Idyllic small Florida town divided by move to add Trump's name to iconic street

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Sea Grape Drive could soon sound less idyllic if Lauderdale-by-the-Sea town commissioners approve a proposal to add a second name to the road: “President Donald J. Trump Drive.”

The proposal has generated a furious debate and opened a divide in the oceanfront community, where residents and business owners extol the laid-back atmosphere and small-town charm.

“It’s spreading like wildfire. We’re showing up on people’s social media everywhere,” said opponent Cristie Furth, who added that she “didn’t expect this to blow up like this.”

That’s not simply hype from one side. Mayor Edmund Malkoon said he’s had to put his phone on mute in recent days because he’s gotten so many calls — “it’s gotten to the point you just can’t answer everyone” — and if he steps away from the computer for 10 minutes he’ll come back to find 10 more emails.

Malkoon has been mayor since March 2024, following six years as a town commissioner. He said it’s the most contentious political issue that’s come up since he’s been in office.

To say not everyone is enamored of the idea of adding Trump’s name to Sea Grape Drive, at the intersection of Commercial Boulevard, would be a massive understatement.

“I was shocked. Actually, mortified,” Furth said when someone texted her about the plan. “It’s an incredibly bad idea.”

“Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is special,” she said. “We’ve never been about politics. It’s always been about quality of life here.” Furth is both a resident and business owner in town.

As she spreads the word, Furth said people are “shocked and flabbergasted.” She and others who drive on Sea Grape Drive “don’t want to see Donald Trump hanging over our heads. We have to see his face on our TVs.”

Dominick Casale, a former resident who owns a business in the town, said he is “100%” in support of adding Trump’s name to Sea Grape Drive.

“We’re definitely a ‘red’ city. I know it is,” Casale said. “To name it Donald Trump (Drive) is an honor to our president. Look at what he has done in the last nine months.”

Republican town

The town, sometimes referred to as LBTS, is one of the smallest communities in Broward County, with a permanent population of about 6,000 that swells to 10,000 during the winter tourist season.

Nestled on a barrier island between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, it’s just 1.5 square miles, between Fort Lauderdale to the south and Pompano Beach to the north. The town is known for its low-rise buildings that invoke a bygone era to many residents and visitors.

Furth describes it as an “oasis.”

Politically, it is an oasis — for Republicans, unlike most of the more urban, and much more Democratic, Broward County as a whole.

The town’s registered voters are 40.7% Republican and 29.3% no party affiliation/independent. Just 26.3% of the voters in the town are Democrats. (The remaining 3.8% are registered in various minor parties.)

Broward County, by contrast, is 43.9% Democratic and 30% no party affiliation/independent. Countywide, Republicans are 23.6% of the registered voters. Another 2.5% are registered in various minor parties.

Countywide, Trump won 40.1% of the vote in 2024. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, then the vice president, won 57.8%.

It was almost the exact opposite in Lauderdale-by-the Sea, where voters favored Trump over Harris, 56.3% to 42.7%.

Tourist impact

There are broader considerations, said Furth, who has lived in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for 53 years, and is the proprietor of the 12-room boutique hotel, the Blue Seas Courtyard.

She said adding Trump’s name to the road would be bad for business.

“You don’t want to pick a side,” she said. “People come here to get away from all that stuff. They want to leave all the daily worries behind and enjoy the hospitality in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

“It’s going to anger 50% of the people coming over the bridge when they see that on the sign. That’s going to turn people off.”

Casale said he doesn’t buy the argument that it will hurt business. “Democrats don’t really spend money,” he said, adding that visitors who spend are more from red states.

“Donald Trump (Drive) is just an added bonus to the city. And, any publicity is good publicity, whether it’s good or bad. I don’t think it’s going to divide anybody,” he said. “It would highlight the area.”

Casale is the proprietor of Diamonds & Doggies, which sells jewelry, dogs and a line of Trump merchandise, including hats, stickers and bracelets.

Malkoon, the mayor, said any potential negative effect from people who decide not to visit the community might be offset by visits from Trump supporters. “If you’re going to say a boycott could happen, I also think it could attract a lot of people.”

In a letter to commissioners, Broward Republican Chair Chris Marino said adding Trump’s name would create “a symbolic landmark that could attract visitors.”

Genesis

The proposed addition of Trump’s name is sponsored by Richard DeNapoli, who was elected to the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea commission in March 2024. Town commissioners are officially nonpartisan.

DeNapoli is also Broward’s elected state Republican committeeman, a former chair of the county Republican Party, and was an early supporter of Trump’s first presidential campaign, at a time when many Florida party leaders were supporting other candidates for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

DeNapoli said via text Trump is worthy of the recognition.

“The President hails from Florida and has a lot of supporters in Town, given his very large victories here on the ballot every time he’s run; there is a local nexus in that the local party headquarters has been in Town, at the corner where the sign is requested, for many years; there is a long history in South Florida of recognizing living, incumbent, and former Presidents,” DeNapoli said.

The idea emanated from Marino, who told commissioners that supporting the naming proposal would “show that every voice matters, and to celebrate our community together.”

Marino lamented that “there is sadly some opposition to this resolution to recognize our only President from Florida with a single street lamppost co-designation in an area and state that strongly supported him in three elections.”

The party chair said the location of the county Republican Party’s headquarters at the intersection of Commercial Boulevard is a “directly local reason” for adding Trump’s name. “We are not just a political organization — we are part of the fabric of this community. Our members are your neighbors, small business owners, parents, and retirees. We volunteer, we worship, we support our local schools and charities.”

Marino and DeNapoli said all but a handful of presidents have streets named after them in Broward. (That’s largely because of Hollywood, with 27 presidential street names from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge.)

Early in former President Barack Obama’s first term, they said a street in West Park was co-designated “Barack Obama Boulevard,” and Republicans didn’t object. Streets are named after Trump in Hialeah and West Palm Beach.

The Florida Legislature and Palm Beach County Commission, including Democrats, approved adding Trump’s name to a portion of Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach.

The president often travels on Southern Boulevard from his Mar-a-Lago home and club to Palm Beach International Airport and the Trump International Golf Club.

There is political messaging in the official resolution that would add Trump’s name to the street. It states that “the United States has thrived under President Trump’s leadership,” describes “his many accomplishments.” It includes praise for the controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that increased money for immigration enforcement and the military, cut spending on the Medicaid health program and on hunger programs, added or extended multiple tax cuts, most of which benefit upper income taxpayers, and added an estimated $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

Ken Evans is a former Democratic state state committeeman from Broward who lived in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for almost 30 years, and still is involved in business there. He recently moved.

Evans said he’s been hearing from former neighbors who don’t like the idea of adding Trump’s name, and said he also thinks it’s a bad idea.

“It’s not because of Trump, not that I don’t want to see it there. It’s a very nonpartisan community. This will divide the community,” he said.

Heavy turnout

Furth and Casale both plan to attend the Town Commission meeting, where the issue is set to come up Wednesday evening.

“I think it’s going to be a big crowd,” she said.

The mayor expects so too. Malkoon said he wants to allow as many people as possible to talk, and expects a long meeting. He said he wants everyone to act civilly.

The Town Commission meeting that includes the street naming issue is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at Jarvis Hall, 4505 N. Ocean Drive, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

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