Close to 19,000 voters in Miami Lakes will get a ballot in the mail in the next couple of days that could change the way the city governs for years to come.
Ten charter amendments — not one, not two, but 10 — are on the ballot that are due back by May 17.
It almost went to 12, but two other proposed amendments — one to go back to district seats rather than at large and a controversial measure to rotate the position of mayor among council members — were voted down by the town’s charter committee, realizing, we assume, that the people of the town should be the ones to elect the mayor.
Still, a good number of the amendments on the ballot — mailed out Wednesday by the Miami-Dade Elections Department — seemingly aim to diminish the mayor’s power.
One would put the appointment of the town manager and town attorney in the council’s lap, rather than the mayor’s. Right now, the council simply accepts or rejects the recommendation from the mayor, but cannot put forth a name of their own. Another takes away the mayor’s right to name the town lobbyist with all matters before the county. It would be up to the town manager or council to do so. Still another would give the power to call a special meeting to any four council members. Currently, the mayor alone can call a special meeting. And boy has he.
Do these measures stem from anti-Pizzi sentiment? Sure seems that way, right?
Some think the questions are the result of an embarrassing few years, starting with the August 2013 arrest of Pizzi on federal bribery charges. He was snared in the same sting that nabbed Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño for expediting what they knew were bogus grants in return for thousands in kickbacks. Maroño was sentenced to three years in prison. But Pizzi got acquitted, despite the testimony that he took a $3,000 bribe from a lobbyist inside an office closet.
After the trial, Pizzi had to sue to get back in office. The city fought his return, arguing that former Mayor Wayne Slaton had been legitimately elected by the voters after the arrest. But Ladra guesses that this held little water since Pizzi beat Slaton in 2014 with a whopping 68 percent of the vote. The whole affair may end up costing the city hundreds of thousands in legal fees.
Read related story: Wayne Slaton gives up; Michael Pizzi is Miami Lakes mayor
Oh, did Ladra mention that one charter change on the ballot would make the vice mayor the mayor in the event of the mayor leaving his seat and call for a special election if the vice mayor’s term is longer than that of the departing mayor?
Veteran town activist and former candidate David “Doc” Bennett, a longtime Pizzi critic, said the changes were in line with the founding vision for Miami Lakes.
“He’s one vote. He’s just another council member. He’s not a strong mayor,” Bennett said, adding that the mayor’s title was more of a ceremonial one. “He has tried desperately to turn it into a strong mayor form of government, but you still need four votes. Without four votes, nothing happens.
“All we’re doing is expanding the role of the council, not limiting the role or the power of the mayor,” he said. “Aside from ceremonial duties, he has no more power than the council members.”
Although there is actually a question on the ballot changing the form of government from mayor-council-manager to council-manager.
One question on the ballot that is not about the mayor’s power would change the way council members and the mayor are elected by requiring runoffs when the winner has less than 50 percent of the vote. Well, that one’s sort of a no-brainer.
“Someone could have a paper candidate and it could give the win to whoever gets 30-something percent,” Bennett said. “Now you neutralize that tactic.”
That hasn’t really been a problem in the Lakes. The last few election cycles have seen all head-to-head contests, with winners getting more than 50% of the vote anyway. In the last 10 years, only Councilman Ceasar Mestre won with less than 40%. That was in a four-way race in 2008.
But it certainly could affect the election this year, where there is a plethora of candidates running for both the mayor’s seat and the council seats.
The mayoral contest has at least three and presumably four (if Pizzi throws his hat in as expected). Already, Councilmen Mestre and Manny Cid have filed paperwork to run, as has former Mayor Wayne Slaton.
Read related story: Miami Lakes: Manny Cid becomes No. 3 to run for mayor
But two of the council seats are bursting at the seams with three challengers to Councilman Tony Lama (Robin Brown-Beaman, Jose Nodal Jr., and Xiomara Pazos) and no fewer than six so far running for the open seat vacated by Cid (Cynthia Beyer, Esther Colon, Nayib Hassan, Wendy Milanes, Rosalina Nunez and Alejandro Sanchez).
Interesting that nobody has yet to file in the first seat, where incumbent Councilman Nelson Rodriguez is enjoying a free ride so far. Might that change before qualifying this summer?
Councilman Cid said he has long been in favor of runoff elections and he predicted a good turnout — or return on the mail-in ballots. But he wasn’t sure many of the other amendments would make it.
“Historically, Miami Lakers are very intelligent voters who look at each question. Last time, a large number of charter amendment items were voted down.”
Of course, he is running for that targeted mayor’s seat.
Ballots must be returned to the Miami-Dade Elections Department by May 17 and the town has provided an online guide to the ballot questions.
