An open letter from the Pets’ Trust about the mayoral race

An open letter from the Pets’ Trust about the mayoral race
  • Sumo

The following is a letter written to one of the Miami Herald editorial board members by Michael Rosenberg and Rita Schwartz, co-founders of  the Pets’ Trust, after the paper’s Facebook live interview of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. With their permission, Political Cortadito is publishing it as an open letter to the entire editorial board.

“I don’t know if you and your fellow board members have watched the House Of Cards with Kevin Spacey, but Gimenez Heraldif not….your interview with Carlos Gimenez was like an extension of that show, particularly when he spoke about the Pets’ Trust.  I have shared the Herald editorial video with several dozen people and they all commented on how visibly tense or annoyed he became when the words Pets’ Trust was brought up.

The Mayor loves to say about us “They just want to increase taxes and I’m not going to do it”.  He says that over and over no matter where he is (House of Cards!).  In 2012 when we first went to the Mayor and Commissioners about the idea of saving our animals, the economy was sinking, and there was no money. The only way to get the additional funds was to ask the community if they would agree to reach into their pockets to invest in our animals. The people of Miami Dade County said yes.  In 2014, 2015, and 2016 there was no need to ask for a tax hike. The property tax dollars were pouring in.   In 2015 over 250 Pets’ Trust supporters went to the County Commission meeting and 25 people spoke. NOT ONE ASKED FOR A TAX HIKE. They all said use the surplus to honor the vote. Watching the Mayor give you that same political answer, “they want to increase taxes,” is politics at its worse. He uses those words to dismiss the will of the people, rather than finding a way to honor the will of the people. He should not be our Mayor…EVER AGAIN!

During the interview he stated, “What do those Pets’ Trust people want?” I suppose you must believe he has been calling us day and night to find out that answer (House of Cards!). We have tried to meet with him for TWO YEARS! HE refuses to meet with us because facing the truth from those telling the truth is not something that is part of his make-up. He should be using us as an example of how democracy works. Of how people come together for a common cause. Rather, he denounces us publicly over and over.

How many more times do we have to hear him say and imply that that we are in it for the money!?!? He knows full well how those funds would be handled.

These slanderous charges are part of our lawsuit against him. The Mayor continues to tell the public that we are getting the money (House of Cards!).

We have written his office over and over and over demanding he stop saying this, or prove it. But, he doesn’t have to stop, and this shows us more than anything what kind of person and Mayor he is. When we hear this, we always ask for the proof.  What doesn’t exist can’t be found, but the Mayor keeps saying it. The bully pulpit is aptly named in this case!

You asked him if there was a personality clash. He denied it, but there most certainly is. The Mayor does not like to be challenged with persistence, determination and facts. Can you imagine the atmosphere he has created among the people that work for him, who wouldn’t dare challenge him for fear of losing their jobs? I once asked a police major how many more officers she needed in her district. She would not answer for fear that it would get back to the Mayor. Can you imagine how much better our County could be if we had a leader that respected his employees….and respected the voters, a mayor that implemented the will of the people. Well we don’t have that. We have a government of fear.

Soon you will make an endorsement. Your editorials in the past two years have practically BEGGED people from the community to run for office so fresh ideas could re-energize our thinking, our way of doing things. Take a look at your endorsements these past two years. Sometimes new people are simply not qualified and you endorse the same old same old….but sometimes new blood stands out with character ideas so refreshing that it would be a sin to not have them as our leaders.

The people of the Pets’ Trust have watched Carlos Gimenez up front and personal for four years. He lied to us. He slandered us. He missed an incredible opportunity of using our example to inspire people to become involved.

If the Miami Herald were to endorse a person like that, it would suggest business as usual is okay, and that the change you speak of so often and eloquently  for our community, will be delayed again.

In other words, the House of Cards continues to grow, and the people grow more and more distant from participating in government.  Forty years of public service is enough. We need new and younger people with bold ideas.

I read that in the Miami Herald.

Michael Rosenberg and Rita Schwartz, co founders of the Pets’ Trust.

Michael Rosenberg spent time in a cage to call attention to the plight of our animals.
Michael Rosenberg spent time in a cage to call attention to the plight of our animals.

