Pinecrest businessman and restaurateur Jack Kantrowitz has tossed his hat in the political ring and will run for the Village council seat held by Leslie Bowe.

Kantrowitz, a Pinecrest resident for 30 years and the owner of the popular Roasters 'n Toasters delicatessen in the Suniland Shopping Center, said his decision to run was spurred by what he called a "dictatorial" element in the Village government.

"I'm not pointing fingers at anybody," he said. "I don't think that's really necessary. I just would like to feel that the government itself is being run in a very democratic fashion. I mean, it's a government of the people, by the people, for the people; well, let it be that. I don't think that I like to see that little bit of government run in a dictatorial fashion. I'd rather see it run in more of a democratic way of thinking.

"I just think that as time has gone on and things are evolving, we need to look at some of the issues that are now at hand, be a little more compassionate to the needs of the people and understand what they want," he continued. "I think the community needs some good leadership, but not leadership in the sense of dragging them along with the leaders ideal; it's leadership of coalescing all the ideas that are there and trying to make things work within the framework of what you have and try to compromise issues."

Kantrowitz said if elected he would push for a review of the Pinecrest building and zoning department. He said a recent experience with the department in connection with re-building and renovating the south end of the Suniland Shopping Center left him with the feeling of having been in a 'nightmare.'

"We've built a system of zoning and building in Pinecrest that makes Dade County look like a cakewalk," he said. "I think the building and zoning department should be helpful, not a hindrance. When somebody walks in there and tries to get help, they should get help, not an attitude."

Kantrowitz also said he would try to provide a new direction in leadership and build a bridge between Pinecrest's residential and business communities.

"I am just as concerned for the residents as I am for the businesses," he said. "And there is a way to make both areas compatible and happy. One of the problems in Pinecrest is that there has been a lack of communication with the business community. The business community is an integral factor of the community. They're not evil, not bad; they're places that the residents go to on a regular basis, most of them are individually and privately held small businesses."

Kantrowitz, originally from Pennsylvania, came to Miami from Elmira, New York in 1965. He brought with him an electrical engineering degree from the University of Scranton and a background in printing.

"One morning I woke up in Elmira, went out to start the car and it kind of groaned," he recalled. "I looked up at the thermometer and it read 34 degrees below zero. I thought, 'ya know, I'm really miserable here, I might as well go to a place that's really warm. If I'm gonna be miserable, at least I'll be warm.' "

While Kantrowitz is well-known as the owner of the popular Roasters 'n Toasters, he amassed his fortune in the printing industry and owns the proprietary rights or patents to more than a dozen chemical processes and paper products for the transfer of images to objects such as tee-shirts, posters and coffee mugs. In 1984, he developed a type of paper for use with image transfers, which his Chemical Design Company, Inc. continues to manufacture and sell. In 1989, he began developing paper transfer products for digital imaging equipment -- color copiers, dye diffusion copiers and thermal printers. Today, CDC is the largest manufacturer of transfer media in the world and markets its products in 101 countries.

Kantrowitz, admitting that he is a political novice, said if elected he would curtail his business schedule to serve on the Village Council.

"I decided that I want to devote the time to do this," he said. "I'm divesting myself of some of my other involvements. I just really feel that it needs to be done.