Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Money didn't buy the District 8 election. By Geniusofdespair

Daniella Levine is the new county commissioner in district 8!

With all 83 precincts in, Lynda Bell had 8,351votes  and Daniella Levine Cava 9,031 votes.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Daniella. Well done. A victory for all of those progressive forces who made her their candidate. This is a oman of real substance. She will continue to make us proud.

Anonymous said...

Thank you District 8 voters!

Anonymous said...

a WOMAN of real substance, that is.

Anonymous said...

YAY!!!!!!! Running on good governance beat running on nasty, anything goes politics, there is hope for us yet! Now if people could be convinced to turn off the cable news and actually listen to eachother...... well one thing at a time.

Anonymous said...

Definitely not a mandate!

Anonymous said...

Thank you to all of the volunteer that I have worked with over the last few months - you are all the heart of Miami Dade County and I'm proud to have met you through Daniella's campaign.

Score!
LN

Anonymous said...

Not a mandate, anon above? Hmmmmmm. Let's examine the FACTS, shall we? Ms. Cava won at the ballot box on election day and in early voting, and won by almost 700 votes (out of over 17,000 cast). Two out of three, and almost five percent more of the vote total. Sure sounds like a mandate to me. Especially when Ms. Bell only got one of the three (absentee ballots) when she got elected, and that did not stop her from almost napalming the entire County's undeveloped and underdeveloped areas in support of a few farmers and developers.

Anonymous said...

Also dethroned tonight: Jose Luis Castillo. Time for him to go back to working with Community Council 11 Chair Shannen Davis. Oops! She lost too! An overall bad evening for the rock miners.

Anonymous said...

Daniela Cava now needs to show she is not obligated to the unions. She needs to demand that Miami-Dade County reduces the number of full-time County employees and she needs to demand that the County reduce pay and benefits to County employees. Cava needs to show she understands Defined Benefit Pension Plans are not sustainable. Taxpayers are fed up.

Anonymous said...

honey BOO BOO back to the front desk,,,shady rest here we come

Anonymous said...

Why on earth does this new Commissioner NEED to go on the attack with unions and with employees? Apparently you aren't aware of the three point and five point plan. As I've told hundreds of people, go to votedaniella.com to understand her platform, There is waste in county government.. lobbyists, consultants, PPP of relatives, obscene procurement contracts.

Unions are the workers. Are you expecting the parasitic people listed above to actually do the lifting and toting?

Anonymous said...

Elaine is smiling tonight! I heard there's an opening at The Redland Hotel maybe for the dish washing position..Seriousy it was time for a change , wish it had been sooner... Congratulations Daniella for STANDING Up ! Homestead is a Better Place Now!,,,, Yeah!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Not a mandate? Who cares? Daniella won and that is all that matters.

What happened today is history. How many commissioners have you seen thrown out after only one term? It is also a victory for the people who decided it was time to clean up the county and got busy to do it on their own. Good job!

With her brains, articulation, poise and education among other accomplishments, Daniella stands ready to do the right thing by not only District 8 but the entire county. That is her style.

CONGRATULATIONS DANIELLA! YOU MAKE US PROUD!.

Anonymous said...

Yes it did. Levine cava had over a million dollars.
It's well documented.

Anonymous said...

Predictions:
Levine will side with all unions in increasing staff and increasing salaries.

Levine's propositions will not receive much support from other Commissioners.

Levine will not pass any legislation - in the footsteps of Sorenson who did not pass one piece of legislation in all her years at the BCC. (Look it up)

Anonymous said...

Agree with above Anon:
Definitely not a mandate.

Anonymous said...

Yea!! Congratulations Daniella!!!

Anonymous said...

yay! a victory for county workers! raises are needed!hopefully daniella can help us make up for lost wages. I have not had my 5% merit and 3% cola in ages. there needs to be some balance - the so called snap backs are not enough. Let's get back those missing 8% for at least the last three years and protect them henceforth in a lock box. there is no reason to cut pay when there is obvious waste. also i don't have my family on my health plan on purpose - it's too expensive - more than the private sector. no reason we can't squeeze HMOs for lower costs. the mayor's new plan is non-negotiable. currently I don't have to pay for my insurance - that is the precedent. forcing us to pay for insurance is an undue and unplanned burden. we cannot absorb the new cost. single employees should not be obligated to pay for our rights.

Anonymous said...

Good one from a Bell supporter, last anon. Pile it on and add greed. Your writing needs to be more subtle to try to ring true.

Geniusofdespair said...

She didn't have nearly the money Lynda had and the incumbent is usually at the advantage in the first place. That has to be overcome.

Anonymous said...