 

22 Responses to "An open letter from the Pets’ Trust about the mayoral race"

  1. Tito,

    In 2012 money was in short supply and raising the taxes was the only option. 500,000 people voted to do so. HOWEVER, in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the tax dollars were pouring into the County. There is no need to raise taxes now. We just simply need to fund the programs with the dollars the taxpayers and voters voted to use from this surplus.

    In 2015, 250 Pets’ Trust supporters went to the budget meeting in front of the County Commissioners and 25 people spoke. NOT ONE said raise our taxes. We didn’t need to.

    So, PLEASE stop saying we want to raise taxes. 500,000 voters said TO DO IT!!!! In fact, those words were the first sentence in the ballot question.

    Flash forward, we don’t need to raise taxes. Just fund the programs to stop the killing. Yes, animal services has more money…More salaries. We need the programs.

    AND…..if that tax had been implemented, the average homeowner would have paid $15 a year. Gotta go…off to the movies. $12 admission and $8.00 for popcorn. The lines will be long.

    Tito, don’t fall for the “we’ve given more money”…. It was not about money for animal services, but rather to fund services for our animals. BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!

    Call me….305 439 3571.

  2. Michael and Rita……there is no need to raise taxes on us. The commission and Mayor have increased the funding to animal services and have made a HUGE dent into not having to kill stray cats and dogs. The Pet Trust did a great job of raising awareness, but the ballot question was a method to test the appetite of the residents, it was non-binding and many campaigned making it clear to voters that it would not raise taxes, I saw it in West Dade early voting.

  3. To “D Guy”,

    Everyone once in awhile we get these accusations from anonymous people such as “D Guy”. They make outrageous claims yet are afraid to share their name or where they get their information. And, they NEVER call us to ask the questions. They just write words without having any idea of what the Pets’ Trust is and how the funding works. Mr. D. Guy might be might be Mayor Carlos Gimenez. He has slandered our names by telling people that Rita and Michael “get the money”. He knows that is impossible. The county commissioners are not writing a check to Michael and Rita. That is not how it works. There will be an animal board made up of animal people who are all volunteers with no paid positions. There job is to supervise the budget and the programs. They report to the county commissioners.

    Regarding your comment we do nothing to help the animals. In the past 20 years, Rita Schwartz has done more for our animals that you could do in ten lifetimes. She has rescued countless animals, paid enormous vets bills from her own pocket, created dozens of fundraising events raising over a million dollars, trapped hundreds of cats for spay/neuter surgeries, and has helped adopt homeless animals she finds on the streets.

    However, she realized these efforts will never solve the problem because over those twenty years, there was never a light to the end of this tunnel. In fact, the problem was growing worse. The Pet’s Trust programs, fully funded, is our only hope.

    Your comment, “they refuse to help the animals in need”….is so blatantly offensive, that I understand why you feel it necessary to hide behind a fake and false name. You either speak from complete ignorance or are just totally unaware. Really, are you Mayor Gimenez?

    Mr. D Guy….My phone number is 305 439 3571. Please call me and ask the questions. We are not hiding. Don’t be afraid. Call anytime.

    MICHAEL ROSENBERG

  4. I am so tired of the almost daily phone surveys that the Gimenez campaign is funding. The robot asks if I have already voted and if I planned to vote on the 30th. Then “he” goes on to list the names of the candidates and how I feel about each one. I always give a heads up to Regelado. I would love to know the results of this polling.

  5. The Pet’s Trust does nothing to help the animals… They need to learn how to be effective and not just loud and obtrusive… I think they have a good cause, but I think they need to be smarter.

    Also, I am not sure they have always made the best decisions with the money donated to their organization. Why would we then give tax money to them? Also, they are looney? We have enough looney people in charge of tax money…. I want to start a campaign that requires drug testing and competency testing for anyone who is managing public funds…

    I am mostly sad for the animals. They suffer. Michael and Rita seemed to be focused on being right more so than doing the right thing… They refuse to help animals in need… They only want to do things that bring them attention… I am tired of their squawking ….

    I am not saying that Mayor Gimenez has not violated the trust of the public, but I think it would be an act of treason to hand over my tax payer dollars to these reckless, power hungry individuals.

