Watchdog Report Vol.19 NO.62 November 11, 2018 EST: 05.05.00 – Celebrating 19 Years of weekly publishing

Fernandez Rundle

 

What about the county rented security guards at the polls?

 

The rented security guards watching over the early polling sites were a little intimidating and almost acted like sworn officers’ rather than welcoming voters and I saw this at a number of early voting sites where the ballot on average took some 20 minutes to complete and on election day at the some 854 voting precinct’s but the spotlight is on Broward County where a mechanical recount is being done and all 55 counties are doing the required recount with results required by Thursday.

 

>>> Warriors of Liberty City is a must view series of life in Overtown and liberty city, shows devastation after Irma, spoiled food while residents try to live again, while their job is gone.

 

Thank you, Uncle Luther Campbell, and Le bron James for collaborating on the Starz’s series Warriors of Liberty City. I have caught two of the series and it’s a depth look of life in Liberty City and Overtown especially after Hurricane Irma hit, and the widespread damage to these communities that that take their football very seriously and has fielded and produced several NFL players. Further the film highlights how the community responded after hurricane Irma did significant damage and many residents lost all their food and tried to feed their families after the divested storm. For more and a preview go to: HTTPs

 

MY Miami stories at Miami Foundation, tell your story  

 

>>> The Miami Foundation is starting a program where people can tell their Miami story and to tell your story go to :https://miamifoundation.org/mymiamistory/https:

 

> October is Rett Syndrome Awareness month “I am her voice she is my heart,” and to support Julianne Espinosa at http://events.rettsyndrome.org/goJulianne Espinosa2018

 

What about the internet back in 2000?

 

Back then everyone was using e-mail and would say to people at the time “my email is on the card,” very proudly and even then, there was a question if this would stay around but later exploded to what it is today. Further the community’s major public institutions were like giant ships in the night not knowing what each was doing in an aggregate way. Wasting millions in public tax dollars since they operate in a discrete fashion.

 

>>> I also pushed to have schoolboard committees taped. Since I had the only tapes of these and contained what was said about a variety of land purchases sold by politically connected individuals with one piece needing some $49 million in demucking given the containments.

During the 1990s one trick in Miami was to sell contaminated land to a public entity which would in one deal involve some $44 million to demuck and clean up the site but the land was owned by a politically connected man. Now deceased school member Betsy Kaplan once said to me “Dan your trying to keep us out of jail,” she said. I responded, “no kidding.” And to read the early years go to Maya Bell’s long profile in the Orlando Sentinel and she spent weeks with me in an old BMW without air and it captured my journey in this day or and to read the national story go to:http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american

 

>>> The New Hope Historical Society, Pa. founded by my dad in 1958 is celebrating its 60^th anniversary! Just miles north from Washington’s Crossing the Delaware

 

The New Hope Historical Society is celebrating its diamond anniversary since my father Arthur J. Ricker, M.D., founded it in 1958, and for the family. it was all hands-on deck in getting the Perry Mansion in the heart of the town restored and later maintained and my dad was the physician for the Perry sisters until they passed, and the purchasing of the mansion was a leap of faith and now 60 years later. My dad wrote “This is more to inheritance than stone, brick and frame buildings; there is an undefinable something that embrace’s one’s mind and spirit with a feeling of pride in our historical heritage… for more go to www.newhopeehs.org The restored Perry Mansion
 

 

STATE OF FLORIDA

 

>>> Floridah elections still up in the air spotlight on Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and 55 other counties state doing mechanical recounts for U.S. Senate, Ag commissioner, Florida governor all races in dead heat

 

The supervisors of elections foe the 55 Florida Counties are doing the recount and some results should be in by Thursday

 

With polls neck and neck re Andrew Gillum and U.S. Rep Ron De Santis and one more debate before Nov. 6 Gillum made the rounds in Miami-Dade including FIU and later a group of democrats huddled in the Grove including former Mayor Manny Diaz and others including community icon Pedro “Joe” Greer, Jr., M.D. and major professor at FIU Herbert Wal thorn College of Medicine

 

What about congressional district 27?

 

UM president Donna Shalala who defeated a pack of challengers to represent the Democratic party’s nominee and she will find this is a competitive race against Maria Elvira Salazar and could be the first time the district flips since U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros- Lehtinen, R-Miami won it back in 1986.She held the office without a hint of scandal and has worked well with Republican Party congressman Mario Diaz- Balart who is a transportation maven in the house. However, Shalala prevailed by a wide margin and will be part of the new class of 100 women elected to the house of representatives in the midterms. And she will be working with Diaz Balart in the House since he was reelected.

