ADLP’s recall ordinance limiting voters passes in Miami; mayor Baby X is mute

So, the ordinance to limit recalls in the city of Miami passed 4-1 after Commissioner Keon Hardemon joined the Three Amigos after first seeming against the change — it even seemed like he offered the Ladra amendment, to make it after a failed recall election. But Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla wove his jabber magic and it was over.

Unless it was cooked beforehand so DLP doesn’t candy grab the Southeast Overtown Park Place Community Redevelopment Agency he once had his eyes on.

“Your vote is very important because it can be vetoed. It’s legislative,” Diaz de la Portilla told Hardemon, because the mayoral veto power has been compromised recently. “We would appreciate it.”

There’s that annoying “we” again.

The vote became a birthday present to Commissioner Joe Carollo, who turned 65 on Thursday and joked about being in the risk demographic for coronavirus not knowing the whole time he was being exposed to it (more on that later). Carollo is facing a real recall effort that has been delayed by the city attorney’s office, working on his behalf.

But the recall ordinance is likely to head to court. Ladra can’t imagine that someone won’t challenge what is arguably a violation of both state statute and the city charter.

“This is another step in our city leaders moving further away from accountability to the people that elected them,” said activist attorney David Winker, who has been representing residents’ interests on a number of issues and is one of the two attorneys working for the Take Back Our City, the recall group.

“We, the residents, gave ourselves the right to recall politicians in our City Charter. Section 4(b) of the Charter provides that ‘The mayor and all other members of the city commission shall be subject to recall.’ So the first step of the analysis is whether the rights that we granted ourselves can be amended by the city commission and, as I argued this morning in public comment, it cannot be,” Winker told Ladra after the meeting. “Any amendment to the charter must be by referendum.”

That’s just to start, Winker said that the state law also prohibits the restriction.

City Attorney Victoria Mendez assured commissioners that the Miami recall ordinance is not contrary to the state statute and told them that it mirrored the one in the county. “Word for word,” she said. But that’s not exactly true.

What “Tricky Vicky” didn’t say is that the county also gives petition gatherers 120 days in the first round and makes fewer restrictions on who can gather signatures. The city’s rules, which are state rules, are more constraining already with fewer days to get signatures and limitations on who can collect petitions. State statutes don’t limit how many times citizens can try to recall a bad elected, just for how many reasons.

That’s why Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who Ladra used to think was so honest, is either stupid or a sell-out. Because his argument of double jeopardy and his fear that someone with money can come and — because he votes a certain way — recall him over and over and over again are flat out ridiculous. Reyes is clearly afraid of developer and InterMiami partner Jorge Mas, who knows the commissioner is a no vote for the Miami Freedom Park real estate scam disguised as a soccer stadium.

But (1) you can’t be recalled for voting a certain way. According to state law, there are seven specific reasons to recall an elected in Florida: malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, and/or conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude, Reyes stays clear of those sins, and there is no reason anyone would think so, and Reyes has nothing to worry about.

And (2) For all this talk about a “little grupito” of outsiders — and let’s remember that each of the Three Amigos took more Coral Gables money than the recall group — there were more than 1,900 voters in District 3 who signed petitions. What about them? Don’t they count?

Also, when this goes to second round of signature collecting, the little recall group has to get three times as many petitions, almost 5,000, which would be about twice as many as voted for Carollo in 2017. And they have 60 days to do it. Under this ordinance, if they fall short, or anyone else who tries to recall another commissioner for a valid reason, then there would be no remedy for a year and a commissioner could do whatever he wants — even pull a Frank Artiles and get drunk in public and rant and rave — and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Can you imagine Carollo with carte blanche for a year?

Winker has spoken before about how the ordinance would effectively give commissioners a way to inoculate themselves by putting on a fake recall and then failing so that nobody else can recall you again.

Reyes, again sounding like he needs more ginkgo biloba, said that was preposterous. “No elected official in the right mind would start a recall against himself or herself,” he actually said, because the concept has just flown right over his head. The idea is that a commissioner would fake a recall against himself or herself, Manny. It would be a fake recall. You know? Get a buddy to start a recall, get 100 signatures and quit. It fails. That’s what fake means.

