Cat Uden wins Hollywood's beachside District 1 commission seat with 61% of the vote

Catherine “Cat” Uden won Hollywood’s District 1 City Commission seat Tuesday, taking 5,136 votes, or 60.7%, in a three-way race, according to unofficial results from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections.

Brian A. Paruas had 1,932 votes (22.8%) and Itzhack Feldman had 1,394 (16.5%). All precincts had reported; some mail ballots were still being counted when the county last updated its results, at 12:09 a.m. Wednesday.

District 1 covers Hollywood’s beach. Uden replaces Caryl Shuham, who won a seat on the Broward County Commission, Axios reported. The new commissioners are to be sworn in Monday, Nov. 30, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Uden is the senior South Florida field representative for the ocean conservation group Oceana and a former public school teacher. On her campaign website she says she and her husband have raised their family in District 1 for more than 20 years. She has served on Hollywood’s parks and recreation and sustainability advisory committees. She ran for mayor in 2024, finishing second to Josh Levy with 32%.

Her campaign called for limiting overdevelopment on the beach, including opposing buildings of 49 stories or taller, along with fixing flooding and making City Hall more open to residents. She led citizen opposition to the 1301 Project, according to a Sun Sentinel endorsement posted on her campaign website. That disputed deal put the city’s sales and leases of public land under scrutiny, Axios reported. Hollywood voters on Tuesday also appeared to approve a charter change that requires voter approval to sell city property east of the Intracoastal Waterway, along with other limits on sales and long leases of public land, Axios reported.

In Hollywood’s other commission races, Alex Recio beat David Raskind in District 3, 60.3% to 39.7%, and Adam Roberti beat Erin Marvasti in District 5, 53% to 47%.