 

Further, Children’s Trust CEO Jim Haj told and updated county commissioners recently and Commissioner Sally Heyman suggested they put more articles in the Community newspapers that are free and cut a wide swath in communities explaining some of the upcoming programs and here is the latest children’s trust annual report:

 

What about the Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade County?

 

The county commission voted on new trustees for the Children’s trust and they are Lourdes Gimenez, Constance Collins, Jose “Félix” Diaz, and Dr. Kate Callaghan our youth and the trust is a community treasure nurturing our youth to excel in life.
 

https://www.thechildrenstrust.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/providers/analytics/reports/BOCC_2015-16_Statutory_Format_012317.pdf

Haj
 

What about the United Ways new program?

 

United Way of Miami-Dade County has several programs for-not for-profits with good ideas fostering their growth for more go to: https://unitedwaymiami.org/contact-us/media-kit/

 

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

 

>>> Fiscal TPO Monday looks at variety of transportation modes Meg Lev to monorail, Moss “wants north corridor first was what voters,” were told he says

 

At a Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) fiscal committee Monday, a discussion had consultants discussing new transportation technologies being used around the world especially in Asia. One technology discussed was Mag Lev trains and monorails have some advantages.

 

Commissioner Dennis Moss said he was sticking to what voters were told when the 2002 half penny sales tax was passed after an earlier attempt for a full cent failed in 1998. Further, a public transit speaker noted that people love the new PNG buses using natural gas but the county only has one site for refueling and uses one natural gas pump and the wait is long he noted The county’s vender is modifying the pump for more output and the county is going to expand the number of pumps especially since another 300 buses are coming adding to the 100 PNG buses in use now and seen around the county. For more on the Mag Lev go to:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

 

>>> Village of Wakanda effect hits African American advisory committee public meeting, Dr. Gallon says, “the 40 percent achievement gap,” despite no F school must be closed: new homeless drug & sex encampment cordoned off, one “addict with black gums had a rat eating food out of her mouth,” says county Homeless Trust chair Ron Book, sent to rehab

 

The Wakanda Effect was the topic at a county subcommittee discussing the Village of Miami and the black community and a host of elected leaders spoke to the African Affirms subcommittee. Dr. Stephen Gallon, III and former state rep and school board member Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingal noted she “was twice homeless,” before she took on a new trajectory and led her to the state legislature before coming back to the board. Gallon talked about the “achievement gap,” between African American students and their white counterparts and while there are no F schools this performance gap makes those results hollow, he said Wednesday before the week’s schoolboard meeting. Gallon said while its great no F schools. He challenges the “40 percent achievement gap,” among blacks in schools and he spoke with passion that only T. Willard Fair could compete, but the dialogue was great to see after the much-celebrated movie Black Panther. Fair noted the success of a youth job program where 8,0000 youth had summer jobs and was a collaborative effort of the county the Children’s Trust and was pushed by county commissioner Xavier Suarez three years ago. Editor’s note here is a update on the homeless encampment: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/downtown-miami/article219921130.html

 

What about the cost of the cost of the 2002 election?

 

When it comes to elections mayor Gimenez reminded commissioners of the 2012 “election debacle,” and back years ago the phrase when it came to Floridah voting and came. After a disastrous 2002 primary where the final vote count took weeks the county commission. Then elections supervisor David Leahy was criticized to the point he fainted at the podium and commissioners gave the job to run the general election to then county police department director Carlos Alvarez and coming in at around $13 million since police officers manned the polls that had opened late back then and was a national scandal and another voting embarrassment after the 2000 general election and was the most expensive cunty election in the country. This year the county has 1.4 million registered voters said white to commissioners.

 

>>>> Former Commissioner Katy Sorenson asks committee to waive for meeting requirement for 2004 GOB oversight board, many projects completed, “on time and on budget,” had one meeting where only item was approving the “minutes,” on this volunteer board she chairs

 

Last week former County Commissioner Katy Sorenson came to the commission chambers and she wanted the body to waive a four meeting a year requirement for the 2004 GOB oversight board. She told commissioners at a committee that most of the projects have been completed were “on time and on budget.” She asked because the members are volunteers and recently, they held on meeting and all the body did was approve a “past meeting minutes,” and she does not want to waste these people’s time in this very time-consuming capacity. Sorenson chairs the oversight board and they have done a good job accounting for the billions in bond funding.

That includes $5.37 billion for its operating budget: To read the complete budget go to:

http://www.miamidade.gov/budget/library/fy2018-19/proposed/volume-1.pdf And this exemption was passed on Tuesday by the county commission.

