We all signed petitions to get power away from the County Commission to give it to the Mayor. We still have the same rat's nest of a County Commission and now they want to put on the ballot that we do away with the Strong Mayor form of government. I am not for this. The Commissioners have not gone to the public to see what WE WANT. First and foremost, we need term limits without caveats. After that the Commissioners can float any other wacky ideas to give them more power. And, County Commissioner Katy Sorenson, I am surprised at you saying in the Miami Herald today that term limits are not necessary because we can vote Commissioners out of office. You know we wouldn't be asking for term limits if we could get the losers out of office, so how can you say that we should vote them out? We can't vote them out because of district voting and because of money funneled to the corrupt. We NEED term limits. We have term limits on the Mayor and WE CAN ALL vote him/her out of office. That is why he/she should have the power advantage.
Below are Commissioners talking about doing away with the Strong Mayor at a Commission Meeting May 4th, I have posted 4 Commissioners, all videos are about 2 minutes or less (Hit read more to see others):
Carlos Gimenez hit this link if you don't see video.
County Commissioner Dorrin Rolle Link
Barbara Jordan link
County Commissioner Dennis Moss Link.
13 comments:
One thing they have all left out of the equation is us. They don't seem to have a clue that we exist out here. They talk about worrying about finding consensus between themselves and the Mayor. Maybe they should worry more about the voters.
TERM LIMITS! YES
STRONG MAYOR! YES
UNREFORMABLE MAJORITY! NO
People please vote, the commissioners love the August vote because the electorate does not come out. They love controlling all aspects of the banana republic "democracy" they create.
I was watching the meeting yesterday. Gimenez sponsored a two term limit, while Bruno wanted a 4 term limit (16 years). Neither was added to the ballot language. Also, the prohibition on outside employment, was not included. A majority of the Commission didn't like that one, I wonder why???
The Strong Mayor debate should really go deeper than what is posted. I suggest that you request written statements from the Mayor's office and from several Commissioners, to provide their rational, and post same for review and analysis. I think it would be a great to see.
Look what district voting did for Michelle Spence-Jones. Your right we absolutely need term limits. Once you penetrate the community or an organization with your corruptness there is no way of getting rid of these parasites. Look whats happening to Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, a public non-profit board without term limits. When an individual(s) has too much power for too long it leads to self-serving interest and is not good for the majority.
I was wondering when I could agree with you again. My lucky day.
Term limits are important because the sad fact is, we have a lazy body politic. The argument that the voters can term limit any politician through the ballot box is credible and true in an altruistic and theoretical sense, but is non-operative in the real world. Name recognition and the ability to raise a lot of money in a hurry are everything because most people (if they vote at all) vote for the name that's familiar
Make it two six years terms max, pay the commissioners a decent wage (around 100K per the State's formula), and put cogent restrictions on outside employment while serving (no conflicts of interest, etc.). Go for the strong mayor as well.
I agree with David- term limits and a decent salary . . . and Albert Harum-Alvarez for the seat to be vacated by Katy Sorenson. Albert Harum-Alvarez knows Miami, and he won't go on automatic when there are decisions to be made.
Its amazing how these commissioners try to confuse the issue with balance and power. They mix apples and oranges by saying they like the old system because it had more balance. Ha, more balance not...more power yes. And that is where the real issue lies.
I agree. No nixing the strong mayor if there aren't term limits. Even so, that does not guarantee that we won't have a revolving door of corporatized commissioners who will get in there and do the damage. Term limits still don't guarantee us safety. I like the strong mayor.
I know Katy is very popular among most of the EoM readers. Despite the fact that I might have a polar opposite political philosophy, I think she is a good person, she means well, and she is a good representative of a large section of Miami-Dade County constituents.
However, I think it is intellectually dishonest to hang your reasoning on the old "the voters can term limit us" line. If elected officials fail to recognize the inherent power in incumbency, they are doing so only for the convenience of their arguments. History, and numbers, prove the odds are stacked greatly against challengers to incumbents. Commissioner Sorenson knows that.
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I agree that we need termi limnits especially with the amount they get paid. Who can give up their job to be a Commissioner for $6,000 a year.
However, Miami Today had a great article on how well paid salary woudl bring highly educated members of the community to be able to run for office. Then term limits would not be necessary.
Look at our State delegation, they have 0 institutional knowledge and are all power hungry. They sell theor souls to get power.
As to outside employment, if the Mayor and the County Manager can have outside employment, why wouldn't the Commissioners be able to?
I tried to tell you guys that paying a living wage made sense. What quality person would ever want to do this job just to be statesmanlike? However, I still say that a revolving door can be just as damaging. Look at this state's insurance commissioners in the past years. Government is a necessary evil. Personally, I would like us to have debates on land use. You can't say what you need to say and rebut falsehoods in a public hearing. We have people in this county who could clean the Land Use Attorneys' clocks in a debate. Let's face it. What we really need is campaign finance reform and a public who is willing to show up and vote.
I agree with the Term Limits, but Carlos Gimenez is only interested in Term limits due to the fact that he is preparing a platform for his run for Mayor.
That guy is the biggest clown and by far the biggest thief out of all of them. Voting for that guy will set this County even further back.
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