Kaufman running to replace Key West City Commissioner Mark Rossi

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

The first person to announce their candidacy to replace District 2 Key West City Commissioner Mark Rossi has thrown his hat into the ring.

 

Sam Kaufman, a local attorney, kicked off his election campaign on Feb. 2 to replace Rossi, who has said he will not run for reelection in October. Often a contributor during the public comment portion of commission meetings, Kaufman spoke at the Jan. 21 meeting during a discussion on building affordable housing at Poinciana Plaza, a resolution ultimately voted down by commissioners. Kaufman urged commissioners prior to their vote to move ahead, saying efforts to create workforce housing were going too slowly.

 

“I think citizens want this taken with the upmost urgency,” he said at the meeting.

 

Reached on the telephone on Feb. 2, Kaufman said he was “shocked” that the Poinciana Plaza resolution had failed. “Poinciana is the only place it makes sense to modify the height restrictions” to encourage more affordable housing development, he said.

 

Kaufman is currently chairman of the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition, a local organization offering housing services to homeless men and women in Monroe County. He has held the chairmanship of that non-profit for the past 14 years. He is also currently on the board of directors of the Friends of Higgs Beach Committee and a member of the Key West Business Guild.

 

In 2002, Kaufman served as the co-chair for the Key West Charter Amendment PAC that created the Citizen Review Board, a volunteer board that reviews and investigates complaints against Key West Police Officers. He is also a founding member of and served as president of the Key West Sunset Rotary Club. If elected, Kaufman said he would concentrate his efforts on improving quality of life services for all ages in Key West.

 

““My goals are to make progress in the areas of affordable workforce housing, quality care for our seniors, increasing recreational activities for our children and ensuring responsible use of our tax dollars,” he said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

 

Kaufman, who served three years as a public defender in the Key West Public Defender’s Office from 1999 to 2001, is married with two children, ages seven and five. He said it would be “an honor” to succeed Rossi, who has been a city commissioner since 2004.

 

““I want to hear from my fellow citizens and neighbors. I encourage and welcome all citizens of Key West to call me anytime with their ideas and suggestions,” Kaufman said, adding, “District II is my neighborhood, Key West is my home.”

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