 

RECORD MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ARRIVALS FOR JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2018 >>> GMCVB: From January-September 2018, international passenger arrivals at Miami International Airport (MIA) reached a new record, increasing by +1.6 percent compared to the previous year. Domestic passenger increased by +3.1 percent compared to January-September 2017, contributing to record-breaking passenger arrivals with an increase of +2.4 percent. MIA Passenger Arrivals Domestic Arrivals January-September 2018 January-September 2017 % Change vs. 2017 8,654,063 8,390,283 +3.1% Record International Arrivals January-September 2018 January-September 2017 % Change vs. 2017 8,379,888 8,249,729 +1.6% Record Total Arrivals January-September 2018 January-September 2017 % Change vs. 2017 17,033,951 16,640,012 +2.4%

 

What is the new elderly crisis coming?

Homeless seniors are becoming the biggest threat facing the county in the future and it is a “Crisis, said Ron Book,” the Homeless trust chair. At past trust meeting and the need for permanent housing for this emerging group is critical and he is on a crusade to find permanent housing the trust can buy but in Miami the inventory is small an expensive he has said in the past.

 

Ron Book has been making the political rounds speaking at Thursday’s Miami commission meeting Thursday about a new encampment in the inner city that has been blocked off by the health department after open sexual acts and drug dealing has resulted in a spike of AIDs cases and the finding of drug paraphernalia around the local schools and the trust gas gone into emergency mode to get these people into rehabilitation and other programs and those coming back are being addressed where one Women had “black lips,” gangrene and was “spotted having a rat eating the food in her mouth,” in her stupor condition said Book to city commissioners and she was taken into rehabilitation but this is the challenge the county’s homeless trust faces. For more go to https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/downtown-miami/article219921130.html

 

What about shot spotter technology 80% of shots residents hear do not call 9/11? Going to be combined with license plate readers in Miami and Miami Gardens, along with Ring security systems helping

 

A presentation by a regional rep of shot spotter which employs sensors around the county and the facts show only a small number 80 percent of people who hear shots” will not call 9/11 when they hear shots and many families have a “protocol,” when they hear shots and the rep believes they are afraid of being known as a “snitch,” and residents why call after hearing shots and no police coming. Commissioner Dennis Moss suggested they think “the police just don’t care.” One thing the shot spotters is good at is recovering shell casings which helps law enforcement on who the shooter might be. Further county police will soon be equipped with “license plate readers’ already in use in a variety of municipalities. And for more on the technology go to: http://www.shotspotter.com/ Update: In Miami Gardens which along with Miami are getting license plate readers one resident said large number of residents are using Ring security systems as well and hope all these efforts will reduce the violence facing the two municipalities.

 

>>> The county’s OIG issued its report on a P3 proposal leak by KPMG and concluded it was accidental. To read the report go to: http://www.miamidadeig.org/Reports2018/CourthouseDisclosureIncidentAssuranceReview7.3.18.pdf

>>> New continuum of care center coming for homeless with mental issues, JHS involved one stop center

 

The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust along with Jackson Health System is opening a one stop public facility for homeless who qualify for a new diversion program with a mental illness and includes many veterans on the streets and is an old facility previously used by the state, but it will offer a continuum of care and was briefly discussed at the trust board meeting Friday. The whole community has been seeking ways to resolve the mental health issues of the homeless now drawing in people with opioid addiction and a drop of fentanyl can kill and many times is cut with cheap yellow Mexican heroin that appeared years past and is causing thousands of overdoses and the city of Miami spent $150,000 in procuring the miracle drug Narcan that can revive a overdosed person almost immediately and these people cut across all ethnic lines and the issue was discussed Sunday on “This Week in South Florida,” and to see the show go to https://www.local10.com/this-week-in-south-florida/this-week-in-south-florida-oct-29

https://www.chapmanpartnership.org/wpq_events/nextgen-gala-party/

 

The trust has a new program where people with rental housing can register their rental units with the county and for more on the program go to: http://www.homelesstrust.org/rentconnect.asp

 

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

>>>> The property tax referendum Passed, and the district will be getting a bond infusion going to teacher’s salary and security for four years

 

>>>> District’s referendum for additional funding will have oversight board similar but different from 2012 GOB oversight since a shorter duration, says Carvalho

 

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho when it comes to voters passing a bond for school security and teacher pay believes any oversight board should be different from the one that is monitoring a 2012 bond since the duration is much shorter and he is hitting the airwaves pushing for voters to pass the issue and since these oversight boards have been used there has been little scandals which has been different from past years.

