Long range plans for the mayoral election have been gummed up for potential candidates because Mayor Alvarez might be out of office by as early as January or February of 2011 instead of 2012 as planned, thanks to a recall effort being initiated by auto-guy Norman Braman. Like that is going to do us any good -- getting rid of Alavez a year early...not! It won't teach anyone a lesson either, most of the commissioners are too cocky to get it. We citizens have to prepare for the inevitable and so do the candidates because Norman Braman has enough bucks to pull this recall off. Pictured above are who I expect will run for the seat. There are two other guys already listed as in the race but they won't have a chance. State Rep. Marcelo Llorente has $245,439 in his account to be Mayor and has been running since June of 2009. Julio Robaina, Hialeah Mayor, has also threatened to run for Miami Dade Mayor. Then we have 3 County Commissioners: Carlos Gimenez, Rebeca Sosa and Little Joe Martinez who are expected to run.
I think the only candidates worth considering are Carlos Gimenez and Rebeca Sosa. The scary ones: Joe Martinez and Julio Robaina. The recall is going to be unwelcome to some of my picks as they haven't raised any money yet and Braman has created a logistical nightmare for them. Raising money while a recall is in progress: Poor taste. A commissioner should not assume Alvarez is gone. And, worse, it is an immediate removal upon recall vote, so we will be without a Mayor. I suppose the Commission Chair will take charge until there is an election. The only one logistically ready for a campaign is Llorente and he won't win because the first two letters of his name are identical consonants. Where is the vowel..third? That will never work. Here is the recall timeline from the charter:
The Board of County Commissioners must provide for a recall election not less than 45 nor more than 90 days after the certification of the petition.
5. The question of recall shall be placed on the ballot in a manner that will give the elector a clear choice for or against the recall. The result shall be determined by a majority vote of the electors voting on the question.
6. If the majority is against recall the officer shall continue in office under the terms of his previous election. If the majority is for recall he shall, regardless of any defect in the recall petition, be deemed removed from office immediately.
18 comments:
Nice - think about how the recall could really set in force unintended consequences. Big money works faster than grass roots. Winner of a fill in would have a huge advantage for 2012. Perhaps we are better off working toward orderly change for 2012 and forget the ego-fest of a recall.
Giminez? Why? Damn I wish Katy Sorenson was married to a Latino and spoke Spanish too.
I hear Kathy Fernandez Rundle, or whatever her name is these days, also polls high. Amazing example of the Peter Principle at work.
Where is our Mayor Bloomberg gazillionaire coming out of the business community to save the day and make Miami-Dade County run like a machine? Surely there have to be some people out there that could fill the role of mayor better then any of these candidates.
The problem is that any Mayor is hamstrung by the rent-a-commissiners who constitute a majority.
Too bad..not one of these yahoos is worthy of the job. Looks like it's going to be another decade of more of the same....
This is like the Carrie Meek situation. She announced she was stepping down with not enough time for anyone to launch a campaign except her son (heir apparent) who probably knew 6 months before anyone else of her intentions. Mr. Consonant just might win. He can hit the ground running.
More interesting will be the "Resign to Run" issue. Qualifying will occur so quickly, that some of these people, who have been dancing around the edges of this issue, will need to make a decision quickly as to whether they keep their comftorable seats, or jump in to the deep end of the pool.
If this nonsense recall works, I think the people would be wise to go with the fresh outsider...not any of these commissioner hacks.
1. Llorente
2. Robaina
Sosa is kindly and will get the abuela vote. Gimenez is smart but he might be only able to muster the Jimmy Morales set. Can he appeal to the regular Jose? Martinez won't appeal to anyone outside of his district.
Who will get the Haitian vote and the Black vote? Maybe another candidate will come into the race that no one thought of.
I think I will support Gimenez for Mayor. This guy could be the one. He understands that you cant spend what you dont have and makes very sounds decisions. This is the kind of guy who could do well in voter support in and out of the Latin Communities and get thing done. Lets not compare Sosa to Gimenez because thats not a fair fight. Sosa is a nice lady, but in my view ,she lacks the leadership ability necessary to run government. Gimenez on the other hand brings proven leadership ability and knowledge of the County Budget.
Gimenez is smart, but his ego and treatment of staff takes away from his appeal. Additionally, he has demonstrated lack of flexibility.
Sosa is nice, but is too much of a concensus builder and does not have the guts to make the tough decisions.
I like Robaina, he has stood up to the labor lobby in Hialeah and contiued to balance the budget without rate increases. He also has executive experience.
He is also a developer. Do we want a developer as a county mayor? Say goodbye to the udb.
Discouraging. All of it.
But, Geneius, Gimenez supported Krome Gold! I would not support any of the candidates you listed!
20-1 against moving the UDB is not a bad ratio last anon.. Voting against the Union k's, against tax increase, against using CITT money for operations, against the Stadium, not bad either.. Plus, he left the City in great shape until his successors ruined it, again.
His inflexibility is his greatest fault. You mention the 1/2 penny as a good vote.
He'd rather build a second floor on top of a rotting foundation than face the problem and come up with a workable solution.
Nobody seems to remember that the 1/2 penny wasn't supposed to pay for everything. It was supposed to leverage Federal and State money by "showing" local commitment to transit.
Without getting the agency's financial house in order, we'll never get that funding. If the County was forced to just spend 1/2 penny funds on expansion - that very expansion would NEVER HAPPEN.
So Gimenez (who I agree with on a number of other fronts) says we should remain stubbornly entrenched even though that means we'll rapidly rot what's left of our transit system. It's that intransigence and unwillingness to reassess that worries me.
But, of the list you provided, he'd be my front-runner.
Where is Mrs. Williams? Remember her? She was the last person to run against Carlos Alvarez. I am sure she could win this time around.
P.S. I personally would never support Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina of Hialeah for any public office, nor any of the council members currently seated in Hialeah.
I know you don't like Martinez, but to pick Sosa over him.. Really?
She was brought in at the last minute, when her vote was needed to pass the Marlins stadium. Everyone seems to forget this.
Plus, Sosa is run by the spanish radio. Robaina I just can't trust.
Gimenez is smart but way to arrogant.
I remember when Martinez was chair of the board and those were the meetings that ran the smoothest and when the Commission was most unified. He proved his leadership there, with the shortest budget meeting in history.
Martinez is one of the unreformable majority and Sosa is not. Martinez has ALWAYS VOTED TO MOVE THE UDB, Sosa had one lapse as I recall. Martinez is an arrogant twit. Sosa is at least polite to the public. Having fast meetings is not a sign of consensus it is a sign of over-bearing presence. Yep, if it were Sosa running against Martinez it would be SOSA. She would make an excellent Commission Chairwoman...better than Mayor. Rather have her than a repeat of Martinez or Pepe le Pew.
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