It was an entertaining, civilized evening at the Urban Environment League dinner and panel discussion with seven candidates to be the next county commissioner of Miami-Dade District 8. Seven is a big number. It wasn't possible to have anything close to a debate. (Not with the sounds of a mariachi band coming in from next door and over the PA system.) Nevertheless, questions were well phrased and earnestly answered (see 10 video clips). It was possible to glean a sense of what each candidate might be like, were he or she to be elected to represent District 8. (click read more)
Katy Sorenson has held that commission seat since 1994. She ran back then as a mom in tennis shoes. Her election victory owed much to the calamity the incumbent, Larry Hawkins, brought on himself. Hawkins, then a Democratic operative, aspired to be a mover-and-shaker. He was the first county commissioner to conceive the plan to convert the Homestead Air Force Base, devastated two years earlier in Hurricane Andrew, into a gusher of political fortunes. (Notably, Terry Murphy--chief of staff to Natacha Seijas, the de facto chair of the county commission, worked in the same role for Hawkins.)
Voters didn't care that Sorenson had little experience in county politics. What Katy Sorenson demonstrated, in more than fifteen years on the county commission, is a steadfast-- even steely-- determination to vote along the lines of what is best for people and not the insiders who have dominated what we refer to on Eyeonmiami as the unreformable majority of the county commission. To Katy, it never mattered that she was routinely on the minority end of decisions; especially decisions relating to land use and sprawl. And it never mattered to me, as a supporter, that the lobbyists had given up calling on her long ago. With such strong majorities in their back pockets, what did they care about District 8?
There was one note that rang hollow to me, at least, in the UEL sponsored debate. The notion that the next District 8 county commissioner should 'reach out to all sides' as though there were any fair play in the way politics play out between county commissioners and the public. Of the seven candidates, I wonder which would be most like Katy Sorenson in independence from the unreformable majority. That candidate would have my support.
45 comments:
Very interesting evening. One candidate is too young and he will always be just a county employee. The other commissioners will eat him up.
The rabbi makes sence as they all do, I like him.
Bell knows the system and the county - and all the lobbyists.
*Quote: The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes. - Tony Blair
Remember that Linda.
Forget about Taddeo, nothing in there.
Albert I like but he was too sentimental, demonstrated too much emotion. We need someone that can stand up to the unreformable majority, have some guts, not sit there and cry.
Tough decision but I'm leaning towards anyone that is in favor of Term Limits.
Does anyone have any visuals (videos) of the event? It would be good to see and hear some of the interaction.
A few things I have to get out of the way first. True to the moderator's early comments about me earlier on this blog, I had never met Annette Taddeo before. I did last night. She WAS very nice, I have to admit. She's taller than I thought she would be. Very professional looking. Very businesslike.
But I had absolutely no idea what kind of night I was in for. I was literally taken aback at her level of ignorance on the issues. I mean, I almost felt sorry for her. I'm serious about this. She was horrendous!
Now, in all fairness, the UEL people DID NOT have their act together at all. The program was over an hour late in starting and that damn microphone! It was sooo bad that if I was heading the UEL orgnization, I would demand that the Rusty Pelican reduce my total bill by a few hundred dollars - Yes, the microphone situation was that bad!
Anyway, although there are a few 'nutjobs' running, like the Rabbi and Jason Culler (I knew what to expect from them). Needless to say they did not disappoint with their foolishness. Gene Flinn, Pamela Gray and Lynda Bell did very, very well. I was very impressed with their respective presentations - particularly Lynda Bell. But this must be said about these last 3 - they actually answered the questions they were given.
But Taddeo was ALL OVER THE PLACE last night. She stammered quite a bit (maybe because of the microphone, I don't know) but she went on and on about things that had no relevance to the subject at hand. One thing that annoyed me quite a bit was the fact that she would bring up an interesting subject like the County's watershed study and as she began her statement, she would stammer and go on to something else!!! Really annoying!
