One of the questions raised by today's Miami Herald report, "Miami-Dade mayor's aide on paid leave had second job", is how a strong mayor, Carlos Alvarez, could afford to have his chief-of-staff away from County Hall during the worst budget crisis in Miami history. Today the website, Condo Vultures, reports that 223 residential foreclosures were filed per day in the last quarter, in the tri-county area, a 15 percent increase from the year earlier quarter. The scandals of the day involve public officials scamming local charitable organizations, but there is something about Panama.
Panama reminds me that former county officials, from the late Arthur Teele to then county commissioner Pedro Reboredo, all had "business" in Latin American countries. How they were paid and who paid them for what and where remains a mystery. Current county commissioner Pepe Diaz took a vacation, "gone fishing", from developer/lobbyist Sergio Pino in Mexico.
It is curious how many Miami-Dade lobbyists who become successful at County Hall re-brand themselves as consultants outside the US in Latin America (and Spain like Herman Echevarria). We mostly think of "flight capital" as what foreign nationals send to Miami to hide. But is there a form of bilateral trade going on between public officials and lobbyists and foreign nationals seeking influence here, who have secret reasons to do business in Panama, the Bahamas, or Antigua? Who keeps track of it all?
At the very least, it is extraordinarily poor judgment that lead a mayor whose career in law enforcement is a signal achievement to approve his chief-of-staff's moonlighting in Panama. There may be nothing to it, as the mayor's staff contends, but on the other hand this is Miami-Dade County, a climate nurturing a diversity of political nematodes.
10 comments:
"Political nematodes"; what a perfect name.
How many lobbyists have been able to penetrate the mayor's office since he has been there? Not many.
To hell with the Miami Herald and it's BS reports of the Mayor's office & staff.
Keep up the good work Mayor Alvarez.
You must be kidding, anonymous. Just because the mayor prefers to shower his friends, family, cronies and lovers with undeserved windfall from the county coffers (instead of lobbyists), it doesn't mean we should look the other way.
Oh hell. Just because they are not signing in at the front door on the 29th floor doesn't mean they aren't hanging out. His press lady has a sister who works for Ron Book. And he has others that are equally as hidden among his campaign people and staff relationships.
Are you kidding me??? Lobbyist control the 29th Floor.. It may not be as many lobbyist, but, Alvarez has his favorites, and whats worse, they are awarding contracts on a no-bid basis, through ordinances passed by the Commission that gives the Adminsitration discretion to doll out these stimulus dollars. The anon that said lobbyists do not control must be a member of the corupt Alvarez staff.
We need details. Send them to our email addresses.
With all of the high level police staff educating the
Panama Police Force, they must be the best informed cops in the hemisphere. I wonder if some of the training might not take place at an all inclusive resort maybe with some all inclusive chiquitas assisting. The strange code of conduct and silence which exists in the MIami Dade Police Department and many others perpetuates mistrust and suspicion by the public. Will this cycle ever be broken? Are the police contaminated by the nature and type of people they must deal with? Hiding statistics and keeping information from public eyes is not what we should expect from those sworn to uphold the law. Mayor Alvarez seems to have brought this pattern of behavior with him from the police department. He does not have a public inclusion effort in his administration. It is his Achilies heel.
Support for Alvarez IS and will always BE very high. Live with it.
- Then we will be electing Sosa as or next 'Strong Mayor'.
Watch and read - it will happen this way.
Last anon, I have no idea what polls you are looking at, but the polls I have show Alvarez with a less than 50% approval rating. You must be one of his preferred lobbyists, or an employee in his administration, or a friend.
Sosa as the "our" next "Strong Mayor" is quite frankly a joke!!!
Carlos Alvarez was conned by slick salesman David Samson and other sleazy lobbyists into agreeing to give over $3 Billion in taxpayer money to the privately owned Marlins. Yes, Alvarez is a chump.
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