 |
| Cutler Bay Candidate for Mayor Peggy Bell. I think they need a write in candidate. |
For that reason alone...I would not vote for either of them although I think Karen is very personable and would have voted for her otherwise.
Peggy Bell, when I suggested she run against Lynda Bell about a year ago, said she liked Lynda Bell. Well, how far is that going to get her now?
Do as you may, but I know how I would vote.
And Castillo Lobbies for items in front of people he works for. They should recuse themselves...they don't.
 |
| Not worth the bad karma gals. |
74 comments:
I think the word that roughly translates Balotera in English is pirate.
Jose Luis Castillo is the same individual who worked hand in hand with Al Lorenzo to get Carlos Gimenez reelected. If you think that absentee ballots were only collected in Hialeah during the course of the 2012 election think again. Castillo ran the same operation down south while another undesirable individual did the same thing in the Haitian community of North Miami. At the end, only two low ranking boleteros were indicted. Gimenez, Katherine Fernandez-Rundle and Commissioner Esteban Bovo escaped arrest and prosecution.
I'm disappointed both candidates hired Castillo knowing his reputation.
There's someone named Art Nanni running for Mayor of Cutler Bay. Ed MacDougal is endorsing him, not Peggy Bell. I wondered why. Now I know! I don't vote there but live next door in Palmetto (Peyton Place) Bay! Karen won't get my vote and thankfully there are other qualified candidates in that race.
I don't know all of the facts about Castillo but one thing that I do know is that HE is not SHE...............in this case, he is not Karyn. Karyn has been nothing but sincere, kind and honest in this campaign which is more than I can say about many others. Obviously someone has a bone to pick, too much time on their hands and is afraid of Karyn winning this one. Team Karyn here.
What a hunk!
Team Karyn- she should dump the shady character that reflects on her. If you hang out with the vampires you have to be prepared to get bloodied
Haters! Id hire him just to look at him all day long.
I agree with Geniusofdespair, Karyn should dump Castillo right away. Karyn has an excellent reputation in the community and should not be associated with Castillo in any way. Karyn can win this election without Castillo.
Al Lorenzo owes City of Miami taxpayers $1 mil plus. Carlos Gimenez had to hire Al and Francois Illias over AB allegations.
It is very important to understand that the candidate sets the tone for his or her campaign. I am supporting Karyn Cunningham in her quest to serve on the Palmetto Bay Council. I have known her for many years and she is the epitome of integrity. She would never sanction or allow any actions which tamper with the election process. I have attended several campaign meetings and there has been no hint of misbehavior on the part of her campaign manager. To suggest otherwise is to feed unconfirmed rumors and does a disservice to Karyn who is running a clean, honest campaign. She is, by far, the best candidate running for Seat 1 on the Council and deserves every vote she will receive.
Annette, you know darn well that Castillo screwed with the campaign in Bell's first campaign. If you are that naïve to believe he doesn't continue to run questionable processes, it is no surprise that your candidate lost.
Here's how cozy these relationships get....Castillo is not only a campaign manager/guru for Peggy Bell (and Ed Wolmers) in Cutler Bay he is also a lobbyist for the owners of a property located on the corner of sw 184 st and Old Cutler Rd. The owners of this 9 acre property have filed an application to have the future Cutler Bay Mayor/Council vote to change the zoning from RU1 to mixed use. Which basically means in Cutler Bay that if the owners get the zoning change they can build a strip mall with up to three stories fronting forever 2 lane Old Cutler Rd. What's even more troubling is that on the east side of the nine acres is a current ecological restoration effort to restore rare coastal wetlands that protect our fresh water supply and our environment. So does any one really think that these local politicians elected with the questionable help of Castillo will deny any zoning change or other such favor to Castillo the lobbyist, and to the Mc Greedys he represents? I think we all know the answer to that. And it gets even better...there are other sitting Cutler Bay council members (and btw also In Palmetto Bay) that may owe Castillo favors. Boy those Castillo absentee ballots seem to carry a lot more weight in South Dade than one person one vote. Anyway I digress...the thing is this no local politician that hires a campaign advisor/guru/manager like Castillo even if pro bono should ever expect to be able to vote on any matter on which that individual (Castillo) has any lobbying or any other interest. I have never seen such conflicts of interests so blatantly displayed in any local government. Wake up South Dade! We no longer rule our local governments and neither do our town councils...these are presently ran behind the scenes by shady quid pro quo deals we never see in the light of day or that we can even imagine. Peggy Bell, Karen, and all other politicos with present or past campaign relationships with Castillo, get some smarts fast (i.e. Lynda Bell, August 27, 2014), cut your loses and your ties and deny Castillo. But if you don't, come clean and never vote on any issue where there would be even the perception of a conflict of interest. We the citizens are watching...and we want our local governments back!
