First Word

  Q. What is Adventures in Local Politics about? A. It’s the story about how Delray Beach found its way through visionary leadership and citizen engagement. The book serves as a useful guide to all those who want to lead positive change in their communities. It tells the story of a former-journalist-turned mayor who helped to advance his city’s revitalization. Delray Beach went from blighted and depressed to being named North America’s “Most Fun Town” by Rand McNally. Adventures in Local Politics tells the story of how a city known as “Dullray” became a community considered a national model for downtown revitalization and citizen engagement. It offers lessons and cautionary tales for other communities on their journeys.   Q. What led you to write the book? A .  When I was elected, I searched for a book that could help me navigate this new world of politics that I had entered. I couldn't find it. So, I wrote the book that I could have used when ...

  Some people have been watching the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial religiously -- almost on the same scale with the OJ Simpson trial back in the 90s. This high-profile defamation case has played out in an interesting way when it comes to a public relations perspective.  Depp's team has masterfully used social media to show how he's kind and genuine with people. If you watch mainstream media versus social media, the difference in attitude is totally opposite. Mainstream media has villainized Depp and seems to lean more toward Amber Heard. Meanwhile social media and experts and fans do not see it quite the same way.  Most of social media and average people watching this trial soon realized that Heard's testimony is questionable.  Social media's portrayal of Depp has been masterful at repairing his image. I assume that Depp's team is well aware of the tactics they've taken, which are brilliant. We see Depp doing a live performance in his iconic character Captai...

  REBUILDING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY POST-COVID New book provides insight into how to rebuild a connected community in a post-COVID world.     During the pandemic our communities literally had to disconnect to stay healthy. This disconnection dissolved old ideas about how to meet and even greet people. Governments and private companies designed new ways to interact via social distancing and reinvented many workplaces where millions of workers began working out of their domiciles and Zoom calls became the new standard for meeting with coworkers. Now as we move back toward a “New Normal” center, it has left people feeling disenfranchised and emotionally struggling with reconnecting with others. The second edition of the book Adventures in Local Politics – How Leadership Brought Back Delray Beach by Jeff Perlman illustrates how compassionate, empathetic leadership can bring communities back together.   Adventures in Local Politics is an engagi...