This article, originally published by Al Zucaro on BocaWatch.org, is preserved for historical purposes by Massive Impressions Online Marketing in Boca Raton.
If there are questions or concerns with the content please e-mail info@4boca.com.
PUBLISHER’S COMMENT:
For over twenty (20) years now, I have put up with the trivial attitude of a ‘holier than thou’ commentator who has seen his better days pass-bye and is now merely a shill for the established political and developer communities; a biased writer for publications (Boca Magazine and the Sun Sentinel) that rely heavily on the advertising dollars of the establishment.
In the world of this petty commentator (notice I do not say journalist), any opinion contrary to what the ‘puppet masters’, those ‘behind the proverbial curtain’, offer for public consumption is dismissed immediately as tainted; opinions of those vile residents/opponents who are concerned for Boca Raton brand and its quality of life are poo-pooed.
In his latest ‘fake news’ commentary, Randy Schultz rejects outright that Boca Raton’s elected officials and/or administration should engage in an exploratory conversation with the Related Group; a billion dollar private development company that has designed ‘campuses’ throughout the nation with CityPlace in West Palm Beach being its nearby success story.
Mr. Schultz throughout this latest article impugns my character for merely questioning why Boca Raton officials would reject the opportunity without even a responsive phone call, an incredible display of disrespect; he impugns my interaction with the Related Group’s consultant/lobbyist, Glenn Gromann, suggesting something nefarious must be in the works, questioning if I have a ‘relationship’ with the Related Group; he impugns the reputation of the Related Group’s Vice-President William Shewalter because of his past employment with the Elad (Mizner 200) developers.
At the risk of being redundant, Randy Schultz is simply a shill, no more no less, for the inside baseball people that have controlled the direction and over-development of Boca Raton for decades; a power base that has bastardized the brand and sense of place throughout the Boca community.
He writes favorably only about selected projects that seem to have the common denominators of entrenched lobbyists and attorneys who are the dominant forces in Boca Raton. He is a very creative wordsmith for these interests with commentary couched in publications that profit from the sales success of these very projects….
Is it no wonder that the resident population, the population that suffers the pains of this unbridled growth are frustrated?
One good thing however, is that most people do not read his dribble. The establishment elite are scared…their hold on the Boca Raton community is in jeopardy. Attitudes, they are a changing!
One more election cycle and a ‘resident friendly’ mood will prevail on the City Council…Development will continue to occur but the resident will be of highest concern not the developer or, even worse, the political careers of our elected officials that ‘kiss the series rings’ of the campaign donor class.
Remember, with two (2) more council seats coming open….YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE, LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD IN MARCH, 2018!!!!
Al Zucaro
****************************************************************************************************
OPEN RESPONSE BY GLENN GROMANN TO RANDY SCHULTZ’S LATEST ‘DRIBBLE’ IN BOCA MAGAZINE!
Realizing as we all do that Randy Schulz and Bocamag are the mouthpiece of the political establishment in Boca and are fed stories to suit a particular purpose, most particularly the interests of Mayor (and not necessarily at her behest), lets correct some of the misstatements. First Mayor Haynie is ONE VOICE among five (5) council members. Second, Mayor Haynie has not refused to do anything, she has merely expressed concerns about the size of any redevelopment and whether there is enough land to accomplish the task. THE CONCERN AND CONCEPT THAT SOMEHOW THE CITY COULD DO A BETTER AND MORE COST EFFECTIVE JOB THAN THE RELATED GROUP IS LAUGHABLE the $14MM Downtown library that should have cost $7MM and the western library debacle which descended into litigation and was an unmitigated 3 year disaster is proof positive. Related and others do successful PPP’s everywhere. A new performing arts center might be in the mix. I defy Mr. Schulz to debate that point with me. Neither the members of the City Council nor the P&Z Board have ever themselves built a major project in their lives. Just think about the statement… “accountability” if the city were to turn over construction “of such an important project” to a private company” and how absurd that is. Mayor Haynie would never say such a thing! The City does not construct buildings! They hire private contractors just like anyone else–they only manage the process! Yes Mr. Zucaro currently has NOTHING to do with Related and I cannot help the fact that he had a great experience with them in WPB, a great coup for that City (CityPlace) modeled of course