If Karyn and/or Peggy wins, I then expect them to recuse themselves from every issue he or his associates appear for before the Council. South Dade is tired of him and his pave over everything crowd of attorneys who pay him to bring "supporters" of really bad applications who live no where near the said application. He needs to go away and these two ladies are just feeding the Bear so to speak. Let him go hibernate somewhere north of Coral Gables!
Karyn will not get my vote because of this relationship. You are who you associate with no matter how you want to spin it. She doesn't need him. The fact she is using him says more about her then him.
In the sleazy world of boleteras and election race fixing they call Jose Luis Castillo One Eye Jack. This individual was essential in Getting Carlos Gimenez elected. Now days you see Castillo patrolling the BCC waiting for the breadcrumbs to fall in his hands. Anyone associated with that individual is not worthy of my vote.
Annette K and Karyn are buddies from the teacher's union. That was Annette's entire career.
Karyn may be nice on the outside, but she also is used to playing with the likes of Castillo on a regular basis.
Why would her daughter give up a year of law school to help her mom win a puny seat in in Palmetto Bay? There may be more to it than it seems.
People in Cutler Bay. Visit Art Nanni's Website and facebook page. He has been saying for months that if elected he will create new lobbyist regulations.
Mixon is no prize, but I'd vote for her over Wolmer's now that I know he is using Castillo again. Yep, Wolmers has used him before.
So in a nutshell here's what's going on. Castillo and his developer friends are stacking South Dade municipalities council chambers with their candidates. That when they win as a result of the dirty tricks and $ will rubber stamp whatever they want, no matter how distasteful to the locals. It's just that simple. And the arrogance and inflated egos of the local politicians just cannot resist the temptation to sell their souls to the devil in order to win at any cost. When we voted to incorporate years back we never imagined these greedy developer moguls would rule our towns but here we are. So much for local self determination and our voices being heard. Maybe in the long run we were better off under Miami - Dade governance, well, I say that now that one Bell is soon gone.
Remember, I brought (successfully) ethics charges against Castillo . As mayor of Cutler Bay I am shocked any elected official would ever use him. Additionally, I will never support any elected official that associates them selves with him. Vote for Nanni and Mixon. Bell and Wolmers are using Castillo. He is now trying to influence the council to get his way on zoning matters.
Ed MacDougall
If you vote for either Bell or Wolmers, you are voting for a 3 to 4 story commercial/residential development at the intersection of old cutler road and 184 street. You will be voting for between 15 and 30 residence per acre.
Their campaign manager, Jose Castillo, is the lobbyist for this development. Castillo get's people elected who will vote in favor of the developers he is paid to represent.
Peggy Bell is the real deal: and should be the next Mayor of Cutler Bay. Peggy is the reason Bike Lanes exist in Cutler Bay. She doubled the park space in the Town by getting 72 acres of park space promised by developers over 25 years ago. She has GREEN chops: she pushed for $150,000 annually for tree planting. And she is a retired Eastern Flight Attendant with union chops to boot. Stop picking on her, Genius of Despair. She is the BEST candidate by far in the Town of Cutler Bay. SAVE and the Pets' Trust, who endorsed County Commissioner-elect Daniella Levine, have also ensdorsed Peggy Bell for Mayor of Cutler Bay.
She has served for eight and a half years and worked for seven years for incorporation before that. Who cares who she hired. She raised money for Congressman Joe Garcia, campaigned for President Obama, and Hillary Clinton. She campaigned for Katy Sorenson for County Commissioner several times and graduated from the Good Government Initiative. What about Mark Goodrich, who is Art Nanni's consultant, who attacked Janet Reno for being gay and having parkinsons disease? The point is that Peggy is a wonderful candidate. If you liked enough to ask her to run for County Commissioner you should like her enough to be mayor.
