The transit fiasco in Miami-Dade, reported this weekend by The Miami Herald, begins: "It was Nov. 1, 2002, four days before a historic election aimed at reshaping the transit landscape in Miami-Dade County, and a backroom deal was quietly being cemented at County Hall. What (voters) didn't know: Just before the election, then-Transit Director Danny Alvarez and then-County Manager Steve Shiver inked that secret deal with a powerful labor union that had campaigned hard for the tax. ... County commissioners never voted on it. Even former Mayor Alex Penelas, who spearheaded the 2002 campaign, said in a May interview that he was unaware of the agreement his transit director and county manager had cut."
Hmmm. 2002. It reminded me of a story Jim Defede wrote for Miami New Times on Shiver: "Introduction to Ethics." Here's a little taste of what Defede had to say (and too bad he doesn't still say it, for either the New Times or the Herald):
"On Friday, February 15, Steve Shiver will attend a course on ethics. (Insert your own joke here. Let me get you started with a couple of easy ones: "Hey, Martha, get the skates. Looks like Hell is about to freeze over!" or "Steve Shiver taking a class in ethics? What's next, hookers going to school to restore their virginity?") Shiver should have taken this class a year ago when he became county manager. Instead he blew it off. It was only after the Miami Herald published a front-page story last month noting Shiver's failure to undergo ethics training -- a requirement for all new county employees -- that he finally agreed to put in an appearance."
Defede goes on, revealing the content of some Shiver emails: ""I am really excited about 2002," (Shiver) wrote in a message to employees at the beginning of the year. "We must be able to create a working environment that promotes enthusiasm, creativity, and the sense of being part of a true team. To do this, each one of us must commit to certain principles that we embrace every single day of the year." Later he added, "I am very committed to Miami-Dade County, as are all of you. So day, night, or weekends my door is always open. Let's make this the year that Miami-Dade County Government becomes known as the most user-friendly, progressive government in America."
"I do think there is a stigma with the constant association of employees with a lack of ethics," (Shiver) declared. "I truly believe there's a fundamental good in people, that there is a basic code of what's right and what's wrong. I'm focusing on the 99 percent of the employees that are working hard and not focusing on the 1 percent that give us a bad name."
Defede concludes, "Shiver will never understand that he's part of the 1 percent. Let's just hope the other 99 percent don't allow themselves to be fooled by the pretender in their midst."
That was in January, 2002. Some good that ethics class did.
7 comments:
Shiver and ethics is to good government, as drunk tanker captains and oil are to Prince William Sound.
Funny thing how the PTP scam failure to add routes and corridors comes back to Shiver and Penelas.
And their developer buddies still want zoning changes in farmland.
Shiver needed a year to clear drugs out of his system!
Why, is he applying for a job in law enforcement?
Shiver refused the urine test for at least 3 months. At time he should have been scheduled, the county urine test was the most humilating experience you can imagine. You stripped and were given a gown and walked to a clean bathroom to make sure you don't have help or contraband urine. A nurse type person escorted and stood outside the door. Heaven help you if you had a shy bladder. His must have been really shy.
Snort, snort. Sniffle.
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