Second Mayor of Pinecrest

In September 2004 The Miami Herald reported that “Community activist and attorney Gary Matzner automatically became the new mayor of Pinecrest on Tuesday, when no one filed to run against him.” Evelyn Langlieb Greer, mayor since incorporation, had served the two terms the charter allows.

“I was just waiting for Evelyn’s term to be up,” Gary said. He had wanted his friend to finish what she started. Greer administered his oath of office in November 2004.

The office was unpaid, and Gary kept practicing healthcare law throughout his term. “My firm encourages public service,” he told the Herald.

At his first council meeting as mayor, Gary proposed ending the admission charge at Pinecrest Gardens, then $5 for adults. “Basically, the entrance fee is a barrier to entry for the community,” he said.

In December 2004 the council voted to drop general admission, keeping charges only for special events and programs. The former Parrot Jungle grounds that Gary had worked to save were now open to every resident without a ticket.

The founding council had first envisioned a library and community center at the Gardens. In 2006 Councilwoman Cindie Blanck said Gary “has really moved that forward.” The Miami-Dade Public Library System became the Village’s partner, contributing $3.58 million toward the $6.7 million project and agreeing to run the library.

At the 2006 groundbreaking on Red Road, Gary quoted Cicero. He cut the ribbon on the Pinecrest Community Center on May 31, 2008, and the Pinecrest Branch Library opened next door that fall.

Gary said Pinecrest lacked a “dedicated soccer field.” In May 2006 the Village bought an additional acre for Flagler Grove Park, and that November the council approved two soccer fields and a playground there. In August 2008 the Herald listed among the work of his term that he had “added a third acre to open Flagler Grove Park” and lit Red Road’s exercise path.

“Water is number one,” he said in 2006. Nearly half of Pinecrest’s homes relied on wells and had no fire hydrants nearby. In January 2008 the council discussed building the backbone of a public water system with nearly $5 million from the county and state, and the Herald reported in January 2009 that the backbone was scheduled to be finished that May.

In 2008 Gary pressed for a competitive pension for the Village’s police officers. “I recognize that we need to give our police a competitive compensation plan,” he said that April. In July officers ratified a contract placing them in the Florida Retirement System for the first time, which their union president called “a great accomplishment,” and the council approved it in August.

In August 2008 Gary announced that he would not seek a second term. “All the major things are done,” he said. He wanted more time with his family and his law practice, and he ruled out another campaign: “I’m not a politician at heart.”

Looking back on the Village’s first twelve years, he said: “Over these 12 years, we’ve accomplished more than we ever could imagine. That’s very satisfying.”