Family politics are often considered harder to navigate than actual politics, but in Pompano Beach, voters will get a variation of both.
Vice Mayor Andrea McGee, who represents the beachside area of District 1, said she was blindsided when a political supporter who lives down the street decided to run for the seat — because that candidate is also a first cousin.
“She texted me from the clerk’s office to tell me she was doing it,” said McGee, a Pompano Beach native who has served in office since 2018 and had her cousin’s support on the ground campaigning in years past. “I tried calling her right away, I was very hurt. There’s not a lot of words for it. She didn’t answer. My mom tried calling her, she didn’t answer. An aunt tried calling her.”
The new candidate, Audrey Fesik, attended high school in Pompano Beach, moved out of state, and returned with her husband in December 2019. She said the city is now her forever home, and the decision to run for office happened organically as she grew more active in her neighborhood and became the go-to person from neighbors who were distressed about development.
Here are the August primary and nonpartisan races and candidates in Broward, Palm Beach counties
She said she never intended to cause a family rift, but the issue is bigger than the both of them.
“It finally came down to, if I didn’t represent my neighborhood’s interests I would be doing myself a disservice, I would be stifling a huge part of me,” she said. “It has nothing to do with cousins. I am sorry she’s upset but I think it will be OK because family is family and I love her.
“We both have the right as residents, and my family raised people who are opinionated and strong-willed and (want to) be of service to their city and county. People get bent out of shape, but they’ll bend right back. It’s salvageable… that’s my hope,” Fesik said.
McGee said she helped her cousin settle in the city by introducing her to dune renourishment “to help her with dune replanting in front of her house; now she’s running on environment.”
As the election season rolls along, McGee said she’s continuing to work for the residents, although she acknowledged it’s created family grief; McGee’s mother is Fesik’s godmother.
When their two mothers, who are sisters, spoke, “she (Fesik’s mother) thought we’d have fun doing this,” McGee said. “I don’t think she fully appreciated the weight of this. It doesn’t get more personal than this; I felt betrayed.”
“I’m still pretty emotionally raw from it; this is something new,” she said. “You just never expect it from family, you expect opponents not from your own blood.”
In the November election, three other incumbent commissioners in Pompano Beach have district races, as does the incumbent mayor. Only one district commissioner in Pompano Beach, Rhonda Eaton, was elected unopposed.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
