Carlos Gimenez starts early street campaign — in Miami

Carlos Gimenez starts early street campaign — in Miami
  • Sumo

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez may be leading in polls and exuding an outward confidence that he will be re-elected in 2016, but it seems he carlosraquelis secretly sweating the challenge from Miami-Dade School Board Member Raquel Regalado.

Why? Well, because a whole 13 months from the election, there is a canvassing team going door to door in Little Havana, of all places, leaving this door hanger on at least one puerta when the voter wasn’t home.

It touts ” a plan for our future” and it rings with all the messages we’ll see in the mayor’s campaign — especially the fact that he hasn’t raised taxes.

“In his five years as mayor of Miami-Dade County, Carlos Gimenez has lowered his own salary by 50 percent and has reduced property taxes and unemployment in our community,” it says in imperfect GimenezhangerSpanish with a photo of Gimenez at the cafecito window at Versailles. (Note to Freddy Balsera‘s staff: You cannot use Google Translate without really editing a lot.) (Editor’s Note: Freddy Balsera texted Ladra Monday morning to inform her that he had nothing to do with this door hanger. I recognized some of the same language and syntax and style used in other Balsera campaigns, but maybe they’re starting to all look the same to me. Said Balsera: “I have never done a Gimenez piece and I am not working for him.” )

“Now that Gimenez has succeeded in putting county finances in order, he is going to fight for a plan to,” says the hanger, with what looks like his four campaign messages: reduce crime, improve public transportation, create jobs and not raise taxes.

The PAC’s name, Miami-Dade Residents First, is featured on the front with Gimenez’s mug because it serves as a nice message, too (if it were true).

The door hanger, obtained by Ladra was reportedly left on a Little Havana door — in Regalado’s stronghold — between a week and two weeks ago, so it could have been during the poll done for the Miami Herald that shows Gimenez 23 points ahead of his only declared challenger.

Read related story: Poll results are nothing for Carlos Gimenez to brag about

It’s a little early to be seeing door hangers for an election in 2016. But I guess that doesn’t matter much when you have more than a million dollars to spend.

And I guess Little Havana and Miami is the best place to start, since that is where Regalado pulls the most.

Ladra has also heard of a push poll done with city of Miami voters, perhaps exclusively, that concentrated on Gimenez’s time and achievements when he was the city manager there. Sounds like the kind of work done by Gimenez pollster Dario Moreno, who has been paid $34,000 by the PAC in two payments since April ($15,300 last month and $19,000 in April), but no polls have been made public.

And it sounds like he is trying to beef up his profile and shore up support in Regalado’s ‘hood.

Tell me again how Carlos Gimenez isn’t worried?

7 Responses to "Carlos Gimenez starts early street campaign — in Miami"

  1. He has not raised taxes? Ask the people who pay the special taxing distric, and if they have a guard house WATCH OUT, a tax is a tax no matter who pays it. He has given up 50% of his salary, so would anyone who gets up to $12,000 a month from his retirement from the city. Say nothing of the perks from his lobbying family members. He has reduced unemployment, REALLY! He is running scared because he knows he is an empty suit who lives of the goverement ( family included ). By the way does anyone question his spending account, that is not part of his salary, he has not given up a single penny from that. WAKE UP AND SAY GOOD BY TO THIS FOOL!

  2. I hope that voters sees that Carlos Gimenez is self serving. He’s hired some really bad people, including just recently Alice Bravo. A person who is extremely hated by her peers. So much hated that Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso was celebrating in his office with his CFO of her departure.

  3. This is nothing but a smoke screen to bamboozle our citizens once again as he did in 2012. If you want to see cronyism in action check out the arrival of Alice Bravo to the Public Works and Waste Management Department (yes, the same department merged by Gimenez for the purpose of ridding himself of political opponents and having free range to give away contracts to his consultant buddies). The department will once again be merged with Transit creating more chaos and leading to the dismissal of the few professional employees that still remain in that department. Of course, they will be replaced with cronies who ask high high when Gimenez says jump! All of these departmental mergers created by Gimenez have failed to save a penny. In fact it costs more money to run 26 departments today than it did running 52 three years ago. Of course while employees are worrying about their loss wages, benefits and possibly the loss of their jobs they fail to pay attention to the fact that every county contract has a lobbyist and contractor name attached to it. It goes even further. The contractors and lobbyists tell Gimenez “there is a need for a service” and automatically millions are set aside for the contractor to solve the “problem”. Where is The Herald, the State Attorney’s Office, the FBI? Does anybody care that aside from campaign and PAC contributions, Carlitos Jr. is raking in the dough for the rest of the family? What is the net worth of the Gimenez family today in comparison to four years ago. Do the math and figure out how a fireman from City of Miami came to amass such wealth. There lies your answer.

  4. The Mayor and his cabal will be busy spending money doing crazy stuff every week. They know there is always going to be more money. Every contractor for the county has to pay up. Little Goldmeier, with an assist from Ferro, makes sure anyone bidding for contracts gets a fundraising call.

    This time, the voters will have a real choice. Regalado is not Julio Robaina or Joe Martinez. For one thing, she is a she! And she presents a real alternative. Voters need to pay attention.

  5. As part of his “accomplishments” Gimenez ought to list how he receives three (YES THREE) government retirements and his wife is just marking time to get another juicy retirement as well. List the names of those lowly employees that have been harassed, transferred or fired for standing up to Gimenez. At last din’t forget to list the names of all the consultants and lobbyists that reach Gimenez through his son and polute our government.

    • Actually it’s one City of Miami pension for a little over $10,000 a month and a 401(k) he was specially awarded by the city commission at the end of his City manager tenure..(I was told his manager tenure wasn’t long enough to qualify for a second regular pension)

      He will be eligible for an third state pension on his retirement from the County.

      BTW a note to Dario Moreno.. I wouldn’t do any polling around City Hall.. When I was asking around down there a couple of months ago about his special 401K I got a ear full….let’s just say he is still not a popular fellow with ALOT of his old co- workers…

  6. There is something appealing about opening up a Russian Front. However if history has proven anything, this just seems like throwing money at a problem that will never go away. Jimmy Morales tried the same thing in 04 opening an office Hialeah that cost more than it was worth.

    Little Havana would canonize everyone with the last name of Regalado!

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