I knew Diaz de la Portilla, then, and worked hard with him as a civic leader to pass initiatives that threatened to arrange the deck chairs on Miami-Dade's development Titanic. The 2/3rds requirement for county commission votes on zoning passed in 1993. It was Diaz de la Portilla's signature initiative. Developers were apoplectic that instead of a simple majority, that they would have to marshall 2/3rd support to change underlying zoning on land use. The battle turned County Hall into a circus and engaged hundreds of citizens in turnouts at the county commission. (Javier Souto's vote that sealed the deal in one of his finest demonstrations of meandering elocution.) This was long before the housing boom, although its pieces were all laid out for the public at the time. The Latin Builders Association was furious with Diaz de la Portilla. I can still recall them storming out of the County Chamber in a black cloud when it was clear they had lost. Things change.In recent years, I watched Miguel Diaz de la Portilla savagely berate a citizen at a CDMP hearing at an Urban Development Boundary hearing. These days he shows up on the side of development teams organized to move the UDB. Today they contribute the maximum to his campaign. Moderate? Once upon a time, Diaz de la Portilla could freely articulate everything that is wrong and upside down about Miami-Dade's development Titanic. What is in the heart of Miguel Diaz de la Portilla? Does anyone know?
11 comments:
I liked Miguel at one time as well. The dark side has consumed him.
Miguel also gave us Community Councils so the local people had a chance to fight bad development. I once admired him but when he went to the dark side he did it in a big way. I long ago stopped admiring him and now I am repulsed by him. What happened to ya Micky D?
Famous statement (I will paraphrase, but you can dig it up in a public hearing transcript): ...it's not a question of running out of water, it's a question of how much we are going to pay for it (or where we are going to get it from)...or something like that.
I think he was referring to desalinization. I thought it was the understatement of the decade.
ps....pretty handsome, great smelling cologne, expensive suits
Its all about the expensive suits? Gotta keep up appearances.
Some people will sell their souls for money...this is one of them.
Miguel is a thief!!!!
The shame of it all, is once, Miguel was for the people, now he's not. I watched the same CDMP hearing where he tried to shred anyone opposing Ferro. He almost assaulted the PAB Chair via stepping in to the well until she asked him to step back.
If this is any prelude as to how he plans on conducting office, I'll pass!
I recently had the misfortune to see Miguel and Carla Savola in action at a community council meeting. They were both sarcastic, disrespectful and so obviously "bought". Not the type of people we want representing us!
Does he just think everyone else is stupid?
I don't think he gives a you know what about who is smart or stupid. He's arrogant. But, you know, arrogance can really get you into trouble. It catches up with you.
No, just not paying attention.
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