The only real thing I was really able to absorb is her support for adding 2 more at large Commissioners to the current 13. On this subject, I'm totally against her position. We have 13 politicos there now who can't get anything done and she wants to add 2 more to that pile? Really?! 2 At Large Commissioners means that they would run Countywide - can you imagine the amount of $$$ they would have to raise to get elected to THOSE seats? Think about it for a moment. It's tatamout to a County Mayoral race. Prompting people to ask - who's the real mayor of the County? Plus all the extra bureaucracy they would bring? Quite frankly, the idea is preposperous, especially during these times. Local governments all over the country are cutting back in almost every service they provide and here we have "Ms. Clueless" actually proposing to expand it! Ridiculous!
I think Taddeo is a nice person but she did a much, much better job while running for Congress. Maybe that's just it - she's not a 'local candidate', she's a Federal candidate. She should stick with that because by the performance she gave last night - local issues are simply way over her head.
I think AT LARGE commissioners are the way to go. I am in favor of two at large commissioners. As it stands now, only one commissioner can be removed by my vote: I would rather have 3. Parochial districts is a major problem for countywide health.
Lynda Bell's views are too conservative, I would not vote for her.
A question was asked from the audience about pro-choice in the context of Jackson Memorial Hospital. Was it a fair question? Lynda Bell's Presidency in the Miami Chapter of "Florida Right to Life" (defending human life against abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, embryonic stem cell research - they have a photo and dedication to Terry Schiavo on their website) prompted the question.
The answers were: Lynda Bell, Jason Culler and Albert Harum Alvarez are not pro-choice.
Because the Florida Legislature became involved in the Terry Schiavo case and now they have proposed a law requiring women to pay for sonograms and get a consult before being allowed to get an abortion and the fact that Lynda Bell lobbied the Governor for pro-life abortion appointees - makes this question relevant for me.
As long as government involves itself in personal issues, the election has to be about all the views of the candidates, thus, the question was rightfully asked.
just tell us who was a participant.
Candidates Attending were:
Lynda Bell, Jason Culler, Eugene Flinn, Pam Gray, Albert Harum-Alvarez, Annette Taddeo, Danny Marmorstein.
In response to the anonymous post that addressed Annette Taddeo: the writer says the only thing they were able to absorb was Taddeo's support for two at large commission candidates, a point the writer disagrees with. However, the same writer, who notes that Flinn, Gray and Bell did very well, fails to mention that they were also in favor of adding at large candidates.
The videos give a sense of body language: Lynda and Pam were strong & assertive, yet whispered between themselves and were not always respectful when others were speaking. Albert calmer and strong, yet feeling certain things very deeply, as someone else mentioned.
Gene talking about his daughters but seeming a bit scattered, Annette with a continually selfish focus and a poutiness, Jason very nervous and also very earnest, Danny at times enchanting the crowd with his personal vignettes. People seemed to like Danny the most.
The mostly liberal crowd was surprisingly receptive to Lynda. They liked Albert, but some were stunned by his opposition to abortion and his attempt at explanation. People either liked or disliked Pam. Not much in between there.
Quotable quotes: Lynda saying "Cut [expenses] from the top!" She may get some union votes for that one!!! Gene on abortion: "It's not MY choice, it's theirs." Albert saying "I've gotta represent the people who are different from me." That was a strong ending.
Biggest loser: Annette Taddeo, who seemed like she wanted to stay home, and maybe should have. Biggest winner: Danny Marmorstein, who really touched people. Don't know if he convinced them to VOTE for him, though.
Pam Gray and Lynda Bell were very good. Ho-hum on all the others.
This is not a personal attack but what does RTL have to do with a county commissioner? I thought the question was a plant, unnecessary and Bell was applauded for her position but it is not a county issue. Choice is the law of the land. I suppose the inquiry was to pit a conservative as a "seat crasher" not a smart question. I suppose federal immigration laws will be debated the next time.
Bell and Gray have excellent credentials in fighting for open space and against the development industry. Bell has even been sued by developers for her opposition down in Homestead. Their environmental records are both for an educated growth plan while keeping the environment safe from being paved over with asphalt.
Good luck ladies.
To the first anon, - "The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes." - Tony Blair
This is very true and former Mayor Lynda Bell did just that! She said NO to the developers who wanted to pave over Homestead and she paid a steep political price for it.
