La Alcaldesa pushes on with Jimmy Morales post vs black leaders’ pushback

There’s been quite some community pushback on the appointment of Jimmy Morales as the county’s chief operations officer by the newly elected Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

And everything could change after Monday.

The Miami-Dade NAACP has not backed down from its position that the former Miami Beach city manager is not a good fit for the new county leadership. They cite his history of tense relations with the black community after several confrontations between police and black visitors over the years.

Ladra was under the impression, after speaking with La Alcaldesa on Wednesday that the NAACP leadership had decided to give Morales a chance and would meet with both he and the mayor to go over some kind of blueprint for the future. But Daniella Pierre, the organization’s President-Elect, said nana nina.

“We’ve being doing a temperature check throughout most of the community, and the overwhelming feedback we’ve received is that they’re not happy with this,” Pierre told Ladra on Friday.

“It’s not necessarily me, it’s the voters. They voted for her for change, not the status quo, not recycled leadership,” Pierre said, adding that they are scheduled to meet with DLC and Morales on Monday.

The NAACP had called for Morales’ resignation from the Beach back in March, after video of a woman being thrown to the ground and put in a chokehold went viral. The ACLU and other groups demanded action, too.

Then came COVID and everyone got distracted.

Last month, out of nowhere, Morales said resigned from the Beach. He said he would make it effective in February and that he wasn’t leaving for another job. Last week, the mayor announced his appointment.

“He lied already,” Pierre said, indicating that she’s not likely to believe a word he says on Monday.

Can Mayor DLC convince her and the other NAACP leaders to accept a Morales appointment?

“Good luck with that,” Pierre told Ladra.

“We’ll listen to what she has to say. But we will also let it be known what the community has to say.”

And the community has said more about Morales. It’s not just a black thing. There are a ton of complaints:

Crime and code enforcement on Ocean Drive has gotten worse under his watch, which has spanned three different mayors.
Millions were stolen from the city because of a lack of basic accounting oversight practices.
He can’t say no, saying “If you tell me to do it, I will find the money.”
Looking the other way as his bosses fired people for political payback
Bad morale among the general employees and unions he’s battled with
Circulatory bus routes that nobody rides that cost the city a pretty penny
Environmental regulation violations that polluted Indian Creek and stalled the flooding mitigation project

But at a time when the community is still reeling from the police shootings of black men and the Black Lives Matter protests have called for real change in government’s approach to minorities, the race card is what’s hurting him the most.

Filmmaker Billy Corben, an influential political observer who endorsed the mayor, said on Twitter that Levine Cava was getting bad advice. “If her idea of ‘a new day’ is to empower the same villains who made us the most corrupt county in America, it’s going to be a long four years.

“She campaigned as a reformer and, in her first week, has betrayed her base and mandate,” he said. “We will not forget. She will be a one-term mayor.”

In a press release, the Miami-Dade NAACP said they will “not be silenced or tongue-tied,” and Ladra expects there to be some public comment about this on Tuesday, even though Levine Cava said the commission does not have to approve her appointments.

“Jimmy Morales has a history of treating people of color unfairly,” the press release said, enlisting FIU Law Professor H.T. Smith, a highly respected community leader, in the fight.

“Whether Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has it in the bag or not, she needs to know that what she did was wrong, that the Black community — led by the NAACP — is disappointed and disagrees, and that criticism of her appointee and her will not stop because she has the political muscle to force this racially insensitive appointee down our throats,” Smith said in a statement.

“Might does not make right. In the moral universe, one is a majority if you are right, and on this issue the Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP is right.”

DLC did not return a request for a follow up comment. But her spokeswoman, Rachel Johnson, indicated confidence that Monday’s face-to-face would make a difference.

“The Mayor is looking forward to the in-person meeting scheduled for Monday, and the opportunity to talk through all the concerns and hear from the NAACP and Mr. Morales directly in person,” Johnson wrote in an email. “She will share more following the meeting as the community engages in this important dialogue.”

Yeah, the NAACP is urging dialogue, too. They have asked anyone in the community who agrees that Morales should not be appointed Miami-Dade COO to contact County Hall and “report their pain and concern” to their prospective commissioner.

“Hopefully, after we’ve said what we have to say, after H.T. Smith has said what he said, the mayor will feel differently,” Pierre said. “Let’s see.”

Many will be watching.

Daniella Levine Cava, Jimmy Morales

La Alcaldesa pushes on with Jimmy Morales post vs black leaders’ pushback added by Ladra on November 29, 2020
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