 

>>>> District’s number one mission this legislative session is to reestablish District Cost Deferential at the state formula for more expensive urban districts, extra $20 million extra security costs are “unsustainable,” says Carvalho, county and municipalities chipping in but only this coming year, since “children safety & security comes first” says mayor Gimenez at county budget meeting

 

Superintendents Alberto Carvalho held a Cabinet Retreat Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at the Double Tree Grand and the handouts note that when it comes this year’s legislative session. Past laws changed have left the larger districts in the fiscal lurch Thus in the next Florida Legislative session the nation’s fourth largest public schools district wants the District Cost Differential (DCD) brought back that considers the higher costs associated with a more expensive urban areas that also includes Broward County. Th extra funding formula was stripped in 2004 and with 67 smaller counties these smaller districts want a cut of this funding, but it has hammered the larger districts whose teachers need a salary boost but is not getting the money from the state

However, the district is skeptical without a unified effort of the other larger urban districts to get the legislature to kick in more even though the upcoming House speaker is Jose Avila, R-Miami Lakes and the chief auditor Iraida Mendez- Cartaya formerly the school lobbyist in Tallahassee said until the general election that the GOP controlled legislature members are all about winning the General Election in November and Dr. Stephen Gallon, III said “he has given up after three years of lobbying state representatives and senators.” He said after, “he believes in open lines of communication.” He also appreciates that the “legislators were elected by the people,” and thus with the increased security costs that after the Parkland High school massacre   he believed the schools new security plan is “unsustainable next year.” Since the District along with the county and eight municipalities have agreed to assist staffing school sites. The District has 390 school sites “spread across 25 municipalities and unincorporated Miami-Dade and has only 361 sworn officers and 29 armed guards,” state the handout documents and will include a new Enhanced Training Platform and three active attack integrated responses. Further, Mayor Carlos Gimenez had the county this one time kick in some funding for extra police who “will be on overtime,’ to help with protecting and keeping the children safe was a number 1 priority for the termed out mayor, at a county commission budget meeting but also called for more than the $20 million granted by the state of which the county only gets some $2 million.   http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20170804/senate-pushes-dcd-study-forward

 

>>>BCC puts on ballot: Four-year funding referendum for teacher pay raise and new security costs after state’s unfunded mandate for more police presence at schools, once ramped-up significant ongoing cost for district, needs voter approval, about 75 cents on tax bill, with independent over sight board, past GOB bond 50 percent expended, “projects on time no scandals,” says, Supt. Carvalho to county commission

 

It’s a go Miami-Dade County approves putting a referendum to help fund teacher’s salaries increased police costs for school safety after the state passed legislation requiring districts to have police in every school after 17 people were killed at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

 

The unfunded mandate is just another reminder that the state legislature does not get the size of Miami-Dade’s public-school district (where school police can only cover only 90 schools), An A District but with 70,000 students English learners (and 5,300 students in the autism spectrum in the district) and the demographics of Miami-Dade are such “That the county has the smallest percent of Angelo’s in the nation,” said board member Marta Perez and why the A grade for the district is so special in comparison to other districts around the nation without such a high level of diversity.

 

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

 

>>>> UM Miller Medical Dean Dr. Ford, M.D. MHA., gives shot in the arm gives moving speech to Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, seeking excellence at all levels goal med school one of top ten in nation

 

The new University of Miami Leonard Miller Medical School’s new Dean Henri R. Ford, M.D., MHA, was the keynote speaker at Wednesday’s Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce monthly Luncheon and the Haitian American worked extensively with UM physicians after the 2010 earthquake in the devastated country and his sister badly burned was saved at the Ryder Trauma Center’s burn unit and he has a long service of public service and the pediatric surgeon 6 of nine children is a man of faith since his family moved to Brooklyn to escape the brutal Papa Doc Duvalier’s regime and he spoke no English and graduated from public school. He then headed to Princeton University getting a degree and later Harvard University’s Medical School and he later trained at Cornell’s medical school. For more on the amazing story of this very talented man go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Ford

 

Dr. Ford

 

The physician told the crowd that technology and biomedical resources are working together to make the medical school one of the “ten best,” in the nation is supported by new UM President Julio Frenk, MD. Who also has a Harvard connection and in a national study Ford said the school is participating in a milestone study around the nation and could produce some major research data. His father was a preacher and he has published some 300 medical papers and believes the university should be accessible to “all God’s people and there was no substitution for excellence in any endeavor,” he said. The surgeon also noted the school was looking to build a new $100 million renovation of its Um hospital building and he joked about “passing a bucket around the crowd,” and the Miller family’s generous donation was also noted. I have known most of the school’s deans and believe he will make his mark in the future along with Dr. Frenk

 

Dr. Frenk

 

For more on Dr. Frenk go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Frenk

 

What about the $884 million in charity care report at JHS?