She is the only elected official that I know of who imposed a residential building moratorium right at the beginning of her term as the first woman Mayor of Homestead back in 2007 and how did she get paid back? She got "ganged up on" by a bunch of rich, greedy developers who bought and paid for opponent! She not only "held the line"- she drew a line!
I've learned over the years that special interests are like spoiled children, if they don't get everything they want, when they want it, they throw a tantrum or in this case - BUY AN ELECTION! Guess who's the new Mayor of Homestead? A DEVELOPER!
I like Mayor Bell for a number of reasons BUT when I learned what happened to her during her tenure as Mayor, I became a FAN!
I was there and saw a very interesting but LONG evening. Flinn and Bell were politicians and it was very obvious by their pride of being “Politicians”. The Rabbi was funny, but he obviously had to go to the internet to prepare for the Forum. At one point Taddeo had to correct him about the bed taxes being used for things not allowed when he was complaining about the Marlins stadium, although Taddeo said she was also against the stadium.
I am sick of hearing what the bed tax can't be used for it ain't true. You can use it for transit needs for tourists you can use it for a lot of related things. You can also change the paremeters for their use, if you try, they aren't written in stone.
Lynda Bell is a disaster. I hope no one votes for her. She treated us citizens in Homestead like dirt.
In response to the last anon, I believe that Flinn and Bell did very well and they should be very proud about who they are.
They have taken strong stands and have stood for election before their fellow citizens. They should be proud of the records they've earned - Folks, it's not as easy as it looks!
To the last anon, Define dirt - perharps you're not one of the folks who does not enjoy the 8 parks she renovated and/or created during her term as Mayor.
Or maybe you're one of the folks that had to be let go for not doing their jobs like you're supposed to. Remember, Lynda Bell did away with a lot of "botellas" or do nothing city jobs that regular politicos are so fond of handing out when they get power.
Maybe that's why you're upset. If this is the case, I can understand why you're bitter, but it's no reason not to vote for her. She at least did her job.
Genius find the videos on Homestead is Home so people will know what Bell does to citizens. Also with her conservative views how does she stand on gay rights? They don't procreate - that couldn't be something she supports. She is against stem cell research -- what if that came up at Jackson?
She sure isn't Katy!
I'm not Genius, but started wandering through from 2007. Here's a real Gem!
http://homesteadishome.blogspot.com/2007/12/sunshine-law-violation-committee.html
I haven't gone through enough to get to the whole confederate flag BS. I will later.
And, as to the moretorium - umm, when she was one the Council, before she became anti developer, her voting record was less than stellar. The moretorium was smoke & mirrors because everything that had been approved prior to didn't get affected.
Be careful what you wish for Dist. 8 - check voting records and old articles. There's a whole chunk of stuff out there on why I wouldn't personally support Bell.
Doing good deeds after allowing 100's of acres of land to be paved over doesn't fly for me.
Katy never got any support for her ideas. Oopsie daisy, is that the real reason she is leaving?
Have an idea, lay it out seek support by accepting some changes and input move it through the process. Seems simple Katy never did it, the my way or the highway needs retooling. Bell, Flinn and Gray seem to know that.
To last anon, you obviously have info we don't know about.
Instead of 'Genius' doing the work for you, why don't you pull the videos yourself and post the links for all of us to see. Let us judge for ourselves. Show us how bad "how bad" Lynda is. It's only fair - you made the charge - tag, you're it - now prove it
As a County Commissioner, Lynda Bell would have no power to tell Jackson what to in regards to abortion and stem cells or the FDLE how to profile illegal immigrants.
If she runs for Congress or the State House, then these points are good to ask. Otherwise, it's just 'gotcha' politics and not relevant on to this race.
I saw the videos from the link you posted and as I recall, that discussion was about the Council's responsibility to fill a vacant council seat.
The issue was deadlocked because the Council could not reach a decision. The process began anew for a new Councilmember.
The 2nd video is about Mayor Bell issuing Committee assignments.
She issued chairmanships to the Councilmembers that are loyal to her - OK! OK! You got her!
Gee, I wonder if Bateman has any of Bell's people assigned to important committees? Not holding my breath on that one.
Thank you for providing the links to these videos but they are far from being "gems" - real snoozers, if you ask me.
