Sunday, January 28, 2007

Race Relations and the Strong Mayor by geniusofdespair

I got this comment to my Jan. 27th blog from Anonymous about how the strong mayor vote dilutes minority voices:
"This is a long running debate in urban-power analysis. What is for sure, without a coalition of like minded groups blacks/African-Americans interests are not considered. Looking at the vote for strong-mayor one can see that the inclusion of others outside of Hispanics are not really needed to carry an election in Miami and thus blacks/African-Americans are marginal."

My Answer to Anonymous: (I don't often get serious...so don't expect this a lot.)
And Anglos too for that matter are marginal. Their vote was almost split down the middle. However, are not homosexuals marginal? Are not the Jewish marginal? Isn't everyone different from Hispanic marginal then, under your definition? So what do we do... I think a Hispanic-- especially with the character of Alvarez -- can represent me and I am not Hispanic. I have no doubt that a black could represent me, and I am not black. I have no doubt that a homosexual could represent me and I am not homosexual. It is the character of the person we elect that matters. Isn't that what Martin Luther King said in the "I Have a Dream Speech," - his dream was that we should get to a point where people are judged by their character not by the color of their skin.

If the black/African Americans in District 2 can let a Commissioner like Dorrin Rolle stay in office it is hard to sympathize with a community. I don't have answers but the system is broken. Dorrin Rolle throws crumbs to the community. CRUMBS!! Two words: Scott Housing. What a mess! And the Barbara Jordan/Mayor Wallace/Sandy Walker thing doesn't give me any hope for that seat. And what the hell is Edmonson doing? I have not seen any good votes -- she is not a Carey Schuler.

Is it better to keep an incompetent in office just because he or she is the right color, the right sex, the right religion? We have to demand more than "like" looking or "like" ethnic. Somehow we appear to have a good mayor. He seems honest. I didn't vote for him. But I like him. I didn't vote for Crist but he is looking good too. We should open up our mind that some people will surprise us in a positive way and can represent us all -- wouldn't that be nice? I do believe that someone like Souto is racist against non-Cubans he has said as much and it goes without saying: Natacha Seijas is. If he or she were the Hispanic strong mayor -- I would surely worry. But there are bad eggs in every religion, race, ethnic group, and in Texas (At least I think so strongly on that one).

However, after all this I say: the outcome of the strong mayor vote is going to pretty much be a disaster because I can see already that the commissioners are not going to make amends. They will fight and restructure and pass laws until they are blue in the face to get back at the Mayor and the voters and spend our tax money to do it. They are a vindictive lot. When Gimenez put up that legislation (one of the saner commissioners) to limit Miami Dade Police from investigating Public Corruption, I knew all would be lost -- they would never stop. I predicted GRIDLOCK and that is what we will get. I prefer gridlock to bad action. So I will be happy.

If Rolle didn't get re-elected I might not have supported the strong mayor. Rolle was my pivot point. Rolle's re-election solidified my resolve to do something drastic. And now I will work for term limits. DRASTIC times call for drastic measures.

P.S. I would be more worried about the insidious re-segregation by charter school if I were you! That is my worry.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rolle is particularly awful. That JESCA audit by the school board was horrific. He and his pals are milking the system.

Anonymous said...

Rolle and Jordan are prime examples of why I believe the "black marginalization" argument doesn't hold any water. They don't represent the people of their constituencies -- they only care about themselves. Edmonson is starting to show to be of similar ilk.

Geniusofdespair said...

Thank you milly and anonymous people...i was trying to start a dialogue on a subject the herald seems afraid to really explore...this vote cracked it wide open.

Geniusofdespair said...

MAD THIS MORNING: In the paper today Dim Barreiro -- going against the Commissions own rules of not having the same commissioner chair the same committee for more than 2 terms: Just changed the name of the committee to keep the vile Natacha Seijas as chair. That sucks. AND YOU WONDER WHY WE SUPPORTED THE STRONG MAYOR...YOU SUCK THAT'S WHY. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I HATE THE COMMISSION!!!

Anonymous said...

It all comes back to accountability, as the previous strong mayor arguments illuminated. The representation by commissioners largely goes unchecked as is- just look at the dismal percentage of actual voters going to the polls (15% tops). And as G.O.D. pointed out: inaction and blocking by the commission may be better than poor or damaging action by the unchecked commission as before. Public awareness of the existence of the commission and what tasks they perform still may trump the significance of the group's actual ethnic breakdown. Until people begin to hold their officials accountable and become more engaged, regarldess of other factors, business as usual will rule the day. Very good to discuss these difficult issues, kudos on the discussion.

Anonymous said...

8:45 comment reposted with a change in typo...as per request of comment maker:

milly herrera said...
Why do we continue to base politics on ethnic background in Miami-Dade county? What the different people of Miami-Dade county should do is unite. The politicians take advantage of us being divided. When you have a good commissioner or local council person who's willing to do the right thing, the rotten ones gang up on him or her and representing the people becomes a challenge - this happens regardless of who they are.