 

A new charity care report has been released and a consultant’s study says the public health system does some $884 million in charity care and with cutbacks in LIP. The lower income pool the costs are expected to rise and over the years all the hospitals in Dade have had issues with charity care and years ago Mt Sinai Medical Center did some $130 million in uncompensated care and Baptist Health also gets hit with some $250 to $300 million in charity care or 24 percent of the community’s charity care and JHS is still saddled with $78.8 million in uncompensated mandates to the county that began in early 2000 and includes costs for jail inmates and a host of other expenses and to read the complete report go to: the report was requested by county commissioners Barbara Jordan and Daniella Levine-Cava go to http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2018/181871.pdf

 

>>> The PHT closed its last quarter in the black and continues a seven-month trend of operating in the black ($55 million cash on hand) despite Jackson Health System (JHS) having a “lock on the charity care market,” quipped CEO Carlos Migoya at a joint BCC meeting and the PHT board.

 

>>> Annual PHT joint board meeting smooth and an upbeat discussion after the county once thought of selling Jackson Health System to Boston investors, now while challenges is public community “jewel,” says chair Bovo

 

The Annual Joint meeting with the county’s commission was a night and day presentation. BCC Chair Estephan Bovo, Jr. said it was a “leap of faith,” when the body reduced the size of the board from 21 members to seven and, but the commission passed and instituted some reforms that at one point some investors from Boston wanted to buy Jackson Health System.

 

Bovo thanked Migoya for the remarkable job and gave a shout out to union leader Martha Baker. for working closely to make the hospital more efficient while keeping the world class medical care. Migoya noted Jackson did over $300 million in charity care and JHS has “cornered that market.” Though other hospitals have the same problem of uncompensated care.

 

>>> Chair of citizens GOB $830 million Making Miracles bond, says on track, low administrative costs, clinics popping up all over Miami-Dade, CEO Migoya gets rave reviews from BBC, though commissioner Jordan was “skeptical,” and gave the banker a “tough time,” that’s changed

 

The chair of the Citizens oversight board Jose Luis Gomez for the $830 million JHS making miracles bond, gave an upbeat report and the low administration costs for the major capital program that includes a host of community clinics. The voters approved this bond back in 2013 overwhelmingly under the leadership of CEO Carlos Migoya who has worked closely with the unions and was a key to getting the public hospital.

 

He also created a “protégé program,” that helps SBAs qualify for contracts and the capital plan is moving at a brisk rate. Ron Frazer an architect said the county should consider doing its own protégé program, he told commissioners on Tuesday where the body got an update on the bond’s progress. For more go to: https://www.jhsmiami.org/webApps/JHSGOBCitizen/getFiles.cfm?MeetingType=c_CitizensMeetingAgenda# >>> Trust continues to have clean audits, challenges continue ahead, closed the year with $30 million budget surplus, 50 days cash on hand, new rehabilitation Center property prepped Friday

 

>>> New report on how JHS spending $830 million bond monies, going well

 

Here is the most recent update on the $830 million GOB passed by County wide voters to update the ageing facilities at Jackson Health System and the projects are going very well and includes minority vender participation similar the public schools oversight system and this public money is key to the communities’ health since there is a big push toward prevention and wellness has FIU physicians doing primary and family medicine and is a real boon in keeping healthcare costs down. To read the report go:

file:///C:/Users/DAN%20RICKER/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/8UMCRP67/Mayor-BCC-PHT%20-%20CAC%20Quarterly%20Report%20-%20July%20to%20September%202017.pdf

 

>>> County OIG report on Career Source and workforce development in Monroe and Miami-Dade; to read the report go to: http://www.miamidadeig.org/Reports2018/FinalAuditReport-CareerSourceSouthFlorida.pdf

 

CITY OF MIAMI

 

>>> Young Mayor Francis Suarez took a hit after his strong mayor form of government tanked with voters and while he promoted transparency and accountability voters saw through the hypocrisy that exempted his office from the Sunshine law and the office oversaw the attorney and clerk’s office appointment with a considerable bump in his salary and was seen as a “power grab,” by many though something his father Xavier tried to get years ago but failed.

 

Further Suarez has told the press that he voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum for Florida governor and it continues to highlight his philosophy differences while being a outspoken Republican when it suits him or his father who recently carped at the Miami-Dade County commission that he “had to take a phone call,” from the dais Since it was a client he said. The attorney said when he was Miami “mayor he was paid $5,000.” And on the commission, he only gets “$6,000.” Though in his first speech after being sworn in “he said his wife only agreed to let him run, after she found out he got free healthcare as a commissioner,” he told the assembled chamber when sworn in 2011.

 

 

>>> “600 to 800 needles were found in final sweep of the homeless encampments under I-95 a drug den and visual sexual acts, said Milton Vickers of the city of Miami. After a final clean-up done by the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust and the state’s public health department and had the area closed off after Hepatitis and AIDS spike in area,

 

“20 to 30,” were placed in rehabilitation program and is still being monitored but people still periodically stopping by but trust and city still working on keeping it from occurring again, said Vickers to the Miami commissioners and was of deep concern to chair Keon Hardeman where the encampments was in his district and had children walking by seeing people shoot up and on women in a stupor had a rat on her face eating food from her mouth said Trust chair Ron Book at the last commission meeting and reported in the WDR back then.

