SOURCE: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/03/15/let-voters-approve-trump-road-marker-editorial/
TITLE: Let voters approve Trump road marker | Editorial
PUBLISHED: 2026-03-15T06:00:35
RETRIEVED: 2026-09-19, unaltered text via the site's public WordPress API (wp-json/wp/v2/posts?slug=...)

Here's how the mayor opened the last town commission meeting in little Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (population 6,000).
"Continued willful interruptions or disturbances may lead to arrest, pursuant to Section 871.01 of Florida Statutes," Mayor Edmund Malkoon announced.
The town community center, Jarvis Hall, was packed on the night of March 10. More people were outside, and sheriff's deputies waved hand-held metal detectors.
Florida LegislatureThe hotly disputed marker designating part of Commercial Boulevard for President Trump in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea would look like this.
Most people were there for one reason: to oppose the town's approval of the Florida Legislature's passage of a bill that would co-designate part of Commercial Boulevard, a major east-west highway, as "President Donald J. Trump Boulevard."
Dozens of speakers opposed it. They warned town officials that it would divide the community, hurt businesses, and tarnish the tourist town's brand.
This citizen revolt is understandable. The town's obsession with Trump road namings has simply gone too far. Even in this usually peaceful beach town, where Republicans significantly outnumber Democrats, some have had enough.
Many wore stickers that said "resident" - a blunt message to town officials who falsely claimed that most critics of honoring Trump do not live in town. To see residents push back respectfully shows democracy at work - even though the town has far weightier issues to resolve.
"The streets of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea don't belong to politicians. They don't belong to political parties. They belong to the people," said Patrick Ferguson, a lawyer and leader of a residents' group, "No Politics in Paradise."
After the town voted last fall to put Trump's name on a town road, Sea Grape Drive, Ferguson and others made plans to gather enough petitions to ask voters to change the town charter to require any road renamings to be put to voters in a referendum.
The petition drive, if successful, would be retroactive, forcing Trump's name off Sea Grape Drive. To undercut the petition drive, the town quietly asked the Legislature to name part of Commercial Boulevard - a state road - for Trump, neutering the charter effort.
A little-noticed road naming bill, House Bill 33, was amended to add the provision. Most residents didn't know about it until they read about it in a Sun Sentinel article.
The notion that the town cut a political deal in faraway Tallahassee to honor Trump and silence its own residents has only heightened the furor.
'Deeply troubling'
"The backstory of how we got here is deeply troubling," resident Michael Ferrara told officials at last week's meeting. "The public only learned of this through a newspaper article last week. Transparency is the bedrock of public trust. That trust has been bypassed."
Said resident Barbara Strupp: "I really believe common sense will tell you this is not a good idea ... They don't want this."
The commissioner who championed the Sea Grape Drive naming, Richard DiNapoli, a long-time Republican leader in Broward, contacted Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, for help (the lawmaker represents Lauderdale-by-the-Sea).
"I did have a phone call from Commissioner DiNapoli. He asked what they could do about it," LaMarca told the Editorial Board. "Apparently there has been a hubbub about the Sea Grape renaming, and they wanted to do this in case they take that down or something."
LaMarca said he directed DiNapoli to Rep. Juan Porras, R-Miami, the sponsor of HB 33. The amendment was added to the bill in February in a House subcommittee LaMarca chairs. It passed the House, 82-30, and the Senate, 27-10. Most Broward lawmakers are Democrats, and they voted against it. All that remains is Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature.
At the town meeting, DiNapoli delivered a 25-minute speech defending the co-designation of part of Commercial Boulevard. He noted that many other communities have named streets for Trump, former President Barack Obama and others without controversy.
'Not about partisanship'
lauderdalebytheseafl.com Town Commissioner Richard DiNapoli is a strong supporter of President Trump.
"This is not about partisanship," DiNapoli said. "It's about recognizing and honoring history, not politics. Florida is the home state of the president."
DiNapoli said the naming switch was a common-sense compromise, "a win-win for everyone involved." But he rejected the idea of letting the people vote on renamings.
"If every routine decision required a town-wide referendum, local government simply would not function," DiNapoli said.
We disagree. The solution here is obvious. Mayor Malkoon - who faces re-election this fall - and commissioners should put the Commercial Boulevard marker to a vote of the people.
If the Trump marker is as popular as town officials claim, it can only help the mayor win another term.
So put it to a vote. If the referendum passes, DiNapoli is vindicated; the marker stays. If it fails, the marker comes down. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has plenty more Republicans than Democrats. What are town officials afraid of?
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.