But she is not just an empty dress. She is skilled and intelligent. I am so impressed with her lone stand against the Court House funding referendum slated to be paid for out of our property taxes. Exactly what does our county tax dollars pay for? There is so much unfunded infrastructure, I say not much.
I am a big fan of this young lady. Raquel Regalado earned a Juris Doctorate degree from St. Thomas University School of Law. At St. Thomas, she was the recipient of the Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division Scholarship and winner of the St. Thomas University School of Law C. Clyde Atkins Memorial Moot Court Competition and American Trial Lawyers Association Open/Close Competition. Ms. Regalado was a member of the St. Thomas Law Review and the Moot Court Team.
Brains and beauty and not afraid to stand up for what she believes. In today's Miami Herald:
Though they have known for decades that the courthouse would need replacing, county leaders have not set aside funding for a new building, and they have yet to decide where one would go. The existing structure cannot be demolished because the city of Miami has designated it historic; the county isn’t sure what it would do with it.
Those loose ends should trouble voters, said Raquel Regalado, a Miami-Dade school board member who has been the bond referendum’s most vocal opponent.
“People want to talk about specifics, and they don’t have specifics on their side,” she said of supporters, calling their proposal “half-baked.”
While there is no organized “No” campaign, Regalado has repeatedly taken to Spanish-language media to make her case — to older Cuban-American voters who reliably go to the polls — that the referendum has been rushed and poorly planned. She has also criticized the campaign for failing to spell out, in advertisements showing the rundown courthouse, that the new funding would mostly not go to the existing building.
I am certainly in favor of a Courthouse that is not falling apart and making people unhealthy. I am just in favor of the taxes we are already paying, paying for it. How did we renovate a dilapidated mental hospital into the premiere Coral Gables hotel the Biltmore? Can't we restore the Courthouse to the same splendor? We have to stop neglecting everything and then have taxpayers pay for the neglect in bond issues (new taxes). Raquel is 100% right.
Don't blast Raquel here, I like her too much. Be polite. She may be our next City of Miami Mayor. I hope so.
43 comments:
Everyone should oppose new taxes and any effort to increase taxes. Miami-Dade County owns the historic Courthouse. The County has a responsibility to maintain it. Who is in charge? Why wasn't it maintained?
Let's see if the apple is able to roll uphill away from the tree! I hope, if she is elected as City of Miami Mayor, that she can rise above the Cuban and Developer cronyism that has robbed the City of Miami of much needed revenue, infrastructure maintenance/upgrade and opportunities.
Why should the taxpayers agree to pay for another Courthouse? The County has shown itself to be a terrible property manager.
I'm not going to blast Raquel, but kind of surprised G.O.D. is playing fangirl so early on.
She may be the only one standing up right now to question whether tax dollars should go to a new courthouse, a laudable cause, but is that enough to say she should be mayor?
Shouldn't we at least be waiting for her to roll out a platform before raining the endorsements?
With what I pay in legal fees each year to my attorney, multiply that by the number of civil actions, I say add a surcharge in to the cost of filing legal actions like PIP claims and Foreclosures which are probably the ones clogging up the court house and then use the damn bond money already approved to fix the existing court house. It's heartbreaking to let it rot the way the City/County has done. The attorneys/lobbyists could also pool their money and pay for it themselves however, this County has turned in to such a politicals getting rich off the taxpayer funded stupidity, we'd ending up paying them back somehow!
The law forces people to go to the courthouse. It is not optional. The building has toxic mold and asbestos and Ms. Regalado apparently thinks it's okay to expose hundreds of thousands of people (including employees) to serious health problems every year. Her position is brutally ironic since it comes from an elected official who just a couple years ago told us we all needed to bail out the school district with a bond issue because the district failed to maintain its buildings. Wow is all I can say.
I agree she looks wonderful.
This building won't be the courthouse for very long.
In addition to a new 620,000-square-foot courthouse, the county would use $25 million to maintain the Flagler building for up to five more years. County officials have not said what would become of the historic structure after that. It could be used for county office space, sold or leased to private developers.