 

What about the strong mayor charter change and how is it polling?

 

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is running into headwinds with his strong mayor imitative on the ballot and on Spanish media it comes across in Spanish like a “power grab,”

 

Not something that is acceptable to the Cuban Exile voters and the raise the new mayor would get is not missed and a variety of elected leaders are on the radio are supporting it. However, former County Mayor Alex Penelas, is a Democrat and former Miami Mayor

Tomas Regalado is considered a Republican and Suarez is playing both sides of the political aisle. Since back in 2005 he ran a slate of executive committeemen for the local county party and the belief then was they would then elect his father Xavier thee county’s GOB Party chair since he kept losing in races and back in 2004 he lost to Commissioner Carlos Gimenez when he ran for the District 7 commission seat that he finally won in 2011 and has been a throne in the side of Gimenez on the commission. Further in the 1990s Suarez the elder was pushing for a strong mayor imitative and the son who will not agree to having outside income and that is a problem for many voters and I believe it will be a tight vote that is also interwoven with the Freedom Park no bid private developed soccer stadium on the city’s Melreese Golf Course. He also has hired democratic party-political operative Christine Culvart who was a part of Mayor Phillip Levine’s team in his run for governor. https://twitter.com/culvert a hard-core Democrat and is working on the Andrew Gillum for governor campaign says his twitter bio. So, Suarez is embellishing his party credentials and sticks with the philosophy that the ends justify the means. Further, if the charter change passes, he is exempt from the Florida Sunshine public meetings and records law in this new capacity.

 

>>>> Early voting starts Monday; will Miami voters approve omnipotent mayor? Critics are fighting back against power grab

 

Supporters against a strong mayor form of government are fighting back and one of the biggest issues is the lack of forbidding. The mayor to have outside income while also getting a juicy raise in the process. Mayor Francis Suarez says he works ”hard” and we can ask his “wife,” but many believe this is a full time job and he should give up his real-estate law practice and focus on city issues that he got a taste of when he authorized expensive artificial grass for some Brickell sidewalks and caused a demonstration and outrage of the $300,000 fiasco that the vender is now eating says Suarez.

 

What about the stadium on this charter change?

 

Further, the issue is impacting the no bid MLS stadium at Melreese country club which passed and while Suarez with such a war chest could be positioning himself for a run at county mayor. That his father Xavier may be eyeing.

 

However, People question his veracity for more power and are stepping back as his administration faces one setback after another and he has yet to prove his petition drive was done on the up and up though his attorney says it was. Further it appears the issue will be settled in the courts and was. However, residents are puzzled by way Suarez defaults to “let the people decide,” yet the amount of fundraising in the millions and now the Freedom Park matter for MLS soccer stadium has sent up an alert that all of Miami’s Parks could be up on the auction block something the city has eyed in the future including the cemetery in village west in the grove a and the brochures going out to residents highlight free millions in revenue would be coming and the tag line is “We the voters demand accountability, which would mean more “Transparency, efficiency and a simpler and clearer recall process,” all of which sounds great but why did he have to raise so much money?

 

For voters are wondering now if it passes what would the office be like if someone like commissioner Joe “crazy joe,” Carollo was in office and recently had a process server tried to serve him on the dais but was shooed away by the city attorney. And the man is on a vendetta with the owners of the Ball & Chain on 8^th St. and the commissioner has been directing city code enforcement members to cite the establishment and they are now suing Carollo in federal court. Carollo later told the press it was no big deal since then he gets “discovery,” However Carollo is putting Miami back into the press in a negative way and in 2000 for 8 months Miami led national news casts in the coverage of the little boy Elian Gonzalez and Carollo was the mayor back then and ethnic tensions were high with people dropping off bananas in front of city hall and run on the nations stations.

 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/downtown-miami/article219921130.html

 

>>> Back to the future process server gets shoed out of chambers by city attorney, after Carollo is sued in federal court, one reason strong mayor so scary,

 

Well civility has left the Miami commission chambers and the catalyst is commissioner Joe Carollo. In a discussion on the controversial ULTRA music festival contract that he had negotiated but would not vote on it. He got into it with commissioner Ken Russell saying as a negotiator he had dealt with Donald Trump in the past while he was “selling yo-yos to children” He also brought the Naguchi fountain in front of the Bayfront Park Trust a board that Carollo chairs and is seen as a rubber stamp board since he made the bulk of the appointments to the obscure board that oversees the park and condominium residents complaining about the high decibel music ULTRA puts on in March for the last some 20 years and is kicking in $3 million in income to the city and is used to maintain the facility that in 2000 required a $450,000 injection of city general funds but a scandal later ended that need after the executive director Ira Katz went to jail and the CFO tried to hide his laptop in a ceiling tile. Here is the story on the homeless encampment: http://www.bayfrontparkmiami.com/Facilties.html