Truly Blue
Peggy is not responsible for the bike lanes or the park. Katy Sorenson advocated for both of these projects at the county level.
Commissioner Sorenson initiated the road improvements when she requested to reallocate the funds for widening 87th Av to Old Cutler and Caribbean. The bike lanes were envisioned in the 2002 Charrette (which Peggy Bell did not attend).
Lakes by the Bay Park was planned back when we incorporated. The land was transferred to Cutler Bay after undergoing renovation, thanks to Commissioner Sorenson.
Art Nanni is committed to the environmental vision of Cutler Bay. Peggy Bell, by contrast, has hired Jose L. Castillo, who is a lobbyist for developers who are currently trying to build next to protected wetlands. Castillo was also the driving force behind Lynda Bell's campaign.
As for Mark Goodrich, he is not Art Nanni's consultant. He has not been involved in Art Nanni's campaign in any way since at least early June. Art is self-managing his campaign, along with a team of local advocates from within Cutler Bay.
Peggy Bell had nothing to do with acquiring Lakes by the Bay Park for Cutler Bay - although she takes credit for it. That was an agreement made prior to the town's incorporation to leave it out of the agreement to take over the other parks because the county was forcing Lennar to clean up the toxic waste on the property. It was always intended to be turned back to the town once the land was clean.
Where was Peggy during Daniella's campaign? Hiding under Lynda Bell's Skirt. She didn't have the guts of Judy Waldman or Cindy Lerner. Put the Guy in. At least he has balls.
Yes, we had serious concerns about the Lynda Bell’s first election to the Metro Commission. We felt in our hearts that there was something fishy about the absentee ballots. It was a hard defeat for all of us. But, we hired JC Planas to see what he could uncover about any improprieties in that process. He could find none. We remained perplexed but had to put it behind us. In this country we operate on a fact-based judicial system. If there is no proof of guilt surrounding Castillo, then stirring the pot with rumors and innuendo do little to change the course of things. And worse, to carry over that bitterness to hurt an outstanding candidate in a subsequent election, does great harm to an electorate searching for the best person to represent them.
Which brings me to my next point...my support of Karyn stems from knowing her from our joint employment with the United Teachers of Dade. Indeed, that is how we met, but I don’t support or work on behalf of candidates simply because I “know” them. Frankly, there are a number of people I have known through my years at UTD that I wouldn’t support for elected office. I have watched Karyn in both public and private endeavors. She is highly intelligent, cares deeply about her community and leaves no stone unturned when working on any project or situation. She sees things through and has a terrific temperament for working with a group of individuals on a government council. The dysfunction our Palmetto Bay Village Council has suffered through these last few years is an embarrassment not to mention that it has stymied our positive progression as a Village. Karyn brings sound ideas and the ability to help the group reach consensus without acrimony.
And lastly, on a personal note...yes, the majority of my working career was at UTD but it wasn’t my entire career. I worked for the Miami Herald for a number of years before taking over the communications post at UTD. I was the education reporter for the suburban division of the Herald back in the day.
Everything Truly Blue wrote is just not accurate. Peggy Bell did none of these things. I should know, I was there.
Taking credit for things others did is a sure sign of a weak personality. It is always all about Peggy when Peggy speaks.
Nothing can excuse her use of a convicted lobbyist.
J.C. Planas didn't know what he was doing. If he had he would have put all the notes together that the absentee ballot people checking ballots wrote and have had a strategy. i.e. called some of the people. He wouldn't let anyone see the notes and never suggested what we were to look for. I saw irregularities. Handwriting matches between husbands and wives, (both should have been thrown out if not at least one). I saw an accepted one that wasn't even signed. The signature check was a waste of time because elections wouldn't let us see the signatures on file.
Campaign workers for Lynda were very worried about the absentee ballots. 2 told me there was stuff going on.
Very simple fix gals: Get rid of the rotten egg.