"Officials have not said"...no plan. Why pay to fix it if it's going to be sold?
Raquel has her own television and radio shows. She is very direct and states her views after she makes her decisions. That makes her a more transparent politician than all of those around her.
Saying she is pretty and smart is not an endorsement nor is contemplating a run for the seat.
you said:
"The building has toxic mold and asbestos and Ms. Regalado apparently thinks it's okay to expose hundreds of thousands of people "
That is not what she is saying. You must learn to read. She is questioning the funding and the half baked ideas the County is proposing.
LEARN TO READ READER!!!!
Each one of those toxically poisoned employees needs to sue the county for unsafe working conditions that have been formally documented but ignored. The cadre of county attorneys are adept at settling law suits with go-away money.
I read what she said in the Herald. The effect of her words is that regular people, not just lawyers, will continue to be exposed to toxic mold and asbestos. How is it half-baked to ask for a bond to build a necessary public facility? Would she prefer that the county cut the funding from some other part of its budget and fund the new building that way? If so, tell us.
It will take at least two years for construction of a new courthouse to be completed under the best of conditions. Are all of those people that have to go to the current courthouse supposed to accept being exposed to dangerous conditions in the meantime?
Ms. Regalado has a right to her viewpoint but she is dead wrong and is hurting people. That isn't leadership. It's more like pandering.
How about restoration of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, it is intentionally left to rot to disrepair despite $20 million in allocated funds.
She is not alone. Commissioners Bovo and Zapata have voted against the bond and have gone to Spanish radio and speak against using property taxes to support court construction.
This is the cry wolf they did in Homestead to get a new city hall and police station. Just say mold or asbestos and everyone freaks out.
Connect the dots, people. Look at the front page of the Herald today about the train station. The immediate next door location of the old courthouse was conveniently omitted. That property is worth a fortune for development. Dont forget which lobbyist supports a new building. The one with clients who want to build the new and own the old. Lets put 150 million into the old and save ourselves 200 million and preserve what little bricks and mortar are left of old Miami.
If you want to find out how corruption works In this county take a look at the PACs supporting the Courthouse and the FIU amendments. You have Jorge Luis Lopez, Freddy Balsera and the Munillas' MCM Construction for the YES. You have Rafael Garcia Toledo on the Miami Dade Youth Fair , Inc. board, and you have Al Lorenzo lobbying for FIU! Nothing has been left to chance! And behind of it all, the special interests at the controls of a robotic corrupt mayor named Carlos Gimenez!
If we use taxes that we are already paying, what service/programs do you want to cut?
Building new courthouse or even renovating the exisitng one will take a lot more than just cutting the over inflated salaries of 'aides' to all the department heads.
Finally we have bonds/taxes that are designated for something important and useful, not a private museum or stadium, and people are against it.
But I haven't heard anyone realistically say how a new courthouse would be funded otherwise.
I am very tired of the government looking at everything as disposable. Don't maintain buildings, bridges (Key Biscayne), water, sewer, roads, etc. Just where do all the billions of dollars go that almost nothing is taken care of and when needed tax the residents more for the county's inability to maintain what taxes are suppose to pay for.
The citizens are always asked to pay for more bad government.
The system is unsustainable because of the ridiculous pensions and healthcare benefits for former government employees. Eventually it will result in an astounding reality.
Public service indeed. Save for a rainy day funds are impossible dreams.
Couldn't the same be said about the School Bond issue that was past last year to renovate crumbling schools? Just sayin!
Actually no that was Regalado's point
before the county commission. In fact that bond had a 5 year facilities and 5 year technology plan. It was super specific.
you're supposed to put away money for things like this courthouse like people do: Save!! You don't let everything fall apart till it is too late. They should fix it uplike the Biltmore and put the courthouse people in the empty art museum or the downtown library Until the current courthouse is fixed up.
Yup not to mention the missing $40000 from her dads campaign account when she was the treasurer. She is lucky she is not wearing an orange jumpsuit.
The Biltmore was not a "mental" hospital. It was a veteran's hospital. Where do you get your info?