 

>>>>> Mayor Suarez buys tony million-dollar home, won’t say where cash down payment came from, says none of my business

 

Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo continues to be feisty and he took several shots at Commissioner Ken Russell Thursday in a discussion of a at large board member to the Bayfront Park Trust board that Carollo chairs. He carped that Russell serves on the most boards and his choices for a board member should be respected. After Russel thought the need for downtown condos representatives have a voice on the park’s board and all the events like ULTRA.

 

Carollo said he is in tune with the residents’ concerns and they have never had a bigger voice under his leadership, he shot back to Russell and the two of them have feuded on the five-member commission and generally objected to the any political resolutions Russell was trying to pass while he was running for congress but the commissioner later changed his mind and withdrew. However, Carollo is a republican and when he was last running for mayor back in 2001 and there was a large pack of candidates. He once spoke at the Elephant Forum at the Rusty Pelican and he told the quest’s that he personally stopped a 747 after 9/11 from crashing into Turkey Point, he told the stunned attendees and I taped it back then, but it gives an idea into his mercurial personality and his ability to embellish his thoughts. Here is an ethics commission report on Bayfront and members getting free ULTRA tickets: http://ethics.miamidade.gov/library/closed%20investigations/2018/pi_18-10_bayfront-park-ultra.pdf

 

What do his financial disclosures look like since 22014 to 2017?

 

Suarez said he had no income since he had just started to work at a law firm so I checked his financial disclosure forms from 2014 where through June he was worth $13,018.44 and in 2016 it jumps to $100,163 the same net worth he had back in 2016 and in 2017 his net worth was $245,015 and I only checked this information since he is seeking to become a strong mayor and since his salary in that initiative is referenced to be 75 percent the county mayors salary. Suarez got a significant raise since in the county budget there was a pay raise of $250,000 in the budget passed Thursday night for Carlos Gimenez and could even grow higher for Suarez and will be cherry on the compensation cake for the young real-estate attorney who will not confirm he will have no outside income with this bump and is od since most senior officials focus only on their duties ( ask ex Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne about this after he went to prison on tax evasion).Editor’s note: My biggest issue is not the banning of outside income.

 

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s bid to put a strong mayor form of government hit an ice berg called Commissioner Joe Carollo as he drilled into the petition process that is not defined in the Miami charter and use the county’s petition guidelines and Suarez hired a firm from Tallahassee to get the signatures and Carollo zeroed in whether theses paid signature gathers either lived in the state or even Miami-Dade and that is important for to gather signatures under county statutes you have to be a registered electorate to perform this function and Carolllo found many of the signatures he checked were bogus.

Further in the lobby was a man dressed like a dictator and the mayor’s initiative once was pushed by his father Xavier Suarez a former Miami Mayor. Carollo and Commissioner Manola Reyes also had problems with the way the salary would be written and not what could be up to $326,000 and does not exclude outside employment and it was revealed the city manager is also moonlighting in some capacity and that is not boding well with the discussion starting again this week and for more go to:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article216436445.html

 

What was the new wrinkle during the meeting Suarez refused to say he would not have outside employment and when that was asked to Miami manager Emilio Gonzalez he did not say no and does something, now unknown in some capacity. However, tax payers expect full time employment when discussing salaries and performance goals for the taxpayers and the fact that Gonzalez is doing something beside his job is disconcerting and, in the mayor’s, case given the political maneuver.

 

Miami Residents get to roll the dice re city leadership and is Suarez the anointed one has the cash to make it happen?

 

Further, if this form of government is approved the electorate will be rolling the dice that the young attorney with a new daughter will have the heft and political skills to work under the five-member city commission that can resemble a verbal lion’s den with a level of diversity not seen anywhere else in America and his judgement sometimes goes off course.

 

Like when Suarez and Marc Sarnoff ate lunch at Versailles with a group of Miami lobbyists and used two sergeant -of. Arms to transport them (and he got an ethics commission slap of the hand) to the tony local restaurant. Suarez when he first ran said he could have run as Xavier Suarez rather than Francis. But by doing that he also dodged his father Xavier’s media moniker of “mayor loco,” coined back in 1997 when he briefly was Miami mayor, yet later removed by county circuit judge Tam Wilson. After it was found there was widespread voter fraud in the election and Joe Carollo was brought back to the office through 2002. Further, Suarez’s father got into a political fray with county mayor Carlos Gimenez and Pepe Diaz and the father Xavier Suarez has brought back his old moniker of Mayor Loco after Gimenez told a story about one of Suarez’s ideas of using helicopters to lift cars out of traffic and the father is coming off as a little strange and is bleeding into the son’s political life who is expected to run for county mayor when Gimenez is termed out in 2020.