I am truly conflicted. I am a proud liberal, yet I cannot at this time bring myself to vote for Peggy Bell, though traditionally I share more politics with her than with Nanni. Reasons: 1. She supported Lynda Bell against Daniella Levine-Cava, you may as well be who you support, 2. She hired Castillo, this is unconscionable, 3. She refuses to meet her opponent in a debate, sign of arrogance and weakness, 4. She and her minions on the Cutler Bay council have made terrible decisions on past zoning matters, back to the Castillo mafiosos on that one. So what to do when there are no acceptable choices. Peggy, drop Castillo and all lobbyists now! And should you be mayor when those zoning issues come up about the corner of Old Cutler and sw 184 st vote against a zoning change which is what the residents of your city want from you and the council. Enough already of the greed and lobbyist influence in our town! I likely won't hold my nose and vote this time for the least unacceptable of two candidates. I will vote for all other ballot issues but unlikely I will for Cutler Bay mayor. Very sad state of affairs.
You are holding these two women to an impossibly high standard. I could care less about these elections.
I am really dumbfounded at the selective enforcement of certain standards.
The fact is that every single campaign of any consequence deals with people we might not like or even can't stand. Some shady characters even.
I am wondering why no one has held Daniella Levine Cava to the same standard of absolute purity.
Look closely at the individuals, groups and business entities that directly or directly supported her and you will find similar issues.
There was tens of thousands of dollars in soft (shadow) money pumped into her campaign from the same special interests that many on this blog deplore. They all have an agenda that conflicts with the stated goals of many who follow this blog.
Many of her consultants and sub-consultants have represented interests or individuals I dislike, and many on this blog dislike if they knew.
But we overlook these things, because we like Daniella. I like Daniella, so I overlooked them.
It's a long fall from a high horse.
Did you know that there is not one basketball court in all of Cutler Bay? Peggy Bell has chaired the parks committee for a long time and has made innuendos that basketball attracts a bad element. Have you seen her rogue website? Cutler bay watchdog.com. This woman has some serious issues.
I am not under the false illusion that any politician is free from the encumbrances of necessary less than comfortable alliances during a campaign or after. For after all politics is about the art of compromise. However, it is a matter of the degree to which people lower their standards and compromise their values and their independence to serve the best interests of their constituents. Unfortunately with the shady reputation Castillo has but more importantly the fact that he lobbies for the very issues on which these local politicians must vote on the behalf their constituents, these politicians all cozy in bed with him crosses the line by too much to pass the hold your nose and ignore the nasty smell test. South Dade candidates, free yourself from Castillo and his trap bed...cause them there sheets need a good disinfection. That way you owe him and his boses no big favors. Favors they will come to collect after the election.
Doesn't Cutler Bay Watchdog have our current mayor saying to some resident to "Grow A Pair, You're a crybaby, jerk, and trash?" I just read that and I'm shocked! So if you would say such words as an elected official, what would you say to get your friend elected? This is a new development and quite mind blowing at the moment.
Art Nanni is the candidate, not MacDougall. For the record, Peggy Bell and MacDougall were friends for years. She is the person who nominated him to become vice mayor after Cosgrose died. It is only after discovering Peggy had hired a lobbyist to consult on her campaign that MacDougall chose sides. He chose the person whose vote is not bought and paid for by Castillo.
It's interesting that MacDougall is telling people to vote for Mary Ann Mixon (see his post above). On more than one occasion, he has called Mixon a do-nothing councilmember. Suddenly, she is the better choice over Ed Wolmers because of his choice as campaign manager? Or is she the lesser of two evils in the soon to be ex-mayor's eyes?
Yes unfortunately the sad state of affairs in local south dade municipality elections these days often are choices between the lesser of two evils. So if the choice is to vote for a candidate albeit flawed with some independence, or a candidate albeit flawed that already goes into the job with a bunch of favors to answer to and grant to lobbyists and overly greedy developers, I too would chose the no favors to pay candidate...every time.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If you judge Peggy on her associates, judge Art on his, (MacDougal). Their friendship sets the tone. MacDougal was quick to sing Nanni's praises way before the Castillo rhetoric.
Rumor is the buddies had a lot to do with falsely bringing charges on Meerbott to discredit him and try to ruin his reputation. Nanni's involvement may never be proven or disproven since he has the lucky fortune of keeping his dealings private since he was in law enforcement and that protects what we can learn about him. I suppose you'd have to ask Meerbott about that one.
