local name global coverage february 27, 2020 special edition
A MAYOR LOST
JUSTIN FLIPPEN DEAD BRAIN ANEURYSM LIKELY CLAIMS MANORS MAYOR EN ROUTE TO CITY COMMISSION MEETING
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SFGN SPECIAL REPORT: A MAYOR LOST
STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER Norm Kent
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ur city and our community has suffered an incalculable loss this evening.
A progressive voice for social justice has been silenced by a sudden death, leaving us saddened immeasurably . Justin Flippen’s life, from his early days in Coconut Creek, to his election as the mayor of Wilton Manors, was measured by enthusiasm and energy, passion and principle. Justin loved people and politics, living his life every day with grace and guts, high dignity and honorable demeanor. There is no telling to what he might have achieved. He had aspirations that are now forever denied, dreams that can no longer be fulfilled. That is our shared loss. Our job at SFGN is to publish the news. It is so much harder when the story you are tasked with writing is of someone who has been your personal friend and professional colleague. Our little city has suffered the loss of a Mayor with a huge heart. Our large gay community has been denied a leader whose light illuminated us all. It falls upon us to keep that torch burning brightly in his honor.
A MAN WHO MADE A MARK ON HISTORY Justin Flippen with President Barack Obama.
Justin Flippen was a force of kindness who used every opportunity to speak on behalf of his community both locally and nationally — including with past, present and potential presidents of the United States. He was a proponent of the local and federal government working together, and was most recently involved with the Pete Buttigieg campaign in Florida. When interviewed for the Out50 in 2015, he said he used a quote by Thomas Jefferson as one of his many guiding principles; “Governments are the servants, not the masters, of the people.”
Justin Flippen with Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton.
Justin Flippen with Pete Buttigieg.
President Bill Clinton with Justin Flippen.
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President Jimmy Carter (center) and his wife Rosalynn Carter with Justin Flippen.
SFGN SPECIAL REPORT: A MAYOR LOST
WILTON MANORS MAYOR JUSTIN FLIPPEN
DIES AT AGE 41 Anthony Man Sun Sentinel
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ilton Manors Mayor Justin Flippen died Tuesday after experiencing a brain aneurysm on the way to a city commission meeting. He was 41.
At Wilton Manors City Hall, flags were at half-staff Wednesday morning in honor of Justin Flippen, the mayor who died suddenly Tuesday evening. At the front door, people brought flowers and candles for a makeshift memorial. In a park across the street, the rainbow LGBT pride flag was also flying at half-staff. And tributes and remembrances poured in from across Broward County, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. Flippen was 41. He was elected mayor in 2018 after serving as a city commissioner. City officials said that Flippen apparently was driving to Tuesday evening’s City Commission meeting when he became ill and died. Police Chief Paul O’Connell said Wednesday that the Medical Examiner’s Office determined Flippen died of a brain aneurysm. “We were notified that Justin apparently was on his way to the City Commission meeting and they had to rush him to the
hospital and he passed away at the hospital,” said Commissioner Gary Resnick, who served as mayor before Flippen. Leaders said Tuesday evening they were stunned and saddened by Flippen’s death. “Justin was a great kid. I’ve watched him grow up from a 20-something legislative aide to the mayor of Wilton Manors. He was engaged. He was getting married. He was so full of hope for the future. I’m just devastated,” said Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, where Flippen worked. Ritter, a former state representative, met Flippen when he was an aide to then state Rep. Irv Slosberg in the early 2000s. Ritter said she “stole him away from Irv” to work as a campaign aide. When she was elected to the Broward County Commission in 2006, Flippen became an aide in Ritter’s commission office. He left to work for the Convention and Visitors Bureau and several years later Ritter took over the bureau and once again became Flippen’s boss. Flippen was a candidate for re-election in November. The 2018 election in which Flippen became mayor was a milestone for Wilton Manors, when it became one of the few cities in the country to have all LGBT elected officials. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Ind., wrote on
Justin Flippen as he appeared in SFGN’s Best Of 2015. Photo credit: Steven Shires.