Instead of dividing oursevles, let's meet and build a united coalition between us to help each other and become stronger as a single unified group. Doing this, we can also lend a helping hand to our friends in neighboring communities when needed, and vice-versa. This equals more power to the people.

If Mayor Carlos Alvarez were an African-American, I would have still voted for the strong mayor. I voted this way because I felt that the county manager had too much power and is not elected by the people, while most of the county commissioners forgot to represent the will of the people.

I am Cuban, but I have a strong interest in black history and would love to see the black communities thriving. In fact, one of my papers for an undergrad course I took at FIU several years ago was a historical account on the education of blacks in the south. I have always also believed in the teachings of Martin Luther King and admire his plight for his people.

When we think about the things that affect us, we should be thinking as Americans and not a specific ethnic background.

Elected officials, regardless of their ethnic background, have the responsibility to represent us all. Regardless of their designated districts, our county commissioners are representing us all, because the decisions they make as a majority are for the county as a whole.

Again - let's unite and not divide!

Milly Herrera
Hialeah, Florida

Anonymous said...

I have a question that has never been answered....... WHY Won't Miami Dade voters support term limits for the Miami Dade County Commission?

I believe term limits have been terrible for Florida as it is applied in State Government. However, where the real problems are is local county government. I can not understand why the voters would support term limits at the state level and NOT at the local (County)level.

Anonymous said...

by Truly Blue

While Mayor Carlos Alvarez has done things that I applaud, he was not my choice for mayor, nor is he even today. It isn't because he is Cuban but because he is a Republican who supported almost every Republican up the State-wide election ticket. I am quite sure he will do the same during the 2008 presidential election.

Mayor Alvarez doesn't know how to be a politician and build constituencies among the various ethnic groups of the community because his training is as a cop. He is used to giving orders and people responding. It is all black and white to him.

Politics is not black and white, there is lots of gray area and most of that is navigated by people who have talent in negotiation. Mayor Alex Penelas played the game better because he grew up knowing he wanted to be a politician. When he wanted to change the government, he designed and campaigned for those changes. When he wanted to get the support of his commission, he built alliances and got the votes to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish.

Mayor Alvarez on the otherhand is bullying his way through these years, because he cannot make the commission understand that his priorities ought to be the commissions priority.

Many have talked about all poitics being local and I agree, which is why I believe that every community must find better, more representative leaders.

Comm. Dorrin Rolle won because big lobbyists financially supported his re-election and gave him the wherewithall to defeat his opponents. Phillip Brutus may be smarter intellectually than Rolle, but Brutus ran an awful campaign. Comm. Rolle raised the money from lobbyists and developers to bankroll his way back into the hearts and minds of African Americans defending their seat from the Haitian.

I am sorry that Genius of Despair decided to support the strong mayor resolution based on Comm. Rolle's win. Now Genius intends to support term limits too.

I firmly believe that term limits further marginalize talented people, especially ethnic office holders and women, right out of office with no where else to serve.

The biggest issue at hand is diversifying elected officials by recruiting and electing better people to office.

If we had more nurses and chiropracters in office, health policies would represent broader interests statewide and nationwide, don't you think?

If we elected more women, policy would represent women's and children's interests in a more balanced way, don't you think?

If we elected more accountants and owners of small businesses, legislation would make more fiscal sense, don't you think?

If we elected more public school teachers, funding for schools and successful education programs would be a given, don't you think? Florida would improve from 49th in the country for funding of education.

How much democracy can we afford? How can we continue to hold elections with machinery and programming that lose votes?

It is time to get it together and to find better people across the board of every ethnicity, gender, economic status, orientation, ability, age etc. to run for and win elected positions. There are so many to chose from, like dog catcher to city commission, state representative, Governor, Congress and even to President.

I implore the readers of this blog to think big picture. It is imperative to further restrict campaign contributions first.

Readers think about running or encouraging bright, upstanding people you know to decide to run for office and to start campaigning early.

There is no time like the present to get organized.

Geniusofdespair said...

last anonymous: Maybe we have to give the term limits our support. I think you are right. There are term limits for the mayor why not the commissioners. I think Term Limits are the way to go.

Geniusofdespair said...

to truly blue: you said
The biggest issue at hand is diversifying elected officials by recruiting and electing better people to office.
I say: Yawn.
you try and find the "better people" that will run with no money. No way to win --truly blue. can you spell f-a-n-t-a-s-y

Anonymous said...

The local solution is three-fold.

Restrict campaign contributions and have that take effect. Then, enact term limits for county commissioners and finally, pay them accordingly.

Commission pay should be coordinated with the enactment of campaign contribution restrictions without grandfathering any sitting commissioner. Make them all run again under a new system.

Geniusofdespair said...

love it last anonymous...how to???

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a plan! How would we get around the petition thing? How would get them to decide give up the money for reelection?

Anonymous said...

well... the election reform would be at the state level.

the rest comes from dade county voters.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget at the state level Miami-Dade has it's own rules. MD's home rule charter is part of the Florida constution.