Cutler Bay activists speak out of too many sides of their mouths. Peggy Bell never endorsed the ex-county commissioner Bell for election.
Peggy Bell is a graduate of the Good Government Initiative run by ex-county Commissioner Katy Sorenson.
Peggy Bell is endorsed by SAVE and the Pets' Voice.
Peggy has a cordial relationship with Commissioner-Elect Daniella Levine-Cava.
While Mr. Ed MacDougall was running to unseat Joe Garcia for Congress, Peggy Bell has twice hosted fund raisers for him.
Mr candidate for mayor Art Nanni cannot act like he is a progressive in any way shape or form. His supporters spread lies about Peggy because they have no issues to stand on.
Good luck Peggy Bell.
And Good Luck Mary Ann Mixon.
Cutler Bay needs good strong women to keep it on the right track.
Truly Blue
Stop with the good government initiative as if that's a good thing to have attended. Katie takes anyone into the course - John Dubois took it. Yes it's probably good she went to it but it is not a reason to vote for someone. I took the Wellstone course, vote for me.
Art Nanni is a tool of Ed MacDougall. If you vote for Nanni, you are giving MacDougall four more years to run Cutler Bay. You're also getting someone with even less self-control than MacDougall.
At the concerned citizens of Cutler Bay meeting this week, Nanni looked like he was about to attack a member of the audience, while his supporters in orange shirts and stickers cheered him on. Then, Steve Sarsecki told the audience member to leave! Be careful, if we end up with Mayor Nanni. You wouldn't like him when he's angry!
Peggy Bell's husband Marty is the individual who was asked to leave the Concerned Citizens forum after he inappropriately turned his camera away from taping the forum and pointed his camera at Art's wife's backside. Art called him out on his inappropriate behavior. Marty then got up and started to harass Sandi a second time. Steve appropriately told him to leave and the audience applauded Steve for kicking him out.
Marty is known for pulling that kind of crap. He sits in the audience at meetings calling people "ass holes" and making rude gestures. In an April 2012 email the mayor asked the attorneys to warn Marty that his behavior would not be tolerated any longer.
The person being asked to leave was Peggy Bell's husband.Peggy didn't show but her husband did with a camara. Peggy Bell's husband, Marty grabbed his camara off its stand and started filming Mrs. Nanni as she walked across the room acting like he had been drinking. In last months meeting, Marty Bell whistled bird calls throughout the event.Well if Ms. Bell gets elected, it will provide a lot of comic material for Dave Berry.
The person Art verbally attacked was Peggy Bell's husband, who was recording the event. Ms. Bell wasn't there. Art thought Mr. Bell (I don't know his first name) had been rude to his wife. Mr. Bell stood up and walked to Mrs. Nanni to apologize for whatever happened. She jabbed her finger at him and he backed off. That is when Mr. Zarzecki told him to leave.
I don't think Art is a "tool" but I agree that he lost his cool, and I have seen him act that way to other people over the years. I just wanted to add more detail to what the previous poster wrote.
I’m not sure if anyone has disclosed that Karyn Cunning is a Registered Lobbyist. She is not the School teacher she has claimed to be. Karyn spends her working hours in Tallahassee lobbying our Florida Legislature.
I understand that she is very good at what she does. That’s the problem. Does Palmetto Bay need a Lobbyist on its Council? Karyn has relationships with every lobbyist in town. All you would need to do if you were a developer is to hire the right lobbyist and your zoning problem goes away.
Wake up. We can’t have lobbyist turning into elected officials.
Just read in the Miami Herald that two people have been arrested for tampering with absentee ballots in the Homestead election for Mark Bell. As we all know, Jose Castillo ran Mark Bell's campaign, Lynda Bell's campaign and now Peggy Bell's campaign.
