PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – When Pembroke Pines residents head to the polls in a few weeks, they’ll notice a big change.
For the first time in nearly three decades, the name Frank Ortis won’t be on the ballot.
Ortis was first voted to the City Commission in 1996 and has served as mayor for 20 years.
The election is coming up on March 19. After that, Ortis said you can find him on the golf course, on a cruise with his wife, Barbara, or visiting their children, their three grandkids, and their brand new great grandson.
You can also find Ortis at the Mayor’s Café, which he owns, serving up breakfast with a side of politics.
“I like to be around people,” he said. “Every day, people come in here, they tell me their problems and I like to fix problems. I have always loved to be around people.”
And that’s been a recipe for success for five terms as Ortis’ political career starting behind the scenes.
“I was the union president for the AFL-CIO and mechanic’s union, so I used to lobby for people to get elected, so when the city started thriving, they said I should run for commissioner,” he said.
That was 1996, when sleepy Pembroke Pines was waking up.
“The city went from 49,000 people to now 189,000 people,” he said. “We were the fastest growing city in the nation for three years in a row.”
Ortis served on numerous state and national committees, attended countless ribbon cuttings and famously got in the boxing ring with NFL great Lawrence Taylor to raise money for the Police Benevolent Association.
Outside of the boxing ring, Ortis said his biggest challenge was managing the traffic as Pembroke Pines grew.
He said his proudest accomplishment was establishing the city’s award winning charter school program.
As for buying the Mayor’s Cafe, well that just seemed like the natural thing to do.
“I went home and told Barbara I bought the mayor’s cafe and she said, ‘What? What do you know about running a restaurant?’” Ortis recalled. “I said I’m the mayor, we get along with people, we should be good.”
And they were.
Now, Barbara Ortis thinks her husband will be a hard act to follow.
“It is going to be hard to fill that man’s shoes,” she said. “Very, very hard.”
Added the mayor: “I wanted to put Pembroke Pines on the map, and we are on the map.”