Someone above noted that the outgoing commissioner was a my way or the highway kind of person when it came to input. Lynda Bell, in my personal experience is just that ! She has absolutely NO respect whatsoever for any difference of opinion, whether that difference is reasonable. The RTL question is valid and very telling. She was a two term pres of the Florida RTL and its website proudly proclaims that no one should be elected ( to any office) who thinks abortion should be allowed. This is a strong indicator of Bells outlook, no respect, no compromise and once you cross her, she never forgives or forgets. There is no working with her once you get on her wrong side. This will mesh well with the vile one but will not serve the people of District 8. When the people of Homestead voted her out in favor of a multiple loser with a horrible reputation, that tells you something about Bell and that something is to stay away, do not be fooled. BTW, her closet friend and financial backer is a huge part of the rock mining industry... I'm just saying....
Again, lots of accusations about Lynda Bell but no proof.
One blogger posted that she's against gay rights and is intolerant. Well, one of her sisters IS GAY. She has never smeared anyone or a group, particularly when she is so close to the subject. But go ahead, bring us proof of her hatred for this group and her so-called - "intolerance".
Another blogger tries to protray her as a pro-developer "pave over Homestead" politician before she became Mayor. Well, this got me thinking...If she was soo pro-development, then why, after so many years of siding with these people, would she burn her bridges and "do the right thing" by going to the extreme and issuing a residential building moratorium when she became Mayor?
If she is soo pro-development, then explain to me why under her tenure as Mayor did she renovate and/or create from 6 to 8 parks all completed or in the process of being completed with no cost overuns? To me, that's pretty damm green! But that's just me.
Some other "person" charged that she sold out Homestead to the Mayor of Sweetwater. Well, let's take a look at that. Why would she "sell out" her own city to give official business to someone far from here? Could it be that maybe she opened up the bidding process to ALL instead of just the 'good 'ol boy' network used to getting what they want and that the Sweetwater Mayor's bid was the lowest one? This proves to me that she's a good steward of the people's money.
Another 'brain surgeon' posted that she fired a lot of people because she is such an angry bitch. Really? Or is it maybe the fact that this city is so corrupt that she got rid of the many "botellas" or do nothing-jobs that soo many politicians are so fund of handing out to their cronies once they get power. I could certainly understand why these people would be angry at her. After all, if you were fired for doing nothing, wouldn't you be angry as well? I'M ANGRY that for so many years I had to pay for so many 'do nothings' with my tax dollars until she got in.
And please tell me why I have to learn from a candidate for County Commission, Lynda Bell, and not MY OWN Commissioner, that the County Agency in charge of promoting Small Businesses with a portion of my property taxes, DOES NOTHING of what it's supposed to do but collects my money just the same. I would love to hear an explanation to this one. And why hasn't Annette Taddeo, the great "champion" of small business she claims to be, go before the County and raise HELL over this issue - oh yeah, that's right, she was busy trying to be a Congresswoman, to hell with small business.
The fact of the matter is that Lynda Bell got bullied by a bunch of rich developers (the very people this blog rails against) who didn't get what they wanted raised over $150K to smear her and ran her out of office for one of their own. We all know, that $$$ talks - well, in Homestead we all know that $$$ SCREAMS. Gee, look, everything is back again to what it was before - a scandal a month municipality in the Banana Republic we all live in.
Lynda Bell lost her job for one reason and one reason only - SHE DID HER JOB!
Hellllooooo? No one from Homestead government background is going to get elected to represent District 8. Ain't gonna happen, foreclosure capital of the United States.
That's right! No one from Homestead government - WITH A CORRUPT RECORD will ever get elected to the County. Thank you!
You bet Homestead is the foreclosure capital of the U.S. - HMMM...could this have anything to do with WHY Lynda Bell imposed a building moratorium right after she got sworn-in as Mayor way back in 2007? Don't stress yourself thinking too hard for the answer - it's an easy one. It was the right thing to do! Pure and simple!
To me that's leadership and forsight. All the more reason to take a serious look at her and consider her a serious candidate.
