Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis is working to help his city recover from torrential rains that have caused unprecedented flooding, resulting in massive storm damage and even forcing an airport closure. In a press conference (see below) Trantalis says that his team is working with Florida state officials on solutions. However, when asked, Trantalis said that Governor Ron DeSantis has not called him.
“Governor DeSantis has not yet called,” Trantalis said, “I’m not sure what’s going on but I’m sure that he’s, uh, very interested in what’s going on here and we’re happy to work with his office.”
“Governor DeSantis has not yet called.”
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) April 14, 2023
— Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis pic.twitter.com/6SDZwYz2eg
DeSantis has been on a book tour, promoting his The Courage To Be Free, in what many believe is a warm-up for announcing a run for the GOP presidential nomination. He has also recently signed a bill that gives Florida among the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
In addition, DeSantis has been battling Bob Iger and Disney — over “don’t say gay” and other power play issues — a fight with especially unfortunate timing given Disney’s real world experience running water parks.
Welcome to Ron DeSantis’s Florida. And the worst part is that he can’t blame this on Disney or drag queens. pic.twitter.com/Ha1pnTee3x
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) April 13, 2023
Trantalis, the first openly gay mayor of the city, “was first elected mayor of Fort Lauderdale in 2018 and was re-elected in November 2020. His 2018 election represented the largest victory in city history for a candidate running for a first term as mayor. The 2020 election was also by landslide proportions and featured the largest turnout ever in a city race.”