And so the nut cases of small town politics come out of the woodwork...and apparently on both sides. All I care about is that whoever wins this nasty thing is unencumbered from favors to Castillo and his clan. It's already been established in fact who those candidates are this go around, Bell and Wolmers (and Cunningham to the north). Frankly right now for different reasons all outcomes look bleak. All we should and WILL expect is that no matter what, they no one will pay favors to lobbyists and will instead vote the real wishes of their citizens. Corporations and LLCs are not people/citizens...and this is particularly true in South Dade municipalities where the owners of these LLCs don't even live anywhere near us. All they are are speculators that bought cheap land near a trash dump thinking one day they would make big $. Well that's all fine and good...free enterprise and all, but the fact is we have to live here and they don't and poor zoning changes and variances should not be a guarantee...well unless you have a city council in your pocket. So in short whoever wins these mud wrestling cage matches...we are going to be watching your every move...be it Nanni Bell Wolmers or Mixon...and throw in the rest to boot!
Attended the Cutler Bay Business Association candidate forum between Art Nanni and Peggy Bell yesterday. While Art may be a decent family man with family businesses in his pedigree, this retired Miami-Dade County Police officer/investifator is not qualified to be Mayor. Peggy Bell is much better informed and prepared for the position. She ably answered questions about her preparation for the position and the pending issues. Peggy spoke about growing a stronger business community while maintaining the small town feel of the community. Cutler Bay could be a great place to live, work and play with Peggy Bell's leadership.
The CBBA claimed the questions came from the audience, but some of the questions read by the moderator came from a printed list, and Bell answered by reading directly from, what appeared to be, pre-writen responses. Bell had insisted she would not attend the concerned citizens of cutler bay's forum unless she had the questions in advance. Apparently the CBBA gave into that demand and gave HER the questions in advance.
At the concerned citizens meeting, Nanni showed some slides of how Bell voted on issues. I was curious and looked on the town website to educate myself about those votes.
Bell did not vote alone. There are five people on the council including MacDougall, who might as well be Nanni's campaign manager, and the majority voted with Bell on most of these items. Maybe Nanni has spent too much time listening to his boss MacDougall, and thinks one person runs the town alone.
It also turns out many of the things Bell supposedly voted for were only second readings of those agenda items. That is a normal procedure, where an item is first presented, and then the council votes on whether to bring it up at a future meeting. This allows the council to do more research, and allows people both in favor and against the measure to build their case.
All five council members, at one point or another, have voted yes for a second reading, and then voted no on the final measure. All five have also voted no on a second reading, and then voted yes. The most recent example I can think of is MacDougall voting against a second reading for the puppy mill item, and then voting to pass it a month later. Only Sochin voted no both times.
Either Nanni does not understand how this works, or would rather we not know how it works, and is using it as ammo against Bell. He is either incompetent or dishonest, but either way should not be mayor.
Go to the town site and see for yourself. Don't let Nanni give you his version of the facts.
The bottom line is Peggy Bell is using Jose Castillo and Peggy Bell sold her soul to him to get elected, and probably sold her vote on building a 3-4 story development with 15 to 30 residences on Old Cutler and 184th, abutting the wetlands.
But if you want to look at her voting record, let's look. Some idea's are just bad and don't deserve a second reading. Look at the swale ordinance vote. Peggy thought it was a great idea to not just stop people from parking on the swale but to force them to take money out of their own pocket to build a new driveway to park that car on.
Both MacDougall and Meerbott said no, at first reading, because it would be a financial hardship on residents. Peggy, she didn't care.
Just like she didn't care if businesses in the recession had to buy and put up camera's in their parking lots. She doesn't care that the methodist church, who replaced their sign after we incorporated, following town guidelines, are now forced to replace it again because of Bell's sign ordinance.
Peggy argued for ending as is home sales in cutler bay. and the list goes on and on and on.
She does not have good judgement and that is shown by her votes and on her choice of Jose Castillo to work on her campaign.
Previous poster, ordinances get 2 readings. The 2nd one is the final one.
Bell doesn't have a plan as Mayor, that's why she is looking at Nanni's ideas as adopting them as her own. If Bell becomes Mayor of Cutler Bay, her lobbyist Castillo will be pulling her strings as well as Wolmers and Loyzelle.
If you want our town council to not answer to Castillo, vote for Nanni and Mixon.
I would rather have people who do nothing, like Mixon, than people who do the wrong thing with the lobbyists.
I had no idea about Castillo, but I just got one of Peggy's brochures and she literally tried to take credit for things Katy Sorenson did. I let my neighbors know and they even remember when Katy helped us do those things.