The truth is that the 8 or 9 "new" parks Lynda Bell keeps trying to take credit for were in existence before Lynda Bell ever moved to Homestead and the renovations were planned, funded and started BEFORE she became the Mayor. This work was done through impact fees collected upon the issuance of building permits during the boom. No cost over-runs ? Dont know about that but I do know that the new Sr Center was built without one phone line being in the plans. These plans were sent back to the drawing board during her tenure and no one in city government, not one contractor, not one sub contractor, not one building inspector ever said, hey wait a minute, did you know there are no plones in this building.Yes, blah blah blah blah, we know Bell supposedly reduced the building budget by a half a million but that is not hard to do in a govt contract, so saying she did it without cost over runs, while true, is just a "little " misleading. She gave an open ended sidewalk repair/ replace contract to her good friends in the rock mining business.
It is obvious some of these comments are coming from competing campaigns and people holding grudges. Let's be civil and stay with facts. I think commenters were curious as to whether Bell would be intolerant of gay issues because of her background in the right to life movement. I thought that was a valid question since she could be voting on some gay issue if she becomes a commissioner. Readers, Homestead is a hotbed of strange politics keep that in mind.
Regarding Taddeo, she may have been distracted by all the reported microphone problems? I saw her at debates in the past during her run for congress and she was very good. Just because a candidate does not know all the facts about issues does not matter as much as her ability to stand for what she believes and to be on the side of the citizens. it is our job to make sure elected officials, and candidates for that matter, know all the details but we expect that they are interested in supporting the people, not special interests. I think she will make a great commissioner - she is not a career politician like others in the race.
"Just because a candidate does not know all the facts about issues does not matter as much"
WOW! You just gave everyone here a very good reason NOT to vote for Annette! Keep it up!
I tend to agree with this:
Anonymous said...
"Just because a candidate does not know all the facts about issues does not matter as much"
It is early. There is a lot to learn, and many issues. The issues at the Urban Environment League are very specific and relate to Smart Growth. This is sometimes not on a candidate's radar. Maybe the Forum will have put growth issues front and center for them, and next time they can answer the questions intelligently. For example, watershed plan question: I went to meetings about it for YEARS, how do you expect someone to learn that quickly? You might have hoped they had some interest prior to a forum since they live in the County -- but everyone can't be up on every issue.
Well, Genius, I guess we can all deduce from the above post who you're supporting...
Glad you know who I am supporting because I don't.
Anonymous said...
That's right! No one from Homestead government - WITH A CORRUPT RECORD will ever get elected to the County. Thank you!
No they appoint them directly to county manager.
To the last anon, I have to give it to you, you're so very right!
And who were THE ONLY 2 Homestead Councilmembers who opposed the infamous Steve Shiver at EVERY TURN? Lynda Bell and Steve Losner, that's who! Everyone else just rolled over to Mayor Shiver's will.
But I guess it dosen't matter if you try to do good things when you're in public office down here -if you're from Homestead, you're just one corrupt, inbred, yee haaw, right?
Sorry Pam Gray, you're from Homestead too, so I guess there's no chance of you getting elected either if this crowd has its way.
Talk about sterotyping. (and from Democrats, no less. How hypocritical)
I am saying all the candidates should have a chance but you Homestead people are making my blood boil. Cool it.
I apologize to you, Genius, and to the rest of your bloggers. Sometimes, politics gets the best of me.
Again, my apologies.
You want some one fresh who is not beholden to anyone...but then you want someone who knows all the issues. Only the politicians will know the issues. The newcomers can learn the issues. GoD
is right. Give them a chance or you might as well elect Lynda Bell as she has been a local politician long enough to KNOW most of the issues. And she would be last on my list of who to elect.
The same could be said about Mayor Flinn. He's been long enough in local politics to know the issues -so much so that he helped establish a Village.
He's a total insider. He even has County Mayor Carlos Alvarez' South Dade Aide, Chis Himmel, helping him run his campaign. He is so confident of victory that he has had the audacity to tell quite a number of people that Flinn's the Mayor's candidate!
Talk about having big ones! You can't get more "insider" than that.
Quite frankly, anyone that Mayor Alvarez' supports, I'm against. Unless Flinn clears this up, I will not consider voting for him. I don't want Alvarez' "stooge" serving as my Commissioner.