Man, have we lowered the bar or what in this town. God help us..
Here is where I got it Bill.
So Fla Haunted History - Miami Ghost Chronicles
www.miamighostchronicles.com/so-fla-haunted-history.html
Since before it's restoration in 1983, the Biltmore Hotel has been known for .... People say that this was a mental asylum decades ago that was burned to the ...
Why trust the County? Remember George Burgess who lied to commissioners and the public? No one should trust the County. They can't even maintain their own historic courthouse. No way should voters give them more money.
Genius - Not so Much.
So you're saying that this story about Raquelita is not an endorsement, yet in the last three words of this story you say that you hope that she becomes Mayor of Miami?
For someone who supposedly is for good government, you seem to have revealed an alarming problem of willing to ignore bad behavior for good looks.
First in just the last few months you were willing to overlook not only Veronica Diaz's taking ULTRA VIP Tickets, but far worse, failing to do her job in protecting the public's money by doing a hatchet job on the ULTRA contract, thereby allowing them to evade being audited, and there will be more coming before year's end, and noF you gush over Raquelita like a "Fan Girl" because she "looks like a French movie star," and fail to care about her real record on the School Board - including meddling in issues related to Daddy's political pals - and more importantly the detailed stories that I wrote where she and Daddy Regalado should have both been removed from office for their antics with Daddy's 2010 campaign reports,http://alturl.com/9drwh
Raquel Regalado is her father's daughter, and her election to the post of Mayor of Miami would be nothing but a continuation of the corruption that has been going on there since long before I started writing about corruption in Miami.
I have to say that I was actually astounded that you would go so far in writing a paean for Raquilita because you happen to agree on her position regarding the Courthouse.
It's one thing to say that you agree with her position on this public policy issue, and another thing entirely to drop to your knees and kiss her ass by ignoring her documented behavior on and off the School Board.
Shame on you!
al crespo
You may not like her Father but Raquel is an amazing school board member. Why don't you look up her board items from social media policies to biometrics? I have an autistic child and she has revolutioned his education at Mdcps.
You hate her dad, we got it but she is the hardest working person on the school board.
For Pete's sake Al. She will win if she runs. There are so many worse people we could get. I could say shame on you for supporting Renier. There were 2 bad candidates. You didn't do your homework on him, he is much worse. Besides we already discussed this. No candidates or people don't have skeletons in their closet. In this town it is a judgement call always. I have disliked politicians and some have earned redemption.
I make it a point to talk to other bloggers in email when we disagree. Not in public. We all work for free. I would never attack another blogger or say shame on you for voting for Renier to you. Renier to me wAs 10 times worse
While I was saying she was attractive I also was saying she was smart and gave much more ink to that. and she was right on this issue. You know she is going to run for Mayor. Where is the surprise? I like Raquel, have you watched her on the school board, but that wasn't an endorsement. We could do so much worse. Please don't judge me in public I would never do that to you EVER. We should always agree to disagree. It is the right thing to do Friends?
I would hope Raquel challenges Gimenez for the County Mayor's seat in 2016. People keep speculating that Carvalho will jump in, but that is not going to happen. Carvalho told Jim Defede he is not running for county mayor. If we are going to have someone from the School System jump over to County Hall, let's hope it is Raquel. She is brilliant, thoughtful and capable of acknowledging mistakes. She is not a tea party Republican like Gimenez - she actually endorsed the democrat for Governor last time. Gimenez is toast next time around, so let's get someone we can respect in the office.
Crespo you are a felon. You can't even vote. Are you so arrogant that you judge by revenge? You might care about Ultra but I care about:
Michelle Obama's Scheduled Visit Contested By GOP School Board Member, Renier Diaz De La Portilla
The Huffington Post | By Christiana Lilly
Posted: 07/09/2012 11:25 am EDT
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First Lady Michelle Obama will be making a stop at a Miami high school Tuesday for a grassroots campaign event for her husband, and a school board member running for office wants it canceled.
Miami-Dade School Board member Renier Diaz de la Portilla said in a press release that President Barack Obama's "liberal political machine" planned the event at Barbara Goleman Senior High School in Miami Lakes even though the district has a "very specific policy banning political activity in tax funded Miami-Dade public schools."
Al Crespo never endorsed the unemployed idiot Renier de al Portina (?). "The dude whose brother is a slimy lobbyist." He stated many times that Xiques/Diaz and Renier were both unqualified. Taxes are going up for 2014-2015. County and School Board. Taxpayers are getting screwed. Vote No on a new bond to build a $400 Mil courthouse.
Genius,
I have been reading your blog for many years, you could call me a "fan". I may not agree with you all of the time but I respect you. You call people out when you disagree and you commend them when in agreement. Sometimes they are the same people which I find refreshing.
Al like some others have made a niche by going the constant negative route. There is a lot of fame and or money with vitrol and half truths (just turn on Fox News!). The fact he is a felon or a non-voter shouldn't be mentioned. People can clean up their act. He has a crusade against the Regalado's.
On the topic of Raquel, before she showed up, the School Board was where teachers graduated to or politicians went to wait their turn for another position. *cough*DLP*cough*
She is a single mother with an autistic child and is constantly making news (i.e. working hard as a politician)
Anyways, just wanted to show support. Keep calling it how you see it.
Gina,
Saving would be the smart thing to do. Unfortunately, (besides the fact that many elected officials are not smart) most governments are not allowed to save and have surpluses. The money has to be used for something. Working with a gov't budget is very different than a private corporation budget.
One of the (many) problems here is that the courthouse is in such disrepair at this point that a patch-work repair job, spending money as it becomes available, isn't really a long term fix.
Agreed with other posters above that buildings are not disposable and need to be maintained but that needs to be dealt with in budgets going forward. Right now we have to figure out what to do with an old decrepit building.
The County and the School Board are both terrible at managing the taxpayers property.
Crespo wrote many times that neither Diaz nor little Renier were qualified.
I'd hit it
The court house can and should be restored. There should be an authority (or public private partnership) providing the financing with county paying a "rent" out of the yearly budget, that could negate need for the massive bond issue (property taxes).
They should first do an evaluation of space needs for the next 30 years of projected use(taking into account new technology). What could reasonably be housed in the current court house.
And then and only then identify a complementary space to house additional needs. The site and costs need to be identified prior to asking for the $$$
Raquel Regalado is right ... You need to have facts, space needs. Function (will we need all that space for records etc in the future). Site(s) identified (need more than one so robber barons don't jack up costs). Construction costs ?? What are we building: a functional court house?
This is asking tax payers to buy a pig in a poke!
Be assured the lobbyists like Lopez and the construction cronies of Gimenez are licking their chops!
Regalado is spot on there are way too many unanswered questions. They have NOT done their homework.
This is a taxpayer nightmare waiting to happen.
Just research the cost over runs and escalating costs of Jacksonville court house .. This will make that project look like a model of development!
Here is a better way:
In an effort to take the financial burden off of taxpayers, All Aboard Florida will use private activity bonds to initiate a $1.75 billion financing plan to fund the project, reports Florida Today.
The company announced the plan Monday, claiming that taxpayers bear no risk — a concern that many had about the rail service that will connect Miami to Orlando.
Raquel Regalado is doing a great job trying to defeat the silly Voter Referendum question that asks voters to pay more taxes in a poorly thought out scheme to build a new Taj Mahal courthouse. The County can't take care of its current buildings why let it build another courthouse? $380 Million for what? Vote No.
Why isn't the City of Miami held to account for its failure to inspect the Court House, failure to condemn the building for its hundreds of code violations including failure to pass a 40 year recertification inspection, inadequate handicap accessibility, electrical, structural and mold violations. Numerous people have gotten sick from the building including two judges who have died, one fron respiratory issues.
I support the bond issue, but I will be looking very closely at who profits from the deal.The AllAboard Florida proposal smells the worst, and beware of the usual suspects.
Raquelita will have to stand on her own two feet if she runs and you can be sure she will have competition.
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