I won't vote for her.
Thank you also for person in the earlier post who mentioned Peggy Bell's cutlerbaywatchdog site, I couldn't believe how low Bell has gone.
When an item comes up for second reading and passes, it becomes law.
I personally don't want do nothing leaders on the council. I'm hoping for the best, no matter who wins. We're getting at least one new member, and at most three!
I also find it hard to believe a person is automatically "owned" by someone who is involved in their campaign. This applies as much to Nanni/MacDougall as to Bell/Castillo. Maybe I'm being naive, in which case I'll be in for a rude awakening, no matter who our next mayor is!
Don't assume that's her watchdog site just because they say it is. That's the thing, someone says something online and its taken as fact. That's how slander starts. And everyone falls for it. Classic
Peggy Bell can't be the author of cutlerbaywatchdog. Say what you will about her, at least she can put a coherent sentence together. The host of that site is unhinged, to say the least, with the spelling, grammar, and artistic style of an eight year old.
Just because a website supports a candidate doesn't mean it is written BY that candidate. If the real host of that site sees this, and really considers themself a Bell supporter, they should speak up, if only to challenge my assessment of their pitiful attempt at social activism.
Since the Nanni followers are so fixated on the Great Swale Ordinance of 2007, here are the actual facts. (Or is it actually you, Nanni, posting anonymously? The language matches what's on your campaign website exactly!)
On March 21, 2007, at the town meeting, the item was brought up for first reading. Bell, Sochin, and Mayor Vrooman voted for a second reading. Meerbott and Vice-Mayor MacDougall voted against it.
The second reading did not come until the May 16, 2007 meeting. At that meeting, Sochin and MacDougall WERE NOT PRESENT. After public comments and much discussion of the item by the remaining quorum of three members, Mayor Vrooman handed the gavel to Bell, and made a motion to "discontinue the ordinance indefinitely". The motion passed UNANIMOUSLY.
In other words, several members of the council recommended that a resolution be reviewed further, knowing that it was controversial. After two months of listening to the public, they decided to drop what was obviously an unpopular resolution.
It took me about twenty minutes on the town website to gather this information. Arthur Nanni, you can distort the facts to suit your ambition. I can reveal what you've attempted to hide with the same ease.
And as far as saying some ordinances don't deserve a second reading, I can't disagree more. No matter how much you dislike someone else's needs or demands, they deserve to be heard as much as your own.
Guess what, Nanni, that's how this crazy experiment called democracy works! If your response to someone saying something you don't like is to shut them up as quickly as possible, you have NO business being a public servant.
Go on the town's website and look at Bell's latest campaign financial reports. Bell is getting beaucoup bucks from the people that will profit from her changing the zoning rules for the land at sw184 and Old Cutler Road. Lawyers, builders, and lobbyists. Keep them out of our town by booting Bell out.
Well we know how Nanni made his money----career police officer. What about Bell? She claims to own Bell's tree farm in good old Homestead. Fact is, the place looks abandoned and trees are grade 2 at best. Obviously a front for something else. There is something about Bells and Homestead.
Peggy Bell shows poor judegement and the swale ordinance is one example. Bell was a member of the group promising that if we incorporated they would not turn us into Coral Gables. She then turned her back on that promise.
Peggy Bell did not just vote yes on first reading to hear from the public, she argued for it and "strongly urged" her fellow council members to pass the ordinance.
If she intended to keep her pre-incorporation promise to this community to not turn us into a giant homeowners association she would have voted NO at first reading.
She will promise anything to get elected. She is taking campaign contributions from registered lobbyists wanting to get a zoning change on property on Old Cutler Road and one of those lobbyists now run her campaign. She owes them and will vote yes to pay them back.
Vote for Nanni and Mixon. Keep the damn lobbyists from buying our town.
Nanni or Bell, Mixon or Wolmers, I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. And who is Roger Coriat? I never heard of the guy. Why is he unopposed? Why couldn't I meet him, and decide weather to vote for him or not?