 

The sophomore mayor believes the strong mayor administration will be more responsive and if voters are dissatisfied the occupant can be recalled he insists and no easy project without serious money. Further, critics wonder why this push for transparency and performance since. He has yet to show that with the no bid Beckham deal as a prime example and was hosted on the commission before it was fully baked and rushed through, until the commissioners pushed on the brakes but in his mind the $3 million he raised for his campaign was not obscene after I asked him about this and I left puzzled what his core values were and Miami will find out if his initiative passes.

 

However, while Suarez may be a prototype mayor. What about his replacement in the future?

 

What about the Miami city Charter and the role of Jessie Manzano who helped organize the strong mayor petition signature process felt the sting of Carollo and asked the lobbyist and a political sidekick of Suarez’s to stop going on Spanish radio telling listeners that the reason the commission is blocking this is because voters would be able to recall commissioners, and Carollo suggested he might be a recall target (which they can already do). However, this feud is missing the fact the charter does not have clear language about how to do a petition effort and Suarez used the county’s requirements and the validly of the petition gatherers as county voters, which Carrolo says had one person “registered in Broward,” with potentially some “ten percent.” Not being qualified petition gatherers under the law.

 

Suarez asked the public to “trust,” him. But after raising some $3 million for his mayoral campaign he is a believer the ends justify the means when I hinted that the amount he raised was “obscene,” for a municipal mayor’ s race, and he did that to challenge any opponents when in fact he ran against five unknown candidates who raised no money for their own races.

 

COMMUNITY EVENTS

 

>>> Martin Z. Margulies Collection: Volume I    You are invited to celebrate the launch of our latest book, Martin Z. Margulies Collection: Volume I. This thoughtfully-paced, beautifully crafted book highlights rarely-seen works from the private collection. Accompanying images of the artworks are essays and an interview by Michael Danoff, Martin Margulies, and Katherine Hinds.   Please join us on Wednesday, November 28th from 5:00pm–8:00pm to celebrate the launch of the book.   All proceeds from book sales and admission will benefit the Lotus Village, a shelter for women and children dedicated to ending the cycle of homelessness in the Miami community.   Admission to event: $10 Book: $50   Refreshments.   RSVP: mcollection@bellsouth.net

 

EDITORIALS

 

>>> Mayor Suarez’s strong mayor proposal flawed should not allow outside income for either mayor or manager, not about him but future mayors, needs to explain financing of new home in the Grove

 

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’ push for a strong mayor an idea not about him. He says he wants a quick decision so that voters don’t have to pay $1.2 million for the Special election in Nov. is a canard. The issue is about the soul of the city, its charter that is constantly reviewed by a city Charter Review panel but the strong mayor form of government never passed muster with the panel over the years and the young commissioner a real estate attorney wants the power and the big bucks but will not  commit a strong mayor will not have outside employment and that is a big deal and is what many times gets officials arrested and can raise the ugly head that taxpayers interests could be at risk and conflict and he is lowering the good governance bar.

 

Further, it emerged recently that the Miami Manager has outside employment, but it is not known what that is, and residents should demand to know what that is and the fact. Suarez is not forthcoming on this issue flies in his claim for more transparency and open government and many of his past staffers are lobbyist pitching deals or zoning and his entourage are populating Dinner Key and there are several new staffers.

 

However, Suarez is diminishing the office’s gravitas with all the social network activity and the potential to become a reality star seems to be his plan and with his 75 percent win at his election. The telegenic mayor may feel he is recall proof and that is very dangerous for a politician though he punts with the phrase “let the voters decide while,” he sits on a few million PAC and campaign assets. For more go to:  https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article216436445.html

 

Further, with voter turnout in many elections in the 15 percent range this lack of participation by the electorate is a corrosive force. Early voting in state, judges and other races start Monday in Miami Dade and will you be participating for we get the government we deserve if voters do not exercise their right and is the bedrock of a democracy.

 

>>> Mayor Suarez needs to lead by example, and be careful who he hob nods with, city needs to tighten-up

 

New Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has a unique chance to change the permissive culture of the city where practically no Miami employee wears their city ID or carries cards. Further, city leaders have to tighten up with whom they associate with and if someone is a convicted felon one might want to steer clear because the mayor sets the tone of the administration and after the last few years things were very loose and who you knew versus your competency, was many times over rode and Miami residents deserve better and every city employee represents all and should never forget  that you are a public figure  and a public servant something many employees seem to forget.

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>>>

 

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years.

Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, the (FL)

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