Public sector employees make 20% to 75% more than private sector employees. In Miami-Dade County almost no private sector employees get Defined Benefit Pension Plans. The median income for a single resident of M-D County is $30,000. Yet the median income for M-D County employees is $49,000. Health Insurance? Most private sector employees get no coverage from their employers. Daniela Cava must show she understands the inequities. She must show she understands that overpaid and over benefitted public sector workers can bankrupt communities. Look at Detroit!

Anonymous said...

We live in a community that is incredibly wealthy and desperately poor. Government workers are the middle class. Except for the appointments based on cronyism, no bid contracts, and the degenerate policies benefiting insiders - those insured employees, earning a decent wage, cycle back their pay checks to the community when earnings are spent here.

Anonymous said...

The median income of an employee is $49,000.

And what is the buying power of $49k in S Florida?
The cost of living in Miami Dade is high. Budget a four person family on this median salary. Try to buy a Miami-Dade house on that median salary. Try to buy fresh produce and gas up a vehicle on that salary.

What do you get by offering less and expecting more? See if the county can hit rock bottom with compensation and live in the dream world that expects educated employees to choose this "preferred" employer.

Anonymous said...

$49,000 is 50% more than median private sector workers. 3,000+ County employees make over $100,000 per year. Many County employees live in Broward County. 33 year olds make $145,000 per year in Carlos Gimenez's office. At least County employees have jobs.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Geniusofdespair said...

Stay I topic

Anonymous said...

Warped view of how minimum wage, no benefit jobs are helping the poor. But these indentured servant jobs make for great political numbers by incumbents.

Anonymous said...

Total money spend on this race was...what close to a million combined??? Sure money didn't buy this race.

Anonymous said...

Where do you get $30k income? make it up like Bell does? Twist some obscure figure to fit your narrative? Wait! Lynda is that you sitting at home ranting into your computer?

Try sourcing your data points.

Look up Miami Dade median household income on the census data web site. You may be surprised. And look at our high poverty rate.

Anonymous said...

Median Income in Miami-Dade County for males = $30,120

Median Income in Miami-Dade County for females = $24,686

Average pay and benefit package for County employees = $88,000

Union members should be praying they keep their cushy high paid jobs not trying to pressure commissioners into giving them more money. Greed and stupidity. Look what happened to Compton, Calif, Pittsburg, PA., Detroit, Mich...

Taxpayers are fed up.

Anonymous said...

US census quick facts 2013
Median household income, 2008-2012 $43,464 (and that covers a recession)..

According to Ms Moon at budget office there is no "average" pay and benefits package tracked for the bargaining units so I'd love you to source that too.

The Herald reports a range of average pay starting at Parks $22,000 and going up to over$180K for attorneys.

Not that any of this matters for you Lynda the unions are all settling with the mayor taking a $50 million cut in benefits next year and for you it's all over but the crying.




Anonymous said...

As someone with an education, shouldn't education and experience result in higher salaries?

I can't imagine wanting someone without training building my house. I expect to pay for taking advantage of the experience and education of my contractor.

Why would we want anything less from our government employees than education and experience? So, we have to pay for those things, or people find other jobs that do pay a living wage.

Anonymous said...

To the Anonymous above,

The $43,464 Median Income is for a Family of Four. Yup.

Private sector workers rarely have any pension and probably NONE get Defined Benefit Pension Plans.

Of the $6.1 Billion in County revenues perhaps $2 Billion goes to pay and benefits. Maybe $2.4 Billion...

Anonymous said...

to the anon who accused me of being a Bell supporter. a) don't live in the district, don't care. b) I am a county employee c) I did give up 8% for at least three years - 11% if you include what they took off from FRS d) damn skippy I want my money. frankly - no bs - I don't have a home so if you raise millage it really doesn't affect me. honestly another $50-60 is not going to affect anyone that owns a home. and that money honestly solves the problem. no more union/mayor squabbles. no fighting in the paper. peace, harmony and the end to the annual hand-wringing.

Anonymous said...

You see, I told you! Money cannot be depended on to win elections and I constantly put the Cantor defeat on the table as exhibit 1. Now we have local exhibits 2 and 3. Her husband and then her. Soon we will have statewide exhibit 4, when Scott, the most disliked governor in the country goes down in defeat after spending a fortune.

Anonymous said...

Why would you tell you dont own a home? Only to make us mad, you are a troll.
Just think, there are regions where 88K is the avg family salary. Private sector wages in M-D are low because the economy is not generating middle class jobs. M-D is not the CA SF Bay area, its a place where the job market is composed of hospitality, and tourist and other low wage service sector jobs.