The Ricker Report notes the ringleader of the county commission, Natacha Seijas (VNS) last week made a political endorsement of Dorrin Rolle from the dais. "Commissioner Dorrin Rolle got a campaign boost during a county awards ceremony Thursday morning before the regular commission meeting began." The Ricker report suggests that the moment was orchestrated for political effect: "he (Rolle) noticed that they were both wearing pink guayaberas and he “looked Cuban” to her. She then said all the Cuban voters in his commission district should vote for Rolle in the Nov. 2 general election and the political campaign comments were run on the county television station."
It sounds like a move, just like Seijas and Terry Murphy, her chief of staff, would delight in. Hey, let's play Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in "Twins". First of all, Rolle -- from an African American district-- is utterly compliant with big votes that Seijas corrals as enforcer on the dais. As we have written about at length on EOM, a politically enforceable alliance with African American members of the county commission is a key feature of immoveable politics in Miami organized around zoning changes and permitting of suburban sprawl far from African American districts.
"Rolle is in a runoff race with Jean Monestime for commission District 2 and it is the closest race the long serving commissioner has had since being appointed to the body by Gov. Lawton Chiles after his predecessor on the dais, James Burke eventually went to federal prison for accepting bribes." Ricker does not mention the catastrophe Rolle inflicted on his district through his mismanagement and misappropriation of JESCA funding, a non-profit from which he took hundreds of thousands in compensation and ended up driving into the ground.
Seijas did political campaigning from the dais in violation of the law. That she did so shows that she is not only willing to poke at the toothless law enforcement tiger in Miami-Dade, but that she is aware any publicity-- that would result in no more than a slap on the wrist-- would accrue to both her and Rolle's advantage. Remember: in the attempt by activists to recall Seijas in 2008, Hialeah police were used to threaten and intimidate petition collectors, using false arrest to make their points. (Read our archive, under "Seijas") State law enforcement and Miami-Dade police were nowhere. At this point, any law enforcement action against Seijas would be fodder for Spanish language media demagogue that she was only helping black people.
Ricker notes, "political campaigning cannot be done in the commission chambers, or any public building", but it was done. It was done to reinforce that there is no room for uppity challengers to incumbents whose campaigns are financed by builders, the Engineering Cartel, and the Growth Machine. The smirking chimps know that if the Herald picks up the story-- of Cuban Americans allying with poor African Americans-- it hurts Rolle's challenger, Monestime. It is too much to hope that law enforcement will ever tackle political corruption in Miami-Dade. This fact leads one to speculate that in key respects Miami is not so different from Havana; just more efficient.
10 comments:
Please tell everyone you know in Dist. 2 to vote for Jean! Whatever funds you can send to his campaign, now is the time.
Let's get Rolle out of there and neutralize the Vile one!
Rolle and Seijas are the Poster Children for why Miami-Dade County needs Term Limits.
Rolle runs a revered charity into bankruptcy, taking $200,000 a year for "hisself" and he still gets to vote on a $7 Billion County budget?
More than Hialeah police falsely arresting people collecting petitions, Miami-Dade police went after the petitioners; ensuring with their heavy handed treatment that recalls in the future will be fruitless because people are scared out of their wits. Dictatorship. Yep.
Don't forget - Rolle is also on the Public Health Trust! What an oxymoron (in RE to Trust)!
Think she'll do the same for Bell?
Seijas campaigned for herself from the dais during her recall election. She cried, whined and stomped her feet ad nauseum. No one said a thing!
I don't like Seijas at all, but I was unaware that what she did was against the law. Could you tell us which specific law/statute/ordinance she violated?
That Rolle is a pretty smart cat with his "PinK Guayabera" he surely snatched up the Cuban and Gay vote in one gutsy sartorial move.
What's Monestime going to do to top that? Drink Mojitos with a little pink parasol in them?
Andale Arriba You Miss Ghetto Gubner Thang, work that pink Gauyabera.
The ordinance regarding what Seijas did is in the County Code, as far as I know, it may be in the State Statutes as well. It's also prohibited to collect campaign funds in any government owned facility (State Statute).
If you go to the Elections website of Miami Dade County and read the Candidates handbook, it's in there from what I remember.
And, no, I'm not doing homework for you, look yourself, it's all there.
Not enough Cuban votes in MDCD2 to save Rolle.
Rolle raised $250,000 to Monestime's $35,000 and only got 40% to Monestime's 25%.
Celestin, 15%; Dawkins, 10%; Moss, 6% and Samules, 4% have ALL since backed Moenstime against Rolle.
Rolle's best hope is to run up an absentee ballot vote difference and/or play the Afircan American vs Haitian divide (to generate the AA vote which still has the majority in that district).
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