They’re still playing us for fools
Al’s Loupe
They’re still playing us for fools
By Alvaro F. Fernandez
alvaro@progreso-weekly.com
Monday I watched most of the special Miami-Dade county commission meeting. Commissioners set a May 24 date for the election to replace the recalled mayor and commissioner from District 13. I found the ordeal (watching them deliberate) painful at times and frustrating most often. I have been around Miami-Dade long enough and have an elephant’s memory of what’s gone on for too long to sit and watch these manipulators try to do just that to Miami-Dade residents.
In the end it’s our fault. I understand that. But still, I must admit to believing that honesty is not a word I would associate with the folks arguing the merits of the upcoming special election and whether they should add reform measures to the ballot.
Reform. From these folks. Yeah!
Like I recently wrote: 12 year maximum stay on the commission starting in 2012. In other words, our reform-minded commissioners can hang around until 2024. On an enlightened reform measure, which states that a former commissioner must wait 10 years before being allowed to lobby the commission: Oh no! our reformers yelp. That’s unfair (to them). So they reduce the number to two years.
Then there’s Commissioner Barbara Jordan asking Elections Supervisor Lester Sola about participation during the election which changed our system to a strong mayor form. Sola answered that it was about a 14 percent turnout. And Jordan shakes her head and disserts (with a too serious look on her face) about how that change was brought about by too few voters. In her opinion, she is telling us, it was not the will of the majority of the people.
She fails to add, if she’d been serious about this, the low turnout that elected most, if not all, of our commissioners and mayor. And of course, what she fails to divulge to the public is that she would love a return to a county manager form of government where the commissioners held much more power than they currently have. As for the strong mayor, recalled mayor Carlos Alvarez worked to pass it with the voters. And it’s what undid him just a few years after he helped pass it.
Like it or not, the voters finally had someone they could point a finger at and blame for our woes.
Nothing has changed
In spite of the fact that voters overwhelmingly (unless 88 percent was not enough to convince them) sent a message of total dissatisfaction with business as usual at county hall, commissioners in Miami-Dade are still playing games with the public.
I have in my possession a memo dated March 29, 2011 (see on front page), sent by the county manager (until the end of this year) Alina T. Hudak, appointed to finish out the position vacated by former manager George Burgess, who resigned and jumped on his golden parachute right after the election that saw his boss, former mayor Carlos Alvarez, get recalled. The memo is directed to Commission Chair Joe A. Martinez and the other members of the board of county commissioners. In the memo she lists and “explains the current status of every employee who was part of the CEO on March 15.”
The Miami-Dade CEO is the mayor. Employees of the CEO on March 15 happen to be persons who worked for ousted mayor Carlos Alvarez. This is the same Carlos Alvarez who preached austerity, layoff of thousands of county employees, and an across the board 5 percent reduction of salaries – except, as we found out, for his staff.
Well, if the voters fired Alvarez and thousands of county employees have been let go, how come members of his staff are being assigned to positions in the county (see memo below), some to positions that were not going to be filled? And, in some cases, to positions of county employees who have been laid-off?
I thought I’d ask because these are the staff members of a guy who was fired by voters and they’re being rewarded with new jobs while others are being given the pink slip? And the county commissioners are aware of this…
Am I the only person in town who finds this unfair? And definitely wrong.
Two weeks ago I insisted we hit the refresh button on 11 of our 12 remaining county commissioners. I said Miami was ready for new faces.
Do any of my readers still doubt this?
