"I hope people remember him for his pioneering ways rather than any of his misdeeds," is how one observer is quoted in today's Miami Herald front page obituary of Howard Gary, an African American and former city manager who found himself at the cross-roads of corrupt Miami politics more than once. "Howard was one of the finest public administrators in Miami's history," states attorney George Knox. He was, in Knox's words, "a consummate manager" who was also an FBI informant and tied to a bribery probe that put a county commissioner, James Burke, in jail. Gary was the city manager when the horrendous deal to build Bayside Marketplace was made, committing Miami's development center to turn its back from Biscayne Bay. He may well have been "the first" African American to "delve into public and private ventures" (Knox, again), but in doing so he represented the chop-shop politics that split the Anglo, African American, and Hispanic votes of the county commission according to the profit model of the development industry. Under this equation, incumbents in public office who were African American made their deals to take small cuts of the action-- whether at at Miami International Airport, the seaport, or Homestead Air Force Base-- in return for joining the Cuban American majority in approving deals driven by influential lobbyists who funneled cash to political campaigns. The entire region is now burdened by the result: the worst economy since the Depression. It would be wrong to tally the score without pointing out the role played by enablers.
2 comments:
Unfortunately, legacies are forfeited when you are perceived to be/are a criminal, whether it be Michael Jackson, Alex Daoud, Bernard Madoff, Pete Rose, OJ Simpson or Howard Gary. When you are tainted you lose all the good things you have done. All the above had quite a legacy but then they each lost it in the putrid cloud of corruption they each embraced. It is like poker. You win or you lose. There is no middle ground.
Anything corrupt that Howard Gary was accused of doing has never been proven in a court of law. Therefore, you cannot lump him with OJ, Pete Rose or the other criminals listed by "genius." Howard Gary was a very honorable man, a REAL genius; unlike the perpetrators of our generation. The people who really knew him (unlike genius & gimlet) knew he was a renaissance man who's talent & kindness was often exploited by others. He was ahead of his time and left us way to soon. His brilliant light is sorely missed...Let him rest in peace.
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