It seems former Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good can't even file for office without triggering at least a mini-scandal. A city activist claims that Good missed Wednesday's noon deadline by a few minutes but that the Cooper City Clerk allowed Good to be an exception to the rule.
Gladys Wilson, an activist who served as a commissioner between 1989 and 1992, was at the City Clerk's Office yesterday, just before noon, hoping to get a peek at late-filing candidates. Mike Good was in the clerk's office at the time, but Wilson says that Good's wife was in the parking lot. Around noon, says Wilson, "she came racing in with a paper in her hand. You have to be buzzed in, and she said, 'Hurry! I've got to get in!' But by that time, it was one or two minutes after 12."
After Good had finished his paperwork, he introduced himself to Wilson. A supporter of District 1 Commissioner John Sims, Wilson was none-too-pleased to hear that Good was running in that race.
Wilson complained to the clerk, but to no avail. This morning, I phoned City Clerk Susan Poling.
"I can assure you that he did qualify," says Poling, of Good. "He was here at 11:30 completing his paperwork with his wife." Poling says Good's wife left the clerk's office and then returned with qualifying documents.
I asked Poling whether Good's filing papers were time-stamped. She said that they were not and that none of the candidate filing papers are time-stamped. Which begs the question, how does Cooper City document that a candidate adhered to the filing deadlines?
"Because every candidate has to file their papers with me," said Poling.
So it's just your word? I asked Poling.
"Are you questioning my veracity?" she asked.
No, it just seems like a funny way of keeping track of such things. Poling made it sound as though a candidate is qualified based on the time he enters the clerk's office, rather than the time his papers are actually filed. I asked Poling if that was the case. She didn't answer the question directly, saying only: "He was here and completed his filing within a minute or two of 12 o'clock. It's not his problem that we had to make copies for him."
Good did not immediately return a call for comment.
To be sure, it's the mildest of controversies. But it's the sort of controversy that seems to follow Good wherever he goes. During his time as Hallandale Beach city manager, Good rolled into commission meetings late. He was chronically late when it came time to bargain with city workers' unions. He even arrived 15 minutes late to the meeting where his fate with the city would be decided.
So if Good was looking to rebrand himself in the public eye, he hasn't gotten off to a good start. (No pun intended.)
