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By: Sharon Aron Baron
Candidate Lou Cimaglia held his kickoff party last week at Wings Plus along with long-time friends who were there to offer support to the 58-year resident of Broward County.
“He is one of the hardest working, honest people that I know,” said Fran Cunningham, who worked with Cimaglia at Coldwell Banker.
A real estate broker, Cimaglia, has been in the real estate business since the 1970s. He also served in the US Army for eight years in the reserves, first in Rhode Island, then in Fort Knox, KY, and finally in South Florida.
“I stayed away from politics all my life, but I do a lot for the citizens of the city. I thought maybe I could add more by giving to the city,” said Cimaglia, who is running for Seat Four. “Once I made a decision, I made some calls, and my friends told me to run. I wasn’t going to run against Brian Walsh, but when he dropped out, I stepped in.”
Cimaglia has volunteered for many organizations, including the Community Relations Council of the Coral Springs Medical Center. He led the effort in raising funds for toys and entertainment equipment for the Pediatric Department. He also serves in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization that helps raise funds for Camp Coral Kids, a local camp where children can interact with other diabetic kids, and helps families who cannot afford to send their children to the camp.
With his work with the Knights and the Medical Center, they also supply wheelchairs to patients who cannot afford one when they leave the hospital.
Cimaglia served on the Coral Springs 50th Anniversary Committee and has served on various other committees in the city.
“He is so civic-minded,” said Tom Noele, who knows Cimaglia through his work at Knights of Columbus. He said that Cimaglia was involved with many charities in Knights and that he always took a leadership role.
“He doesn’t stay still,” added John Horrell, who believes this type of thing wouldn’t be new to him. After Cimaglia finished his tenure as Grand Knight, Horrell described how they made him district deputy overseeing five councils, which lasted four years.
Cimaglia already has the endorsement of Mayor Vince Boccard, Commissioner Tom Powers, Vice Mayor Larry Vignola, and Commissioner Dan Daley to his advantage.
“I want to show people that some of the things being said (about city hall) aren’t true. Come to the meetings and workshops and form your opinions. I don’t like politics because your one party [and] you should hate the other party,” said Cimaglia. “ I came from a family that talked our problems out.”
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