Coriat ran un-opposed so he got in automatically. Take the time to talk to Bell. She's really approachable, honest, and fair. She really listens to her constituents. Once you sit down with her you realize this. Not only that, she has some common sense solutions for the day to day needs of our community. She's not just harping over and over and over on the past like her opponent, she's focused on the here and now. Don't go on hearsay. Contact her through her web page or through her various community forums and you will see she's not the villain certain people are trying to portray her as.
Really? You're going around spying on "trees" now? How ridiculous and petty can people be? That's the most grade school statement on this forum. Either be an adult and stick to the issues or go back to the sandbox.
Peggys past gives us some idea what she will do in the future so I'm glad Mr. Nanni has reminded us of what she has done. Many of her ordinances brought the residents out in mass protests.
I've looked at both Peggys and Mr. Nanni's websites and Peggy has nothing of substance on hers, Nanni has actual idea's not empty words.
But the subject is Peggy Bell and Wolmers using a lobbyist who is working on their campaign and being paid to get the council to vote to rezone property. Both are using Castillo and both have been given contributions from other lobbyists involved in the rezoning.
One of Peggy's campaign platforms is to bring more business into Cutler Bay. Makes a lot of sense if you intend to plop a strip mall and 40 housing units on 9 acres east of Old Cutler Rd and 184 st. That will definitely put the BUSY in business. Busy with more traffic 24-7 and busy with residents and businesses fleeing their establishments like scurrying land crabs come the next big hurricane storm surge. Nothing wrong with more business to Cutler Bay, we need it! But have the judgment to place it in the right place and for all the right reasons...not to satisfy your campaign manager and lobbyist for the development. We want no strip mall by a restored coastal wetland at the north east gateway to our city...ridiculous! What we need is a passive park there fronting the wetlands and as an access point for a boardwalk to access the restored wetlands and Biscayne Bay. Now that is the right thing as the north east gateway to our town...not a strip mall, 40 more houses, and 100 more cars!
Peggy Bell on her web page lists her only academic accomplishment that she attended Katy Sorenson's Good Government classes. So it begs the question, why has Katy Sorenson refuse to endorse Peggy, a formar student. What part of the class did Peggy failed to understand? Good Government!
Sent from my iPhone
Peggy Bell plans on moving back to her home state of California at the end of her mayoral term (4 years) or earlier if she looses to Mr. Nanny. We should all work on granting, Peggy and early departure.
Peggy will be hiring payed/professional canvassers soon. Her campaign is projected to spend well over $58,000. Where is this money coming from? Jose Luis Castillo.
Castillo heard the call " fly me..." So he climbed on board.
The cheapest ticket in Cutler Bay, PB air.
Castillo plead "No Contest" to violating our Town charter.
MacDougall Plead "Guilty" to violating our Town Charter.
Castillo is accused of "Influence Peddling".
MacDougall is guilty of Bullying!
MacDougall is on a personal vendetta with Lobbyists in general.
Why is it that in the last 4 years as mayor he has done absolutely nothing to strengthen the towns ordinances regarding lobbyists?
Only now when we are facing an election???
Politics at its best folks....
And please someone explain to me what is wrong with a vendetta against lobbyists? They have become shadow governments in our south dade municipalities. They are running the puppet show from behind the curtain. We need more than a vendetta we need to expose them, the candidates they are managing, and all the issues they represent, usually against the majority wishes of the community. They and their puppets just do as they wish with no concern for what they consider the dumb citizens. This really has to end...so vendetta yes! Whatever it takes to rid us of these vermin...
Vendetas by a public official amounts to nothing more than public corruption.
The simple solution and most effective course of action would be to enact language within the towns ordinances that would directly affect and curb the same points you make, "puppet show behind the curtain" I believe it is what you said.
I do not think that carrying out personal vendetas is what an elected official should do, neither is pandering to a lobbyist. That too I do not support.
So we have to look at the real issue at hand, why is it the council, collectively, did nothing about creating legislation that would serve to curb these problems?
I guess we could do it mafia style, so why then would we need a council?
Mayor MacDougall would have happily put limits on lobbyists, but he was dealing with an uncooperative council where he did not have the three votes needed to pass anything. Earlier this year he managed to get a resolution passed requiring all town lobbyists to comply with the Association of Government Relations code of Ethics. Anything stronger would have been meet with opposition and would never have been passed Bell, Loyzelle and Sochin.
Post a Comment