Twitter that he was saddened by Flippen’s death. “[He] was so encouraging and kind whenever we saw him. My prayers go out to his family, loved ones, and the city of Wilton Manors. Our communities owe so much to public servants like Justin,” Buttigieg wrote. Flippen had endorsed Buttigieg’s candidacy. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz,
who represented Wilton Manors until redistricting altered boundaries of congressional districts, said she had known Flippen for years. “Justin Flippen represented everything that is good about public service. He was a leader of his generation and passionate about Wilton Manors, the city he loved. Our community suffered a tremendous 2.27.2020 •
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SFGN SPECIAL REPORT: A MAYOR LOST Continued from previous page loss with Justin’s passing. He was genuine and compassionate and committed to strengthening his community and standing up for equality, putting his heart and soul in everything he did,” Wasserman Schultz said via text message. Resnick said his successor as mayor “was a very well-loved guy, and this is horrible.” Friends posted personal tributes on Flippen’s Facebook page on Tuesday night. “Words cannot begin to express my devastation right now. I can’t accept the news my best buddy is gone and I’ll never have another Justin Flippen bear hug again. I loved him dearly. He was one of the best guys I’ve met in Sofla and an amazing Mayor of our city. Gone way too soon. Till we meet again my sweet friend. This ‘Bubba’ will miss you terribly. May his memory be eternal,” wrote Timothy Christopher. At City Hall on Wednesday, Tony LoGrande left flowers. “He was a great man and great mayor,” LoGrande said. “Such a shock. He was so young.” Flippen was a native of Broward County, where he graduated from Coconut Creek High School. He also had degrees from Broward College, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida Law School. At FAU, he got involved in student government and became Florida’s first openly gay student body president. He later was the president of the Dolphin Democrats, a predominately LGBT political club. Flippen was first elected as a city commissioner in 2008 and was an unsuccessful candidate for state House of Representatives in 2010. He was again elected to the City Commission in 2014. He has served on the board of directors of his church, the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, where he served as a volunteer lector at worship services. “Justin was a man of deep, deep faith, and he grappled with how do you live that faith in a world of politics,” said Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Ben Sorensen. Sorensen said Flippen spoke about his upbringing in a conservative Christian home where his sexual orientation wasn’t accepted. Flippen himself wrote about how he “discovered that God made me who I was.”
GOODBYE, JUSTIN After the news broke, waves of loving messages began to pour across social media in memory of Justin Flippen.
Row Iliescu
Media Director, Equality Florida Gone way too soon; we will all miss Justin-I keep thinking about the kids at the school and how he would dress up each Halloween and visit with them and make them laugh. And how he was magically able to be everywhere all the time. His campaign kickoff was such a joyous affair, with his parents there/Justin was always so proud to talk about his dad knocking on doors with him when he campaigned. An ally. Big shoes.
Jacqueline Lorber Flags in front of Wilton Manors City Hall were lowered to half-staff. Credit: J.R. Davis.
Executive Director, Symphony Orchestra At 6:06 PM he updated his photo, just before leaving for a Commission Meeting. Shortly thereafter he was gone. Thousands were touched by his good work. Justin Flippen made a difference in this world. May your memory always be a Blessing.
Randy Lance Abendschein
Manager, Tropics Grille RIP Justin, your work here wasn’t finished but you have left a lasting impression on so many of us here. Thank you for all you have done my friend.
Linda Edin
Political Supporter I’m shocked. Justin was always kind to me. We ran into each other at Starbucks often and always spoke. He was spiritual man with a zest for life, taken way too soon. My heart goes out to his family especially to his mother who has lost yet another son. Rest in peace my friend.
Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue took Flippen to Broward Health Medical Center on Tuesday evening for a medical emergency, Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan said. The emergency took place in Wilton Manors, which gets its fire-rescue services through a contract with Fort Lauderdale. Video of the City Commission meeting showed it was convened Tuesday evening by the vice mayor, Tom Green. About 35 minutes into the meeting, Green abruptly announced a recess. A few minutes later, commissioners returned. “Due to an emergency, and no one here is in danger of anything, but due to an emergency we are going to adjourn the meeting to a time certain, which will be our next scheduled meeting on March 10th,” Green said. “That’s all the information I have for right now.”
Via Mayor Dean Trantalis, Facebook.
Courtesy of the Sun Sentinel, SFGN media partner. Sun Sentinel staff photographer Joe Cavaretta and staff writers Brooke Baitinger and Susannah Bryan contributed to this report. Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @browardpolitics.
READER’S NOTE: MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS ABOUT JUSTIN’S FAMILY AND MEMORIAL SERVICES WILL APPEAR ONLINE AT SFGN.COM AND IN OUR MARCH 4 EDITION.
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