    • Hey,”D Guy”,
      IF you look at the actual FACTS, you will learn that from its inception, The Pets’ Trust has insisted on “the twenty million dollars” to be given to and regulated by a third party that has no connection whatsoever to them, and the irrational charge that they “seemed to be focused more on being right than doing the right thing”, is just that-irrational and the polar opposite of what has transpired. Rita and Michael have spent their own funds and countless hours helping animals and attempting to counteract the lies and distortions of Gimenez and his puppet Alex Munoz at the MDAS (shelter). This shelter is just a prettier place that kills no fewer animals than the previous one.
      Oh, and one last thing, “D”, you might use your REAL name-we use ours proudly, and stand behind the truth.

  6. Anytime you give animal control an “out” by saying you don’t have to show “aggressive” animals on your euthanasia number, you have essentially opened the door to false numbers being given to the public. This goes on all across the U.S. and most people are ignorant while wanting to believe their shelter is doing a great job keeping down killing rates. All killing rates need to be posted to the public. It’s the only way people will see the truth.

  7. I have been a VERY active advocate for shelter reform in Miami for a number of years. I have had NUMEROUS meetings and correspondence with the management of MDAS, as well as the mayor’s office and county commissioners. I can say WITHOUT reservations that the management is one of the MOST CORRUPT and INCOMPETENT operations I have seen in decades when it comes to animal welfare and care, and more importantly ADOPTIONS. A part of that CORRUPTION is, not only the county commission, but the MAYOR at the highest levels of office. I have attended a number of commission meetings and watched as the commissioners and the mayor LIE on purpose to deceive and advance a false narrative of improvements at MDAS that upon close inspection do NOT exist in reality. The most recent being this TOTAL DISHONESTY of the shelter becoming No Kill with vastly improved save and adoption rates. None of which can be substantiated by actual proof. The shelter simply lies or produces false and dishonest paperwork as evidence of their “improvements” and the county commissioners and the mayor simply believe the lies and run with it to gain political points and votes. I have actively and aggressively attempted through numerous PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS to gain an honest insight into the operations of MDAS. Many of these requests completely IGNORED by the management of MDAS to the point where I filed a lawsuit against the county for failures to produce the REQUIRED records. They simply ignore requests or attempt to charge exorbitant fees as a way of intimidation to STOP people from investigating their corrupt practices. The upper management of MDAS intimidates volunteers and employees into SILENCE as a way of keeping the truth from being revealed. They threaten volunteers with losing their volunteer jobs if they go PUBLIC with any information that sheds light on the poor care and incompetence that is rampant within the shelter. They even threaten to ban rescue groups with the same intimidation tactics if they reveal any problems with the operations of the shelter. Employees have been allowed to continue their jobs while evidence of abuse of animals by them have been COVERED UP at the highest levels of management of MDAS, or by their failures to pursue charges against the employees properly. And when TRUTH leaks out about the mismanagement of the shelter, they lie to cover it up and then get the corrupt politicians to go along with the lies. On NUMEROUS occasions I have emailed the MAYOR and his office over VERY SPECIFIC concerns about the management of MDAS. In the OVER 4 years that I have published an MDAS advocacy page on Facebook,”The Hidden Truth Behind The Bars Of Miami Dade Animal Services”, aggressively looking into the troubles and problems with the management, which has UNDENIABLY caused pain, suffering and UNNECESSARY DEATH of animals due to their incompetence, I have yet to ever receive ONE RESPONSE directly from the MAYOR. A mayor who claims to know so much about the operations of the shelter and is so concerned about the fate of the animals in this community. A MAYOR who is so quick to spread the lies of “improvements” at MDAS. Improvements that are simply a figment of the imaginations of the corrupt politicians that spread them. Myself and the people I work with to reveal the TRUTH of MDAS have uncovered NUMEROUS cases of outright lies, cover ups, falsification of official documents and worse, the outright lies about the killing of animals that are NEVER reported in their dishonest statistics. Animals that are reported to have been adopted, but in reality KILLED and NEVER accounted for by the management. But when they are caught in the lies, they just lie again and claim these are HONEST mistakes. The failures to pick up strays in many areas, again MDAS gets caught in lies and blames it on HONEST mistakes. There ALWAYS seems to be a lie they can explain that the politicians want to believe. In closing, these are just some of the MANY disturbing issues that surround, not only MDAS, but the many DISHONEST politicians that lend credibility to the lies. It is time we held BOTH MDAS and these politicians accountable for their lies and dishonesty, for the sake of the suffering animals in MDAS and within the communities the shelter serves. We can and MUST do better for their sake. The animals simply deserve BETTER.

