical Society, I’m sure you believe background and context matter.
So, here is an online clip that I found of the controversial meeting under discussion. It shows a Hollywood City Commission essentially calling opponents of a plan to put a high-rise building on city-owned land racists who discriminate against the developer.
The commissioner, or course, doesn’t back up her possibly defamatory remark. And then she continues to blur the lines of reality by accusing a member of the audience with flipping the finger at her.
Well, I spoke with that Hollywood resident today, and she denies flipping the finger at the commissioner who made unsubstantiated charges of discrimination.
However, the clip to follow clearly shows the outraged commissioner, who sided with Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy on this project, flipping the finger in disgust.
https://www.facebook.com/100080492761252/videos/commissioner-traci-callari-makes-an-accusation-that-residents-might-be-opposed-t/573872177441261/
So, come on Clive. You’re a great guy. But background and context matter!
Shame on that commissioner for issuing a charge of discrimination. And shame on unnamed city officials who manipulated our brave men and women of the Hollywood P0lice Department into backing the project under the guise of raising tax revenue to fund their needs. As you know, that project hasn’t gotten off the ground, thankfully. Yet Mayor Levy, up for reelection, brags online about the great strides we are making to protect Hollywood and bolster support for our fine officers.
So, background and context matter, Clive. So does the truth, which appears to be lacking when our city leaders run into sincere opposition to their plans to over-develop our beloved city.
https://www.facebook.com/100080492761252/videos/commissioner-traci-callari-makes-an-accusation-that-residents-might-be-opposed-t/573872177441261/
Steve Schneider says
Here’s a link to let you watch the entire March 16, 2022, Hollywood City Commission meeting. Mayor Josh Levy and the commissioners were meeting on a proposal to let a private developer build a high-rise tower building on city-owned land and property on the south side of Hollywood Beach.
https://www.hollywoodfl.org/146/Watch-Commission-Meetings
The meeting went on for almost 10 hours because of the controversy the proposal provoked. And, at one point, a city commissioner leveled an unsubstantiated charge that local critics possibly opposed the project because they were discriminating against the developer.
This unfounded, possibly defamatory remark elicited a response from an audience member. The video then shows the commissioner who alleged discrimination picking a fight with that audience member, and at one point the commissioner flipped the finger on video.
https://www.hollywoodfl.org/146/Watch-Commission-Meetings
And here is a link to the meeting agenda:
https://docs.google.com/gview?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegistar.granicus.com%2Fhollywoodfl%2Fmeetings%2F2022%2F3%2F2276_A_Regular_City_Commission_Meeting_22-03-16_Meeting_Agenda.pdf&embedded=true
Steve Schneider says
At the end of this article, before the questions for Mayor Levy, I referenced a public meeting over a controversial development proposal. At that meeting, I wrote that our mayor “jumped all over media coverage and local critics.”
So, it sounds like Josh wants truth to rule.
But here’s an interesting report from a local television station in connection with the controversial development meeting.
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/03/16/hollywood-residents-commissioners-discuss-and-debate-proposed-tower-project-for-a-2nd-time/
“The city presented to us that this is the only way that they have to pay for raises and benefits for the officers for the Hollywood police department,” Rod Skirvin, president of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association, said.
So, did the city present correctly to our brave men and women in blue? I’m asking because the project hasn’t been built. But have Hollywood Police Officers been cared for by the City of Hollywood?
In other words, I sure hope some unnamed person or persons from the city didn’t hand out misleading information to try to sway public opinion.
Steve Schneider says
Here’s a recent Instagram post in which Mayor Levy says we’re taking care of our Hollywood Police Department so they can continue to serve and protect us.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C37687AiJiM/
In Hollywood, we’re giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep us safe.
We’ve hired more police officers, including 8 new officers in this year’s budget, and installed new license plate readers and CCTV systems that deter crime and protect our neighborhoods.
In my State of the City speech this past January, I was proud to share how far we’ve come in improving public safety and enhancing our quality of life. Watch here:
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Steve Schneider says
BTW, the Instagram post put out by Mayor Levy shows him giving the City of Hollywood props for its “stronger budget” which he says helps explain how we can afford to support our Hollywood Police Department.
Sandy says
“As readers, you might sense that I’m shifting from a more lighthearted approach, mixed with background and context, to the serious topic at hand.”
NO as a reader I was feeling like you were wasting my time and get to the point!!
Steve Schneider says
At least I didn’t poke you in the chest several times with my finger!!
Steve Schneider says
A reader shared this comment:
Fran b says
September 10, 2024 at 11:26 am
I think all residential homes should be on the sewer system before the mayor’s industrial property goes on. Any financial help provided should go to homeowners. Many older citizens are on fixed income need the help., rather than the rich owners of industrial property!!!!