Thanks to the UEL for hosting the evening; a very
important one.
You must look at credentials and experience. When
you do, you will see that Pam Gray has it all, hands
down.With a strong background in finance, construction, real estate and business she is no
hot house lady; she's been in the trenches and knows how to get things done. She reads the things that come before her before she votesd on them. She was s bond trader on the Chicago Board of Trade and with First Boston. She dealt in IPO's -Initial Public Offerings. You don't live in the world of finance unless you are hitting on all cylinders. She is a trained negotiator. This lady rocks. I don't see any other candidate with her background.
Chris Himmel, what a dork ! I would be afraid to ask what he makes, or more importantly, what does he does to earn that pay ?! My experience is that most who meet him do not care for him but he gets in the door because he works for the Almighty Mayor.
Lynda Bell was and is a disaster. He video on the urban league is so played out. I know her inside and out and its her way or highway, no morals, integrity and she does not care for anything but perks. she even did a radio show in fluent spanish,but guess again, it was wendy lobos posing as mayor. she got the boot because she used people, attacked people personally and if you did not like what she tells u to say well ur treated like garbage. she will do things underhanded and takes credit for things she should not take credit for. voting for her is like voting all over for anything but the truth. she plays dirty and pretends to be a church goer, looks good on resume, but she will wish u harm. get in her way. she dont care if right or wrong as long as she benefits, what a disater, need to get this out asap
To the last anon, you can say anything you want about anybody in the blogs - without accountability.
But the voters want and deserve more than just "hot air". If Lynda Bell is so intolerant? Show us.
If Lynda Bell is so anti-environment? Show us.
If Lynda Bell is soo pro-development? Show us - this one will be hard to prove since the record shows that while she was council woman and Vice Mayor, she made a motion to issue the infamous building moratorium on 4 seperate occassions and NEVER got it seconded.
Gee, could this be the real reason DEVELOPERS and ONLY DEVELOPERS got together, raised a ton of $$$ to get rid of the "intolerant one"?
I have heard from a number of people that the last Homestead Council meeting was a real doosy - people came close to fist fighting and even the police had to get involved - You can't blame that one on Lynda Bell
See, you can fire off your mouth in the blogs all you want like a 5th grader but the smart adults in the room EXAMINE THE REOCRD!
Wow, I guess I AM smarter than a 5th Grader!
Not smarter than a 5th grader but certainly as annoying.
LOL,
I do know that Lynda could eat constituents and spit them out just for sport. Actually, she doesn't even realize how nasty she can be, scary even.
Why am I so annoying, Genius?
Because I try to defend someone who was railroaded by powerful special interests, has a decent evironmental record, kept every promise she made to the residents of her city and for the 2 years she was Mayor, she saved her constituents millions of tax dollars?
She tried to break the 'good ol boy' network that chokes so many municipalities, drains us of our public coffers and earned us the very well-deserved reputation of being a "Banana Republic" and what does she get in return - She gets BOUGHT OUT - pure and simple.
She lives up to most of the ideals you proclaim on your very own masthead and instead of being praised for her efforts, she gets dismissed by the moderator.
Nice, real Nice.
But forget about me, serious commentaries have been made against Lynda Bell. That's OK, its all part of the Democratic process - but you should urge your bloggers to "Show Me the Beef" against this so-called "disaster" so that the voters of District 8 make up their own minds based on her record and not make their decisions purely out of speculation and inuendo.
Eye on Miami is better than that - I still think that. Let's get the debate going. It's time for the grown-ups to do the talking now.
I call you annoying and I am dismissing your candidate? Your comments are annoying, the one you just left is further proof.
But since you have baited me when I was trying to remain neutral:
Lynda has to overcome one glaring belief where she differs from the voters in this district-- that issue is very important to the liberal voters in this district. That will be her challenge. Can she do it? Especially since she wrote to the Governor asking him to reject judges based on her belief. Will her belief spill over to other aspects of government? Will she use the bully pulpit to further her belief? That is where her challenge is. To convince voters that it won't. She hasn't convinced me. The letter to the governor on the judges is a giant problem for me. GIANT!
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