Anne Ackerman, 75; Organized ‘Condo Commandos’

Anne Ackerman, the feisty activist whose name became known in national political circles after she organized thousands of condominium dwellers, died Monday at her home here after an eight-year battle with cancer. She was 75.

Her political friends included former President Jimmy Carter, fellow Democrats Walter Mondale and Michael S. Dukakis, and nearly every well-known Democratic politician in Florida.

Ms. Ackerman successfully roused retirees out of political apathy and mobilized them into powerful voting blocs. Famed for turnouts ranging to more than 90%, they were dubbed “condo commandos.”

“She articulated the values and aspirations of tens of thousands of people who moved to northeast Dade County for their retirement,” said state Rep. Mike Abrams, a Democrat and a strategist for national and statewide political candidates.

“She kind of embodied their continued interest in the community they live in,” Abrams said. “It would have been so easy for all these people to come to Florida and just retire. Instead, they became a force of leadership.”

Local politicians estimated that she personally commanded more than 2,000 votes.

At age 5, Ms. Ackerman joined her father on a garment workers’ picket line, beginning a life of political activism that included volunteer work for the campaigns of the late Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago and accelerated when she and her husband moved to a waterfront Florida condominium in 1969.

Although she was most visible during electoral campaigns, Ms. Ackerman marshaled protests and campaigns on issues ranging from water pollution to better public transportation to condominium reform.