Back to Bruno by Geniusofdespair

Bruno says to the New Times, about the Vile Natacha Seijas: "Under no circumstances does she influence my decisions." Sure.

In Bruno the Absent columnist Francisco Alvarado says that when Bruno Barreiro was in the legislature he was known as "el mudo"("the mute"). Not exactly a vote of confidence in the ability of the most powerful politician in Miami Dade County: The County Commissioner Chair. (Also see my post yesterday).

What gets my goat in this article is that the county is paying almost $29,000 in rental fees for Bruno’s district office (about $2,416 a month) to his mother and his father. How does something like that happen? Well, here is how, the County makes up some inane stupid law that makes no sense and it only applies narrowly to them. As Alvarado reports (I am going to bold and color what you should really pay attention to):

“Strangely it's all legal. In 2000 the county commission conveniently amended Miami-Dade's conflict of interest and ethics ordinance, giving commissioners immunity from conflict of interest rules if the cost of the goods or service represented 80 percent or less of fair market value. Still, leasing office space from your mommy and daddy on taxpayers' dime is probably not the smartest way to build public trust, opines Robert Jarvis, an ethics law professor at Nova Southeastern University. "If his parents really wanted to help [Barreiro] provide the community a service, you have to wonder why they didn't offer the space for free..."

Further:

“Barreiro concedes that using his office funds to rent space from his parents raises an ethical dilemma. But, he notes, the county hired an independent appraiser to verify that taxpayers weren't getting screwed. The county paid $10.71 per square foot to the Barreiros, who could have leased the space at $13.50, according to the report by the Hollywood, Florida-based real estate appraisal firm J.B. Alhale and Associates Inc. "This was not a sweetheart deal by any means," Barreiro said.”

Give me a break Bruno! This deal stinks and it gets my ICK designation. You should just let your parents rent the office at $13.50 a square foot to strangers.

Why did you make the new loophole law, why not be more ethical than you have to be and why on earth don’t you be a man and go out on your own?