[…] Read related story: Miami Lakes charter changes aim at mayoral power […]
I have not contributed to the discussion in quite sometime. As of my writing, we do not know the results of the charter initiatives. However, I continue to believe that Michael Pizzi is the right man for Miami Lakes. I believe Slaton’s time has past and that Cid and Mestre are unqualified based on their ridiculous support of Slaton’s fantasy to remain in office after Pizzi Was acquited. For me, the fact that the town attorney so badly advised the town council and cost the down potentially millions in legal fees and yet retains his job is so pathetic. In November, the town will vote for Mayor and some council seats. Then and only then will we see who this town supports. You are either with Mayor Pizzi and the rule of law or you are not. No ballot initiative can ever change one fact: Mayor Pizzi is a STRONG MAYOR- he has a backbone and the courage to look his detractors in the face and take a stand. Pizzi has always stood with us, now it’s time for we the people of Miami Lakes to stand with him.
Faust,
EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT MICHAEL IS TRUE. But, if you prefer to stick your head in the ground and try to blow up Mestre into some equal or greater evil than Pizzi, you’re sadly mistaken. I’m not Mestre’s defender so I don’t need to refute your claims but while we’re on the topic, only one of the guys who met with the undercover agents was arrested: Pizzi! Hopefully other residents have more sense. Democracy may not punish people for ignorance, but it sure does punish the rest of us for it….
None of the bad things you say about Pizzi, most which are true, make Mestre any better, or good for anything. You can’t refute anything I said about Mestre. At least Pizzi is not going to require air conditioning covers all over town at a very high cost to retired citizens on a fixed income.
Also, the idea to raise contributions was something that first came up with Pizzi–who accepted money from out of town special interests including people with business before town government. The fact that the checks were personal and not corporate doesn’t mean special interests are out of our politics. Finally, unless you’ve been living under a rock, we now live in a post Citizens United world. On that one, I won’t blame Pizzi and the others for trying to head off a lawsuit instead of making a costly political statement.
Pizzi?! Pizzi?! You definitely must be Michael writing this or totally clueless. If you want to smell something that truly stinks, let’s talk about Pizzi’s connections to Opa Locka, where he worked for a period of time recently and with whose officials he’s had an unusually close relationship with for years. The same Pizzi who now wants us to cover his criminal case fees and for what? Why do I have to pay for his association with the most corrupt lobbyists and elected officials this county has to offer (it goes without saying there are many)? Saying you’re going to vote for Pizzi is equivalent to signing our death warrant. Miami Lakes literally can’t afford another four years of Michael Pizzi at the helm. He doesn’t care about us. He cares only about himself and wraps up his narcissism around populist rhetoric. The only logical conclusion is that you’re Michael Pizzi advocating for your own re-election. I’d gladly take any of the candidates running now over Pizzi. At least with Ceasar, I’m getting a more experienced hand with none of the baggage of Wayne Slaton.
Hi Ladra, thank you for taking an interest in Miami Lakes. Your analysis of the 50+1 ballet mesure is incorrect, in fact a other Miami Lakes elected officials have won with less than 50%. An example is Councilman Mingo who garnered 40% during the special election and sits on the dais today. Mestre definatly has my vote, he’s a hard working public servant with education and experience to back it up. Manny is a great kid, but he lacks education and experience. He should use his opportunity to serve as councilman, serve another term, and then I’m sure there will be many opportunities for him. His future looks bright.
Mestre??? He was in favor of installing air conditioner covers all over town. As soon as Pizzi came back and said that it was BS to change the cover requirement Mestre agreed and said that the council may have “over-stepped”. Not to mention that he’s good friends with the Hialeah mafia, including builders, former mayors, real estate developers, former cops fined by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust for lying, etc. . Not to mention that he voted in favor of increasing the limit on campaign donations and to allow donations from corporations.
It all smells. I’d rather vote for Pizzi or anyone else that may show up.
Ha! Pizzi a good man?! Give me a break Marc. Cid is not going to be the next mayor though. I personally like him having met the guy on a couple of occasions now. However, I’m not about to vote for someone as mayor who is still green behind the ears. We’ve seen how important the position of mayor can be in the wrong hands (not that Cid is anything close to being like Pizzi). At the same time, I think Slaton’s time has come and gone. Cid needs time to let the training wheels come off, Slaton needs to just ride off into the sunset finally, and Pizzi needs to be locked up in a looney bin where he belongs. I’m going to be voting for Mestre on this one. Hope Cid stays involved though.
Cid is going to be the next Mayor, good thing will occur in this great town if he is. Manny cid you got our vote buddy
Pizzi is a good man