Vote For Eileen Higgins, County Commission District 5 ... by gimleteye

Democrat Eileen Higgins is taking on the wife of former county commissioner Bruno Barreiro in a June 19th runoff for District 5. Barreiro is another pair of hands, holding down taxpayers under water.

News arrives from the Miami Herald, that her husband's Congressional committee has donated $100,000 to his wife's campaign; making donors to Barreiro's bid the biggest donors to his wife.

How fucked up is that?

There is only ONE Point to know about Bruno Barreiro's run as a county commissioner: he was a reliable pro-development vote at every single turn that lead to the rampant traffic and chaotic growth that is imposing billions in unabsorbed costs on Miami-Dade taxpayers.

In other words, he was -- on the dais -- a mumbling disaster. Eye On Miami frequently cited Barreiro as a charter member of the "unreformable majority" of the county commission. (We strongly encourage District 5 voters to read our archive on Barreiro: it's a doozy.) The Herald report, in fact, cited Barreiro's "reliability" to the donor class.

Here is to hoping that District 5 voters get the point: we need an antidote to the political party that brought us Donald Trump, but we also need a practical voice of reason and sound common sense to strengthen the chance for meaningful change in Miami-Dade County.

You Must Watch this Again! Jon Stewart. By Geniusofdespair

Maybe even more relevant than it was in 2016....especially the references to Guilliani.




If you are lazy move it to 10 minutes it is excellent.

The NRA Questionaire for Political Office. By Geniusofdespair

Look what just came in the mail...

It is scary if you vote for a candidate with the NRA Endorsement. Look at what they are agreeing to:

Opps...wrong jpeg but not so wrong...

Does anyone want to fill mine out for me? If you really care to read it, hit on each page.

Picture of the Day: By Jim Morin

Cartoon in the Miami Herald this morning by Jim Morin...

Woof! This one hit a nerve!

Senator Jeff Merkley describes seeing recently arrived immigrants held in "cages that looked a lot like dog kennels" at a Customs and Border Protection facility in McAllen, Texas, where children were also being separated from their parents.

He also described about 1,000 children being held in an abandoned Walmart, where he was denied access.

Speaking of the NRA, I just got my questionaire. Somehow I am still running for office.

Eileen Higgins Endorsed by the Miami Herald to be County Commissioner in District 5! By Geniusofdespair

Yes, Eileen Higgins really does use public transit.

Way to go Eileen! Eye on Miami also strongly supports Eileen Higgins. We need her vote on the County Commission -- as Tuesday's failure to override the Mayor's Veto proves.

From the Miami Herald Editorial:

Higgins’ strong showing at the polls was telling in this largely Hispanic district. She received 70 percent of that vote. Higgins admits some Latin voters have a difficult time pronouncing her name and she speaks just enough Spanish to get by on the radio, but she is unfazed. In fact, she is affectionately called La Gringa (“the American woman”) in some circles. “I just know that people want good governance; they’re not going to vote for just a Hispanic last name,” she told the Editorial Board.

And:

“I ride public transit,” Higgins told the Board. She knows first hand the late buses, the operational challenges. “The cities are moving ahead of the county with circulators,” she said. “They’re cheap and [use] a smart-card purchase, so there are no delays.”

It’s part of Higgins’ practical philosophy to get things done: “Why wait for multibillion-dollar solutions?”

She also knows that there is a never-funded Housing Trust. Now that it has a board, she says, it can get to work raising funds that will draw down private money for affordable housing.

Higgins has spent quality time in several areas of service, teaching entrepreneurship to school children, advocating through PACT for gun-violence intervention as part of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance.

And:

Higgins is full of energy and new ideas and a sense of duty to serve the public in the progressive style of former Commissioner Katy Sorenson. She has a smart, crisp and engaging appeal we have not seen in a long time. She can tell you which bus routes are underserved; she has realistic solutions to affordable housing and wants to make the county’s sea-level-rise resiliency effort “move faster.”

As the much-stronger candidate, the Herald recommends EILEEN HIGGINS for Miami-Dade Commission District 5.

Living Wage At Airport/Seaport, etc.: Override of The Mayor's Veto Died. By Geniusofdespair

County Commissioner Barbara Jordan wanted all new leases for concessions at the airport, seaport and other County leased properties to require a living wage to their workers. Not existing leases just new ones. Well it passed and the Mayor vetoed it. Yesterday they had a hearing to do an override of the veto. They needed two thirds. They got Sally Heyman, Daniella Levine Cava, Xavier Suarez, Jean Monestime, Audrey Edmonson, Dennis Moss and Barbara Jordan. Not enough? Even with Barreiro gone? They needed one more stinkin' vote. Barreiro would have definitely voted the wrong way.

Barbara Jordan said a lot of lobbying went on by the Mayor with promises of perks to all the Commissioners. She said she even got one.

Barbara Jordan made an impassioned speech trying to convince her fellow Commissioners to join the override vote, but they were steadfast. Barbara wake-up and smell the coffee. It stinks of Mayor Gimenez.

County Commissioner Xavier Suarez made the motion to override the veto.

Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava seconded the motion.

