County Mayoral Debate Sponsored by Kendall Federation. Guest Blog by Kendall Lady

Candidate Jose Pepe Cancio: He actually grabbed the microphone and explained that he once moved the UDB and was proud to do it because it was the right thing to do, not even sensing that he was playing that drama to the wrong crowd.

Well, it finally happened on May 2nd. A county commission election event with all the candidates on deck! Congratulations to the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations; your organization managed a coup.

It was a fun evening if you didn’t have your dog in the fight. There were lots of squirmy candidates, some eye rolling and some questions being avoided. By the end, the audience’s attention bounced back and forth between Carlos Gimenez and Hialeah’s Julio Robiana. Gimenez finally lost it when Hialeah Julio stated that he did not support the Marlins contract and would make them come back to the bargaining table. Carlos Gimenez stood up and told the audience to go to the county website and look at the hearing tape. He said that Julio was one of three mayors (Alvarez, Diaz and Robiana) in attendance that supported 'The Deal'.

(See the tape here)


Hialeah Julio countered with a whiny “He is always attacking me at forums”. Will someone please tell Julio he has to actually go to forums before he can whine about being attacked at them? Julio also said during the Marlin’s hearing that he “meant” that he supported Major League Baseball; not just the Marlins and not 'The Deal'. Julio, watch the video. Read what is on the screen below your face. Really. The County Commission meeting was about the deal!

Both Gimenez and Hialeah Julio danced around the UDB question. Gimenez pointed out that he was always one of the sustaining five votes when Mayor Alvarez vetoed a UDB move. He finally indicated that he would have to consider an UDB move on a case-by-case basis. He DID NOT say he would move it, and hasn't yet. Hialeah Julio says he will continue to use good planning practices just like Hialeah’s when considering UDB issues. Ahhhhh. I think Hialeah Julio doesn’t live in the same Hialeah I drive through. Who wants the county to look like Hialeah? Not me.

As you may have guessed, the stars of the event were Carlos Gimenez and Hialeah’s Julio Robiana. However, Luther Campbell, of the Booty Coalition, essentially sounded rational on some points.

The candidates each had their own special personalities:

· Marcelo Llorente was holding his own in spite of being over shadowed by Robiana’s smugness glowering next to him. He is a very good looking young man who is experienced in politics and very proud of the fact that he was a product of Kendall.

· We had an economist, Farid A. Khavari, who seemed very pleasant but unfamiliar with county issues. He very much wanted us to go to his website and read HIS book (at no charge, of course). Farid must have told us go read his book six times before the night was over. I wonder if this is the same book that he had when he ran against Rick Scott in November? By the way, he will create 150,000 jobs in 3 years (this election is for an 18 month term) and get rid of property taxes by creating the Bank of Miami-Dade County. The audience was very entertained by Farid but mystified about everything he said. He does have a doctorate and substantial curriculum vitae.

· Among the other standouts was Jose Pepe Cancio. He kept reminding us that he was a county commissioner – two times! I can’t remember him, but I am positive he is Souto’s twin brother; his thoughts were all over the place and his delivery was unintelligible at times. He actually grabbed the microphone and explained that he once moved the UDB and was proud to do it because it was the right thing to do, not even sensing that he was playing that drama to the wrong crowd. Everyone on the panel went motionless waiting for us to rush him. His campaign literature tells us to make a “concrete” decision -- that’s cute since he is CEO of a concrete company. I wonder how much of his concrete goes to county projects?

· Jeff Lambert is also a nice guy. A bit intense, with a lovely wife who beamed at him all night. He is a firefighter who was probably glad that Carlos Gimenez was not a commissioner any more as he sat next to him and criticized county government. Jeff also stated that we should follow the money to find your special interest candidates. He wore a bold American flag shirt that resulted in one audience member asking me about him being a tea partier.

· Hellloooooo Kendall. That was Gabrielle Redfern’s surprise greeting! She is the one woman candidate in the group. Gabrielle struck me as a primary grade teacher trying to endear herself to her class on the first day of school. Lots of energy in her comments. Bouncy Bouncy. She will not move the UDB until every inch of land is used up east of it. I believe it. She passed out suckers to the audience; does someone want to tell her that perhaps cigars and wine will work better?

· Roosevelt Bradley, the former county Transit Director, kept reminding us that he left transit in good shape. Wasn’t he fired? He stated that he brought millions of dollars to the county (singlehandedly from the sound of it) and he would do it again when we elected him mayor. I think, he too, wrote a story and I don’t think the audience was buying it.

· There were other candidates, Eddie Lewis from North Dade and Wilbur Bell from South Dade. They are very similar spirits as community activists. Both have had a prior interest in elected office with Bell being elected to the local zoning board and resigning to run for mayor and Lewis making a run for Property Appraiser in the last election.