  8. Mayor Gimenez is my Hero for so many, many reasons.

    No one is perfect.

    Mayor Gimenez stands above all others, in my opinion, on reducing property taxes, in general on honesty in government, and in leading our County into the — for me personally — infinitely better world of Uber and Lyft.

    He appears to, unfortunately, have a moral blind spot, with respect to “man’s best friend”.

    This is a crying shame. It gives me fear to speak out on this issue. On the other hand, I want to get to Heaven, and I cannot, as a matter of conscience, turn my back on — don’t the majority feel this way? — members of our families, our precious little dogs.

    Sincerely,

    Jackson Rip Holmes

  9. He, and the Commissioners, talk out of both sides of their mouths. They say one thing in public, and vote the opposite way when they sit in their chairs.

    They are NOT to be trusted.

    Vote Regalado.

  10. I have no respect for Mayor Carlos Gimenez. I have had no diret contact with him, but I did see one of his deputy mayors once and I had the feeling that she didn’t care. Several years ago, I sat in the mayor’s waiting room trying to see the mayor for about an hour. No one came out to say anything to me until I picked up my cell phone and loudly announced that I was calling the Miami Herald. That’s when a Deputy Mayor came out and took me into her office. I don’t even remember the issue. I am very involved in my voluntary homeowmers association and we occasionally have issues. I am an activist. Forgive me, as I am 76 years old. Even though I don’t remember the issue, I remember distinctly how I was treated in the mayor’s office. He has no respect for ordinary Miami-Dade citizens. Even though I haven’t researched this, I am sure that the bulk of the campaign dollars he has accumulated came from developers and construction companies. And he doesn’t give a damn about homeless pets.

    One more thing. A group of my fellow Democrats was holding signs on U.S. #1 a couple of elections ago. It may have been for Obama. Gimenez walked up and joined us. What a political opportunist he is!

    I am definitely voting for Regalado.

  11. Maybe this is a stretch, but ever heard the saying (paraphrasing here): the more I know people, the more I love my pet/dog/cat, etc;? Well, anyone that doesn’t love pets, does not get my vote.

  12. I suport my mayor carlos. I no he is not an honest person, but he tries. He no animal killer. He no.

    • Sarah you say that you are very well aware the mayor is not honest yet you’ll vote for him because “he tries?” Please explain how a dishonest person tries? A dishonest person is only interested in his own gain with zero regard for anyone outside himself. Yet you would have this selfish, arrogant, lying dictator as mayor? Wow …. I’m actually speechless and that’s rare. That’s the worst endorsement for anyone I’ve ever read in my life but it does illustrate the caliber and class of people who are Carlos Fidel Castro Gimenez’s supporters. Uneducated lemmings.

  13. Yes…my young daughter and I worked hard on the pet trust I was teaching her to get involved for things she believes in. For weeks & on the day of voting we worked hard giving out information . when the voters supported the Pet Trust we jumped up and down screaming with joy.
    Then I had to break the bad news how Mayor Gimenez
    Didn’t care to listen to the voters and let us, the voters & the animals down. I hope he does not win and will support the opponent completely. A Mayor & the commission should listen to the people & the majority vote!
    No BS excuses!!!

  14. Ladra,

    The will of the People was never igonore. This was simply a straw ballot and not a referendum. The County Commission, not the Mayor approves referendum items. It is funny how you can bark at others, but others are not allowed to bark at you. If you can dish it, then you better know how to take it.

    • The sixty-five percent-five hundred thousand votes-of the People in this Democracy-were betrayed. This is the very essence of NOT listening to the Will Of The People. The “it’s only a straw ballot” argument is tired and lame, especially since the Mayor and commissioners pledged their support (initially) to the majority’s wishes. Anything less is an egregious violation of what we hold dear in this Country. How sad and ironic that this Mayor, whose family fled an oppressive regime, has continued to attempt to perpetrate the very ideology he has escaped. It is scary to imagine what damage that Emperor Carlos will inflict on the citizens and animals of Miami-Dade County, having free reign for his last term, if re-elected.

  15. I support The Pet Trust ! But I Thought We The Independent Limo Driver Where The Only Ones Rejected by The Mayor . He’s Quote ” Every Thing as It is ,is Right ”
    And It Is Not Let’s Get Ready of Him and Them Work on The Rest Of The Corruption for The Best of Our County !

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