Recalls are a legally provided right under Florida law, not a “circumvention of the electoral process,” like Diaz de la Portilla contends. It’s a remedy provided to voters by state law for when electeds go bad — or show how bad they’ve been all along — and voters get buyer’s remorse after they realize they elected a corrupt POS that is only there to benefit his friends and punish his perceived political foes. Or something like that.

According to Ballotpedia, recalls of local, municipal electeds is afforded to voters in 37 other states, too, or 68% of the country. The recall of state electeds is only allowed in 19 states, or 38% of the country. Florida is not one of them (Note to self: That needs to change). Florida is, however, one of 12 that requires recalls to be for one of the seven specific reasons.

Diaz de la Portilla said the governor can remove a commissioner from office for any one of those things. But that’s not really true either. These people are professional spin doctors. For example, Gov. Ron DeSantis is not going to remove Carollo for the abuse of office reasons listed on the petition. But the people may do it. That’s why the recourse is there.

“It is violating the rights of the many, for the wishes of a few,” Diaz de la Portilla said. But that’s also not entirely true. It ignores the 1,900 plus District 3 voters who signed the petition and the 4,800 or so that would have to sign to put it on the ballot. That’s more people than voted for him. How is that the wishes of a few?

Robert Piper, a The Roads resident who is also chair of the Take Back Our City political action committee, urged them not to vote on this in the middle of a recall. It seems retaliatory. And The Dean, in his typical arrogant rude manner, tried to school the retired Marine on civics asking how many times since he moved to the city had he voted in city elections. The answer is none. But DLP obviously knew the answer was none. It’s a public record and has become a favorite tool for political operatives to try to shame someone who just woke to local shenanigans.

Diaz de la Portilla asked him why he had gotten involved and then he got schooled.

“I’ve always had an interest in politics, sir,” Piper said. “It kind of goes with the territory when you swear an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States of America.”

“That’s why we have elections,” Diaz de la Portilla said, interrupting him.

Piper, the plaintiff suing the city to turn the 1,914 petitions collected and turned in almost two week ago to the county’s supervisor of elections, didn’t back down, however. “You don’t want me to answer the question? You don’t want me to tell you why did I take an interest in politics,” he asked him and basically forced ADLP to back down.

“When I first moved to Miami, I heard stories,” Piper said, and he has been noticing lately that the stories are not fiction. “As a voting citizen in the city of Miami, I thought I needed to do something about it and that’s what I’m doing.”

“Good for you,” Diaz de la Portilla said bitterly.

“Any more questions,” Piper asked.

Good for him, indeed! Someone get that man a campaign manager! And Spanish classes!

Grace Solares, a longtime activist who ran against Commissioner Ken Russell — the sole dissenting vote — urged commissioners to put it to a referendum since it was a change to the city charter. But that won’t work for the Three Amigos because they know they can’t fool every voter citywide, just the viejitos they bribe with pastelitos and domino tables. Diaz de la Portilla was not as rude to her this time as he was last month when he told her he just talks fast so get used to it.

“It’s not the result of the recall,” he said, “It’s the defense and the lawyers and the constant harassment by a small group of people and we can’t get our work done. In most cases they go nowhere. The problem is the process.

“They’re just trying to harass the good work we’re doing here in Miami,” he said, right before passing the outdoor kiosk item lobbied by former Commissioner Marc Sarnoff. that gives the advertising “information centers” the green light to use the public right of way. Good work for Miami right there.

And while Mayor Francis Suarez has said on radio that he would veto this ordinance because it’s a violation of his constituents’ rights, he didn’t say a word Thursday — now that we know he was infected with the coronavirus, maybe he just didn’t feel well (more on that later) — and he is unlikely to veto it now. Not only because with Hardemon, the Three Amigos now have the fourth vote they need to override the veto (making it veto-proof). Or because it protects him, too, because he’s super vulnerable. Or because he has no balls, which are now kept in “Tricky Vicky’s” faux designer handbag.

But also because, las malas lenguas say, Baby X has made a deal with the devil, aka Diaz de la Portilla: He won’t veto this ordinance and ADLP will help him bounce Mendez — and maybe get his balls back.

Winker said he was prepared to sue if the mayor didn’t veto. Ladra would advise Mr. Winker to start writing that motion already.

Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Francis Suarez, Joe Carollo, Keon Hardemon, Miami politics, recall

ADLP’s recall ordinance limiting voters passes in Miami; mayor Baby X is mute added by Ladra on March 13, 2020
View all posts by Ladra →