Thursday, February 05, 2015

New Candidates for City of Miami District 2. What are there 5 now? By Geniusofdespair

Lorry Woods, downtown small business owner and community leader, has filed to run for Commissioner of City of Miami District 2.

Lorry owns Elwoods Gastro Pub. She started the business five years ago, in the middle of the last Recession. Through perseverance and hard work, her business managed to survive the tumultuous first years of owning a restaurant and is now a thriving local

"When I first started the business, I saw first-hand the resilience and determination of everyday Miamians working hard to provide a better future for their families. They deserve a city commissioner who will look out for them every single day. They deserve a commissioner who will engage residents, work with businesses, invest in community assets, vote against bad deals, value good government, and fight to make sure regular Miamians aren't left behind from this."
In addition to running her business, Lorry also serves on the Downtown Miami Partnership -- a private sector group that facilitates growth for the businesses and residents in the Downtown/Brickell area.

 Rosa Polamino is also running. She has a Facebook Page.  She is holding a fundraiser February 21st at noon location to be announced. On her page it says:

"Rosy is running to make Miami a better place for families and all of our children, especially the furry ones."

I am against this dog fixation for the  City. I like dogs, I had them all my life but I am against waterfront dog parks and especially the dog park that was once the Miami Circle.



Groveite Mike Simpson is running as well for District 2. Never met him.  According to the Coconut Grapevine, Simpson said:

As a resident of Center Coconut Grove Grapevine, Mike says he understands the need to balance the rich history of Miami with the progress needed to move Miami forward into the future. "As someone without a vested interest currently, I will provide a moderate and progressive view on the issues facing our city with fresh eyes,"

Finally Teresa Sarnoff is running, the current County Commissioner's wife. I think she is a lovely woman and I have spoken to her many times. She appears to care about the environment. People are worried about how independent she would be from her husband and his opinions.

I previously wrote about Grace Solares. We go way back and I would support Grace for that reason. She is not a Johnny come lately candidate. She has been in the trenches many years as an activist and community organizer. You could always count on Grace for scheduling a debate or gathering a crowd on an issue. We organized many debates for candidates together before I had this blog and after.  We did some at the Science Museum, at the Episcopal Cathedral, at Simpson Park and the Sailing Club. We both thought it important for the candidates to be heard. So I do have a horse in the race...as you can tell; A very smart lady who I have disagreed with at times. Here are her campaign kick-off photos.

Feel free to write about your candidate but no trashing anyone please.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...


Divide & Conquer

You may recall the 2000 presidential election when the candidates included George W. Bush (GOP), Al Gore (Dem.) and Ralph Nader (Green Party). For those disenchanted with both major parties , they felt good casting their vote for Nader. But that euphoria was soon lost when they realized that W won by a slim margin of 537 votes. Needless to say Nader will forever be known as the “Spoiler” that helped elect W.

District 2 Commissioner race is facing a similar scenario. Some citizens will feel great about voting for Lorry Woods, Mike Simpson or Rosa Maria Polamino. But I guarantee they will be most unhappy if Teresa Sarnoff gets elected and inherits her husband’s office, chief-of-staff, polices and developer pals.

There is no doubt that Lorry, Mike and Rosa truly care about our community and really don’t want another Sarnoff at City Hall. They should indeed voice their concerns and express their vision for our future. It would be in District 2’s best interest by offering their support to the most qualified and deserving candidate Grace Solares or risk the chance of forever being known as “Spoilers” that helped elect another Sarnoff.
Candidate Qualifications

Grace Solares
• President of Urban Environment League
• Former President of Miami Neighborhoods United
• Fought against Mercy Hospital/Related Group
illegal spot zoning for massive condo project.
• Fought to make RFP process fair for
Scotty’s Landing/Chart House/Grove Boat Storage.
• Fought to make RFP process fair for Peacock Park
Glass House.
• Fought against subsidizing Marlins Stadium
• Fought against Global Agreement.
• Fought against Museums in Bicentennial Park.
• Fought against SkyRise tower project.
• University of Miami, History Major, Magna Cum Laude,
and Phi Beta Kappa.

Teresa Sarnoff
Nepotism

Lorry Wood
???

Mike Simpson
???

Rosa Maria Polamino
???

al crespo said...

I am opposed to the notion that any candidate for public office should be elected because they are the "most deserving."

The next Commissioner for District 2 should be the person who gets out and walks the streets, talks about the issues, and convinces the voters that they are the best "qualified" individual to represent them.

One of the problems we have today is that we have elected officials who have developed an exalted sense of entitlement because they think they "deserve" any, and everything they can take or loot from the City of Miami.

Enough of this "deserving" crap. And this isn't directed just at Grace. This is the core reason why Teresa Sarnoff should be voted down because the only reason that she's even in the race is because her husband thinks he deserves to keep control of the District and the only was way he can do that is to run The Beard as his proxy.

Anonymous said...

I have never heard of a Lorry Wood or a Mike Simpson. Marc Sarnoff was an unknown too and look how he mucked things up. Like overdevelopment? Sarnoff's your guy. Like massive billboards? Sarnoff's your guy. Like secret deals? Sarnoff's your guy. Like bailouts for billionaires? Sarnoff's your guy.

Geniusofdespair said...

Lets try to stay focused on POSITIVES for your candidate. We all know the negatives, this is a savvy readership. I would like you to stay on that topic. I know very little about 3 of the 5 candidates.

Anonymous said...

Go Grace!!!

Anonymous said...

Ken Russell of Friends of Merrie Christmas Park may be running as well.

Anonymous said...

I heard Raul Castro is eyeing Dist 2 and looking for a new gig outside Havana, he has minor residency and citizenship requirement issues but this being Miami those problems aren't insurmountable.

Anonymous said...

Isn't Grace tired from all the fighting? Sounds exhausting.