Lamar Fisher, a longtime county commissioner from a family whose namesake graces the Pompano Beach pier, became Broward’s new mayor Tuesday. In his new role, he’ll serve as the public face of the county during hurricane briefings, public meetings and events, and any catastrophe.
Fisher, whose great-great grandfather, Clinton Lyons, helped sign documents to establish the city of Pompano Beach, said he already asked for more communication from the administration to elected officials. He also pledged “no more red tape,” saying “efficiency is critical.”
Fisher, who served the last year as the county’s vice mayor, succeeds Michael Udine, who served as mayor for the last year.
In his State of the County speech, Udine lauded an uptick of passengers at the county airport, the attention to building affordable housing, an unemployment rate of less than 3%, and growth of the electric bus fleet to 44.
He talked about the Nancy J. Cotterman Center, the county’s rape crisis and children’s advocacy center, which will be getting a new building.
“The state of Broward County is strong,” he said. “Quite frankly, we are the place to be.”
Commissioner Nan Rich, whose district includes Weston and parts of Miramar, Pembroke Pines and Southwest Ranches, was unanimously appointed the vice mayor, which puts her in line to become mayor next November.
Also on Tuesday, two new county commissioners, Robert McKinzie and Hazelle Rogers, were sworn into office.
McKinzie, a former Fort Lauderdale city commissioner, will represent District 8, which includes parts of Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Pompano Beach and North Lauderdale.
Rogers, the former Lauderdale Lakes mayor, represents District 9, which includes parts of Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes and Oakland Park.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at . Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash
