DORRIN ROLLE: The Leadership Vacuum in District 2! By Geniusofdespair

Dorrin Rolle, running for reelection, does not deserve an additional four years to prove himself worthy of his catch phrase, “Ya done good” when all he has actually "done good" is make broken promises.

He was appointed commissioner by Gov. Lawton Chiles who chose Rolle because of his life-long roots in Liberty City and his role as CEO of the 85 year old social service agency, JESCA. Chiles choice then looks like a mistake now. Dorrin Rolle has proven to be an utter disappointment to both the neighborhood in which he was raised and to the agency that thrived for almost a century. JESCA nearly collapsed under his mismanagement and was forced into bankruptcy.

In 2006, The Miami Herald's House of Lies series reported the Scott-Carver homes were demolished and families displaced on promises that never materialized. Unscrupulous affordable housing developers raped the system under Commissioner Rolle's watch. A good portion of the district that was once a poor but functional community became a ghost town, weeds grew where children once played. A mere three blocks west of the former Scott-Carver Home Projects is a large empty parcel of land that an out-of-town developer promised to develop into a multimillion dollar project employing thousands. Today, the lot in Rolle's district is still empty and Liberty City has piles of dirt and gravel with no sign of the buildings and jobs.

Miami-Dade County District two remains a poor community DESPITE NEARLY ONE BILLION DOLLARS of federal, state and local funds that have been squandered in the district since the inception of single member districts. (Hit read more)

Miami Dade County District Two has approximately 102,000 residents. Its principal cities are North Miami and North Miami Beach as well as the communities of Liberty City and Biscayne Gardens. District two is a residential district with a small industrial sector on its western edge and commercial outlets and properties scattered throughout. Most of the residents are good hard working people, many church-going, all trying to make ends meet. According to the 2000 US Census, of the 13 County Commission districts, district two has the second highest unemployment rates; the second lowest average household income; the second lowest high school graduate percentage and the second lowest rate of home ownership.

Although there are many socio-economic factors that are systemic and difficult to address in District 2, more than anything else, the people of the district should hold the current political leadership responsible for the sad state of affairs and the catastrophic losses the good people of the district have suffered.