John P. Seiler (born May 27, 1963) is an American politician and 41st Mayor of
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Prior to this he was a
Democratic member of the
Florida House of Representatives, from 2000 to 2008 representing District 92 which is located in
Broward County, Florida
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
.
Political career
Wilton Manors
Seiler moved to
Wilton Manors, Florida
Wilton Manors is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,426. Wilton Manors is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census.
Histor ...
, around 1988.
[ Seiler served as city council member and then vice mayor of Wilton Manors from 1993 to 1998.][ In 1998, Seiler was elected mayor of Wilton Manors, defeating incumbent King Wilkinson who had been accused of making homophobic comments.][
]
Fort Lauderdale
Seiler was a candidate to succeed term-limited
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
[ ] Jim Naugle
James T. Naugle (born 1954) is an American real estate broker who served as mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Although a lifelong Democrat, Naugle frequently voted for and supported Republican candidates. Elected for the first time in 1991, Nau ...
in the 2009 mayoral election for Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was elected February 10, 2009, winning against three opponents with more than 57 percent of the vote, avoiding a run-off election
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...
.[ that exceeded $250,000. Seiler was sworn in March 17, 2009.
On January 31, 2012, Seiler was reelected with 75% of the vote in a three-way race.
In 2015 he was again reelected.
]
Homeless initiatives
In November 2014, Seiler received nationwide attention; reports that Arnold Abbott, a 90-year-old World War II veteran had been arrested for feeding the homeless in public, in Fort Lauderdale went viral
Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...
. ''The New York Times'' reported that "Fort Lauderdale, despite a reputation for being more progressive than most Florida cities on homelessness, passed a series of measures that surprised and drew the ire of homeless activists." The measure further restricting food distribution in public places but loosened restrictions on feeding in private or religious buildings. Other new measures tightened restrictions on panhandling, having property and sleeping in public, but the Mayor says his city is not harsh on homeless people, reported the Times. While video available on YouTube shows Arnold Abbott and ministers being taken away in police custody, the Mayor states that Mr Arnold had not been arrested
An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...
, but rather was detained, cited, and ordered to appear in court. Those cited face possible jail time and have taken the city to court to fight the ordinance.
References
External links
*
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*''Follow the Money'' - John P. Seiler
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2006200420022000
State Representative campaign contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seiler, Jack
1963 births
Florida lawyers
Living people
Mayors of Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
University of Miami School of Law alumni
University of Notre Dame alumni
21st-century American politicians
People from Wilton Manors, Florida