Commissioner Linda Haskins, according to the Anemic Herald, raised $729,000. She got 1,943 votes -- and lost the election. That comes out to $375 a vote. I am sure many people would have voted for her if she gave them that $375. That could buy some nice Holiday gifts. If she ran on: Free Ipod for your vote, well, we would be looking at different results. Sarnoff’s $182,000 netted him 3,524 votes which translates to $51 a vote. That couldn’t even buy a 1/3 of an Ipod Nano. Usually money can buy you an election in Miami-Dade County. All I can say to this exception to the rule: these must have been some pretty angry voters! Watch City of Miami politics: Sparks will be flying.
The 15.08% voter turnout was indeed awful. Who are all these people who register and never vote? I would like to meet some of them. Probably dead. When calling voter roles of 4’s and 5’s (voted in last 4 or 5 elections), there are many people in their 80’s and 90’s who are MIA. They must be skewing the numbers.
In Miami Beach the runoff turnout was even worse: 9%! NINE PERCENT! And that is just 9% of voters, not the entire population.
11 comments:
9%? Are you talking about the fat content in milk?
The sad thing is that Linda Haskins is a smart lady and as chief financial officer of the City of Miami she did some good things. Just look at the upgrade the City got on its bond rating from S&P and Moody's. However, her strong ties to Manny Diaz worked against her. She would have done better in the votes if she had gone the Charlie Crist way by not appearing with our unpopular Prez. But as she said in the debate sponsored by the BBT, "I love Manny Diaz". That did her in. The people who care enough to vote in District 2 obviously don't.
Linda ? Smart?
Well she has no ethics that's for sure!
If the bond companies did their due diligence they would have found some "discrepancies" with the information provided by the City.
Marc Sarnoff won because people like him and they like his quality of life platform.
There was also an anti-Haskins vote. Many people thought she was a bit loco. And there was an anti-Manny Diaz vote. Many people are disgusted at the fire fee fiasco, the no-bid contracts to Manny's best friend and Manny's general desire to pave everything.
I must say the Haskins/Diaz expensive campaign operatives must be mighty embarrassed. They got crushed by a group of volunteers.
There are good reasons Linda Haskins spent a fortune, received the Herald endorsement and she still got hammered 35% to 65%.
Linda Haskins had problems. She just moved to Miami within the past year. She had no history of ever doing any volunteer work for any Florida cause. She had a vicious temper. She would lie to voters. We hope she leaves the City of Miami for good.
Haskins was a nasty piece of work.
Haskins seems to be motivated by power, with not much of a record for being a good steward for the public. She wanted but was not selected to be the City Manager after Joe Arrola left, so she took the only other position of power, replacement for Commissioner after Winton's removal from office.
Haskins had a terrible platform. She appeared to have little or no understanding of Dist 2. Dist 2 residents are well educated and successful. Haskins was offering them affordable housing and help with the Gumbay Festival. Haskins also offered more over development. That was the last thing Dist 2 people wanted. Then when it came out that Haskins demanded to be driven around in a taxpayer paid SUV and taxpayer paid driver her ignorance was too glaring. Off to the private sector for her.
Linda Haskins demanding the taxpayer paid SUV and driver was too much. We hope she never returns.
Now in late December 2006 we learn Linda Haskins used the Dist 2 bank account as a piggy bank to pay some of her campaign workers in her losing campaign. Very low class.
These same staffers, who received $25,000 of the tax payers money thanks to Linda Haskins, also stripped the Dist 2 office of pens, pencils, all files and all the TV's. Very low class.
What happened to Basil Binns? He took $5,000. For what? He is still on the City payroll. And overpaid Frank Balsebre? He took money too...
Marc Sarnoff continues to win praise for championing quality of life issues.
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