after Mizner Park. On the dishonest media front why not contact Mr. Shewalter directly, and what has Elad have to do with this, Related is a multi-billion dollar entity you don’t call the “front desk” asking for info on a specific project. I am glad Mr. Schulz thinks he knows what Related proposal is. Since Related has not yet spoken in detail with the City Manager I guess he has taken up mindreading. Yes I did not seek reappointment to P&Z based on conflicts that the Related proposal and others, would create–a great business opportunity. If the City wants to waste and expend taxpayer money instead of following a 30+ plus year track record of successful land swaps, etc. so be it. Further, my friend Larry Snowden (who helped Mayor Haynie get elected) was one of the other P&Z applicants. I suppose that Mr. Schulz will attack him because he knows me……Yes I did in fact work with Toll to kick off what would eventually become the proposed sale of the western Golf course, yes Related Group did bid on that too? I wrote exactly one (1) article for Bocawatch on my traffic suggestions for Midtown, for which Mr. Zucaro was widely attacked! I DID THAT BECAUSE I LIVE THERE! John Crean and Keith O’Donnell also wrote an article are they bad guys too? Isn’t journalism supposed to reflect the free discussion of ideas? Dishonest media and unsubstantiated attacks just don’t occur in the national media. That being said what possible harm could come from TALKING through opportunities, the taxpayers deserve this.
Glenn Gromann
*************************************************************************************************
Link to:
Politics as Usual Keeps ‘Related’ Government Campus in the Boca Conversation …. by Randy Schultz in Boca Magazine June 15, 2017
It’s about time someone spoke out about “propagandist” Randy Schultz. He’s paid to write the untruths he spews forth. Please note: everything he writes is designed to preserve, polish and shine of his “brown nose”
because it is securely fixed in the cleavage of the collective gluteus maximums of Boca Raton’s Mayor and her benefactor development crowd –
Randy’s the kind of egotist that stands in front of a mirror admiring himself, speaking in loving terms to his own greatness.
Hey Randy – if you represent a resident repressive, slanderous Mayor and those who worked aggressively to steal our parks from us and you have the gall to call those who want the City to follow code Anti-Semetic? – you are no more than an effete Joseph Goebbels.
We have all witnessed the one sided reporting of Mr. Schultz. Your right.. he’s not a journalist, he’s a hack! The newspaper he works for is guilty of the same crimes.
I appreciate you giving Mr Gromann print space. Everyone has a right to be heard. It would be helpful if you would include a description of his personal history. He has lived off the developers and acted as their shill for years. Your readers have a right to judge the source before reading that garbage.
Your better served to stay out of this garbage and just continue to inform the residence of the back room dealings by the City Counsel and City Manager.
We need the City Government back in the hands of the residence.
Randy Schultz to his editor “Don’t confuse me with facts, I’m about to write my column”
I am so discussed with all the Boca politics I don’t know where to start and I will work to get these that support these special interests people out on the next election. The swap is probably bigger here than in Washington DC when you take into account the size of our town. This is going to stop the waste of money, special alliances and taking advantage of our intelligence, warning to all involved your influence will be short-lived.
Fortunately nobody reads Andy’s articles in this obscure online blog. The political pricess has to change from the redevelopment members appointed to the P&Z board to the offices in city hall. But, this will only happen if the residents can stick together and support the conversion from development to generate tax revenue toward improved residential quality of life.
I have now experienced first hand what the residents have stated above and what has been going on a long time. I am seeing the light so to speak. Mr. Schulz’s article is a clear and unadulterated attempt to submit a knowingly false record (including omitting conversations he had with other elected officials) and slander a group of people who are simply trying to establish a dialogue that might benefit the taxpayers (parking garages, new performing arts center, etc.) and the City and freely expressing ideas. And I might say that any proposal for City Hall from Related will DIRECTLY engage the public along the lines of Boca Palm project, this I assure you! I wonder what the advertisers think of this activity…..if Mr. Schulz wants to write an editorial he should do so–his articles are not news! Far from it, they are political ads disguised as “fake news” in the classic dishonest media motif. He is making the Mayor look bad with phony and misstated quotes and what he “thinks” she means. How could any elected official trust this guy…..