Follow us on Social Media : 

City of Oakland Park Seeking Applicants for Vacant Commission Seat

The City of Oakland Park is seeking applications to fill a vacancy on the City Commission. The current Commission has 4 members: Mayor Aisha Gordon, Vice Mayor Mitch Rosenwald, Commissioner Steve Arnst and Commissioner Tim Lonergan. The new, fifth member, will be determined by appointment on March 1, 2023. That person will serve until a special election can be held.

Position Vacant Since Matt Sparks Resigned

Former Commissioner and Mayor Matthew Sparks resigned on January 9, 2023. His last day as Commissioner was January 18th. Since then the seat has remained vacant.  It was also unclear, until recently, which of the two options available to the City for filling the seat would be used.

In a previous article, we shared that the seat can fill the empty seat by one of the two methods:

  1. By appointment; or
  2. By voting yes on a proposed resolution, at a Commission meeting, to hold a Special Election.
 
The City has decided the seat will first be filled by appointment, and then by Special Election in March of 2024.

City Seeking Applicants

The City opened the application process to eligible applicants and posted the following notice on their website:

Notice of Vacancy of Office

The City of Oakland Park is seeking applications to fill a vacancy that exists on the City Commission.

All applications shall be submitted to the City Clerk’s office commencing 12:00 p.m. (noon) Monday, February 6, 2023, until 12:00 p.m. (noon) February 15, 2023.

Oakland Park City Hall
Attention: City Clerk’s Office
3650 NE 12 Avenue
Oakland Park, FL 33334

All applicants shall be duly qualified electors of the City and must reside within the City limits for the last six months immediately preceding the date of applications.

If you think you would like to try your hand at local government, download the application and submit it before the deadline.

Applications Received

As of Wednesday February 8th, 2023 the City had received one application. The applicant is James E. Crowley, Jr., a resident of Lloyd Estates in west Oakland Park.

Potential Applicants

Leticia Newbold, a candidate for the City Commission in November 2022, has shared with Living In Oakland Park, that she intends to submit her application for consideration. Newbold, came in third in the race, missing the Commission seat by a mere 38 votes.

Appointment By the City Commission

Once the applications are reviewed the City Commission will determine the potential fifth member. Once that determination has been made the current members will vote to fill the vacancy.

The 2024 Special Election

This new Commission member will serve until the Special Election in 2024. They can opt to run in the Special Election in order to permanently occupy the seat.

Be a part of Oakland Park online!


*LivingInOaklandPark.com is an independent publication, not affiliated with the City of Oakland Park.

Desiree Avila

EDITOR, PUBLISHER, WRITER, PHOTOGRAPHER, REALTOR®

Désirée Ávila has called Oakland Park her home for over 33 years. In addition to publishing LivingInOaklandPark.com, Désirée has been featured in print publications, locally and abroad. Désirée was an award winning teacher for 10 years and has a doctoral level education in Educational Technology. She is currently a licensed Florida Realtor® and is committed to a high-level of professionalism.

Désirée consistently professionally develops herself and has earned several different professional designations and certifications in real estate including the PSA, e-Pro, AHWD, SRS, ABR, and SFR. She was also awarded the C2EX, Commitment to Excellence award by the National Association for Realtors (NAR). This award is given to Realtors® that distinguish themselves for their commitment to excellence in the real estate industry.

She is esteemed by her real estate colleagues and has consistently received 5 star reviews from her clients. Her philosophy about real estate is that being a Realtor® is a way of teaching and helping people, and in the process a real estate transaction may occur, that is to say her foremost priority is and has always been about helping others.

She is dedicated to her hometown of Oakland Park and works consistently on building and fostering a strong community. She is passionate about photography and loves to read books about history ; the more detail the better! In addition to English, Désirée is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian.

Check out her real estate websites:
DesireeAvila.com
OaklandParkRealEstateAgent.com
Search for New Construction Homes with Désirée : www.IWantToBuyNewConstruction.com
Visit her real estate blog at www.DesireeRealtor.com

Sign-Up for the LivingInOaklandPark.com Newsletter

Portrait of beautiful smiling girl standing and holding postcard on gray background

%d bloggers like this: