In March 2005, I was elected as the First Mayor in the City of West Park, a municipality in Broward County, Florida. The city consists of the neighborhoods of Carver Ranches, Lake Forest, Miami Gardens, and Utopia which were previously unincorporated neighborhoods. Incorporation was ratified in 2004, after the Florida Legislature approved House Bill 1491, which provided for an election on November 2, 2004. Following a vote of 3,400 to 956 for incorporation, West Park was on its way to becoming Broward County’s 31st city.