Here are two recent Eye on Miami columns about Raquel Regalado running for Mayor TODAY:
Monday, July 25, 2016
Pretty Woman: Can Raquel Regalado Swipe the Mayoral Slot from Carlos Gimenez? By Geniusofdespair
Raquel Regalado is clever, beautiful and fun to be around. She has young ideas for Miami Dade County. I really like her as a Mayoral Candidate. I will vote for her over Carlos Gimenez. Carlos has an over-flowing pocketful of cash to throw around against Raquel. He is miles ahead of her in the cash department. But he is a throwback to the days when lobbyist ruled. They rule our county now.
Tell your friends to vote for Raquel. She has spirit, she has drive and she is far better than Carlos Gimenez. If you want to see her in action watch this damn video. Also she gives us all a great 2 minute history of Miami Dade County! Pass this blog link to your friends. THE VOTE IS TODAY, not November. Early voting starts soon. Spread the word on your Facebook Page.
Herald Columnist Fabiola Santiago said last week about Current Mayor Carlos Gimenez:
Yet, when it comes to potential conflicts of interest and back-door dealing, the mayor has a blind spot. He delivers done-deals like the megamall-theme park boondoggle in Northwest Miami-Dade to a spineless county commission that rubber stamps instead of properly vetting community-altering projects. His developer friends line up for tax incentives (aka corporate welfare) and get them despite promises to voters that there aren’t any, as in the SkyRise Miami giant steel hairpin.
But nothing quite captures the mayor’s peculiar sense of what’s fair game as well as the richly textured portrait of Gimenez’s relationship with his re-election finance chairman, Ralph Garcia-Toledo, a veteran county contractor, by Miami Herald county hall reporter Douglas Hanks. It’s a classic, required reading on how county government operates behind the scenes.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Why Raquel Regalado Should Be Miami Dade County Mayor - 2016 Election. Guest Blog By Norma Rae
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| You must vote August 30th or vote today - Early voting |
Raquel has been elected twice to the countywide governing board for our school system. The school system had to deal with the same Great Recession that brought chaos to County Hall. During the economic downturn, the leaders of the Miami-Dade Public Schools got national attention for improving our schools. Why the difference?
The Chair of the School Board recently said Regalado has been one of the most productive members they have ever had. She has great ideas and gets them implemented. She knows how to work with her colleagues and administrators to make things happen. The parents of children with special needs are extremely grateful for all she has done. Raquel was also instrumental in the upgrade of the school bus transportation services - during the recession. She is smart and capable and knows how make things work, even when circumstances are challenging.
When Raquel sees an injustice, she fights it. When Gimenez tried to give away $9 million to one of his developer friends, Raquel sued and stopped the giveaway of taxpayer dollars. When the "Friends of Gimenez" tried to get the voters to approve a shady bond program, without any specific plans for a new courthouse, Raquel campaigned against it and defeated the proposal. Raquel is an attorney who understands the idea, and the importance, of social justice. Imagine: a County Mayor who fights for the best interest of the people.
As a School Board Member, Raquel fully understands the importance of an education and the value of training, certification and licensing. She has said she will hire her team of Department Directors based on qualifications, not connections. And she will insist on actual competition for all senior positions in every department. She has said she will trust Directors to make their own personnel decisions, as long as the process is open, fair and competitive. Ending the cronyism throughout the system is reason enough to support Raquel.
Some Department Directors are literally banking on the outcome of this election. Gimenez pays the Transit Director $235,000 a year. Talk about unqualified. Instead of getting the buses running on time, the Transit Director just invested $33 million on an App so folks can purchase a bus ticket using a Smartphone. How smart is that? Seeing this Department Director standing on street corners waving signs for Gimenez is just embarrassing. Sign-waving is campaign work for college kids, not a Department Director from Miami-Dade.
Raquel also announced the $250,000-a-year Deputy Mayors will be eliminated. That saves the taxpayers over a million dollars right there. As the Strong Mayor, Raquel wants the Department Directors directly accountable to her. She has said that every year, Department Directors will be evaluated on terms agreed to in their employment contracts. People want transparent management of county government? Regalado will energize the leadership of departments to perform at their best. Executives who are simply running out the clock may find themselves in early retirement.
We are extremely grateful to see a woman who shares our public service values on the ballot. We know Miami-Dade County can be a government that the people are proud to call their own. It really is up to the voters to put an end to the corruption and unethical behavior that is destroying our county government. Let's put a woman in charge and make Miami-Dade a better place to live. She will make a great Strong Mayor. Vote for Raquel Regalado on August 30th.
2 comments:
just behind Bravo holding high the biggest sign is Gyselle Pino, Port Miami Procurement Chief. She was promoted from secretary to a $150,000 position, and is best buddy/inner circle of shady Port Director Juan Kuryla.
I voted for Raquel too. Didn't know she was going to get rid of all deputy directors. I applaud that initiative. All Deputy Directors, their secretaries and admin assistants are DEAD WEIGHT, costing millions of taxpayers dollars. I know I worked with the dead weight. They used to be the first to go during budget cutbacks but Dept. Directors got dumbed down and needed deputies to do their work. The County has gotten so incestious and the same cast of characters going from dept. to dept. in order to keep a paycheck. Meanwhile services to the public get worse. Alice Bravo is Transit Director,,,what the hell??
I trust Raquel will get rid of dead wood and make current dept. directors squirm and start earning their hefty paychecks. Watch the timesheets and make sure they report their sick and monday/friday days off. The little guy has to so should the big guys. I had to work for someone who was a ghost. Half the time I didn't know where he was. Dept. Directors should never give "comp" time to professional staff for working long hours. That is why they get such outrageous salaries and their professional status means THEY MUST WORK UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE REGARDLESS IF IT TAKES 1 HOUR OR 2 WEEKS.
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