What will happen today? The Transportation Union is having a special meeting to try to get concessions from the Commissioners. Will it be the same block that approves the concessions for Transportation Workers and then the same gaggle that overrides a veto from the Mayor, that veto will happen as sure as I am sitting here.

Transit Hearing Wednesday at County Commission. By Geniusofdespair

Miami-Dade Metrobus, Metrorail and Metromover workers have been without a contract for more than three years - thanks to Mayor Gimenez and his staff.

The workers, members of Transport Workers Union Local 291, have been calling on elected officials to support public mass transit in Miami-Dade by increasing funding and increasing service that riders need so badly.

The traffic situation is getting worse - and public buses and trains are the answer.

Wednesday is the Board of Commissioners hearing on the contract dispute. 

Support our Union, support our transit, call your good for nothing County Commissioner and have them help the Transport Workers. They stood with us during a rally in Cutler Bay on February 3rd. Now stand up for them, help them get their contract. Conservatives would love to end our Unions but these organizations help our middle class get a living wage, in other words, Unions are the backbone of the dwindling middle class in America. Since the Republicans in congress recently were kind enough to give tax cuts to the wealthy Corporations, isn't it fitting that the middle class get something in return, like living wages and benefits for middle class members?

I am now without a car and these are the people I must rely on...if I can cross U.S. 1 in one piece to get to Metrorail. I can walk to Metrorail, I just can't get there safely to get to the County Commission Meeting Tuesday. What a bitch. But that is another post. I am doing my part to help traffic, I am one more person off the road, just like Eileen Higgins who is running for Bruno Barreiro's County Commission Seat, District 5. Vote for Eileen Higgins if you are in the district, if not, tell everyone in Miami Beach and Brickell that you know to Vote June 19th.  It is crucial to get the Barreiro dynasty out (his wife is running against Eileen).

Pictures of County Commissioners from the Transportation Summit:

Commissioner Xavier Suarez

County Commission Chair Steve Bovo

County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava

From Clarence Washington, president of Transport Workers Union Local 291:


“We’ve tried to bargain in good faith with the mayor, but he is obsessed with trying to break our union and hurt our working-class members, who are primarily African-American and Latino. He is making demands on TWU Local 291 that are much more onerous that what he demanded from other municipal unions. We’re hoping the Board of Commissioners recognize this irrational imbalance.”

Corporations Shift Affection To Democrats Who Could Control The Florida Senate ... by gimleteye

Since 2010 and Citizens United, the role of dark money -- now legal -- in campaign finance has grown gargantuan. Corporations can, and do, give unlimited contributions to candidates and political party depending on who and which party is most likely to control the majority in the legislature.

Republicans dominate the money landscape in Florida. Corporations and trade associations have been welded to GOP interests for two decades since Jeb Bush became governor and the Republican legislature filled behind him.

Fair Districts Florida and state court decisions ordering the re-drawing of district maps loosened the hammerlock of the GOP. It is the reason that the GOP fought tooth and nail in Florida, as it is doing in other states facing the same issue of gerrymandered districts. (Six years of non-stop litigation marred the 2010 citizens ballot referendum affirming fair districts in Florida, finally settled in 2016.)

November 2018 is the first election cycle where Florida Democrats could gain a Senate majority. Corporations are predictably scrambling to hedge their bets.

The place to look for signs of action are the heavily funded political committees who take unlimited corporate money. These investments are reported on the state campaign finance website. We are looking at the Fanjul/Florida Crystals empire, US Sugar Corporation owned by the descendants of Charles Stuart Mott, and their key executives. For example, the two Fanjul patriarchs have made no secret of appealing to both political parties. (Bill Clinton's relationship with Alfie Fanjul endures in Florida Congressional races where Democrats have a good chance to flip certain seats. Pepe Fanjul was Marco Rubio's most reliable funder in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.)

Within the Florida Democratic Party, the other place we see signs of movement are well-placed consultants who cycled out of professional roles in Democratic administrations into lobbying and public relations shops. Mercury Communications comes to mind.

Big Sugar knows the revolving door between government regulatory agencies and private contractors is an excellent strategic spot to hand out largesse. On the way out, it is dollars. On the way in, it is quid pro quo's. Lobbying firms like Mercury offer themselves to clients as "agnostic" of political affiliation. It is not just Mercury. Miami-Dade has its example of Republican and Democratic lobbyists teaming up to make money, no matter which party is in control.

Over time, this explains how Democrats could be so easily corrupted by Big Sugar. Here, "corruption", is not used light-heartedly. A core Democratic value is that clean air and water belong to all the people, not to corporations to sell back to us as a private right. Despite billions of tax dollars applied to the Everglades and our estuaries, Democrats in the Florida Senate have proven every bit as obsequious as Republicans to the demands of big campaign contributors. This encapsulates the sad story of a $2 billion reservoir plan that was senate president Joe Negron's key legislative achievement in 2017. The reservoir plan is now being sped through the Trump Corps of Engineers. It will never work as advertised because Big Sugar fundamentally hijacked an outcome fixed to its profits.

Over the next few months, watch the money from big corporations flow into Florida Democratic-oriented campaign committees. It will be a torrent and an obvious one. Even though the specific actors can shield their identities -- thanks to laws passed by Republicans -- they will make their fingerprints clear because part of being supremely powerful is making sure people know you are.