Dennis Moss: Recognized for The Best County Speech of 2011. by Geniusofdespair and Gimleteye

Link to video - It is ONLY 3 minutes, watch it!

It is refreshing when a County Commissioner 'gets it' on land use planning. Dennis Moss laid out a compelling argument for not moving the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) on November 30th. We rate this as the best speech given at the County Commission in 2011.

Over the years, Moss' district has encompassed the highest percentage of empty and developable land in Miami Dade County. But land doesn't vote. Land owners (farmers/developers) and their lobbyists, have more to do with who sits on the county commission than birds or alligators or fish. Once upon a time-- not so very long ago-- the task of "learning" the county commission on land use planning fell to Katy Sorenson, the former county commissioner whose district was adjacent to Moss. Because Sorenson was there and a reliable voice for common sense in land use planning, Moss could keep his chips off the table.

A lot happened in his district during the boom and bust. His district has more than its share of Miami's ghost suburbs and dangerous neighborhoods pockmarked by foreclosures.

Last year Florida's counties were chagrined, to say the least, when Gov. Rick Scott endorsed the dismantling of the state agency charged with managing growth. What Scott did was to eliminate the buffer between county commissioners and developers and their political tactics. Those range from brass knuckles to the persuasion skills of snake oil salesmen or snake charmers in a Moroccan souk. Moss doesn't have Katy Sorenson as a foil, and her successor Lynda Bell is a local version of Michele Bachmann or the Anglo version of Natacha Seijas: no help there.

So Dennis Moss said the right thing at the right time on land use planning at the ragged edges of the county, scarred by hubris, ambition, and the work of powerful lobbyists and land speculators who only concern is their own bank account. It's why we call them and their county commission proxies: "the unreformable majority". Thank you, District 9 County Commissioner Dennis Moss.