He was on. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was at the top of his game Wednesday, as he delivered the State of the County address to a packed auditorium at Hialeah’s Milander Park. Okay, so yeah, he was totally in his element, a very friendly and almost adoring crowd. But he softened up his jowl and […]
Spotted at a Coral Gables eatery the other day: Carlos “CJ” Gimenez, the county mayor’s son, and Hialeah Council Vice President Luis Gonzalez, who is considering a run at the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s Office. While, he wouldn’t tell me what they discussed, Gonzalez confirmed to Ladra Wednesday that the two had met for “not […]
It’s that time of year again when the top county official will tell his constituency and the leaders of his realm how the municipality that is Miami-Dade is standing, what great things he’s done this past year and where he’s going if they’ll let him. Expect a lot of the same words and tired phrases […]
A $4 million damage repair job at the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center, done with county funds, was awarded to a Fort Lauderdale-based construction company without competitive bidding, without negotiations, without any public input — pretty much under the radar. And it went to the company that employs Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez‘s son. No, not […]
Miami-Dade Commissioners are expected to ask Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Aviation Director Emilio Gonzalez on Wednesday to take a new, fresh look at the much-ballyhooed and delayed Airport City project at Miami International Airport and come back in 60 days with a recommendation for the best use of the property. Some observers think it’s really […]
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez doesn’t only have his much-talked about five deputy mayors who, combined, make more than $1 million a year. He’s also got 12 aides, six secretaries, three assistants, three media people and one senior advisor who I think is now his chief of staff. Oh, and two student interns. No wonder Gimenez has […]
The next big contract to watch at Miami-Dade could be the proposals the county is seeking to convert the heavy fleets of its departments — including Water and Sewer, Public Works, Transit and Waste Management — to clean energy or natural gas. And, like always, the mayor’s friends and family want a piece of the […]
When Miami-Dade Commissioner Juan “El Zorro” Zapata foiled the mayor’s plans and voted to override his veto of a majority decision of the restoration of employees’ pay, he didn’t just end a prolonged impasse with 11 of the county unions. In one moment, the arguably low-key commissioner, whose office sends out fewer self-promotional press releases […]
Miami-Dade Commissioner Juan Zapata had the “leader moment” Ladra hoped for and became the hero for public employees Tuesday — and a hero for democracy everywhere. But that may not have been his intention when Zapata became the swing vote that gave the county commission the super majority it needed to override Mayor Carlos “Not […]
It should be resolved today — the 5% deduction taken from county employees since 2009 will most likely be returned to them in a piecemeal way. It will likely be fashioned after the agreement reached with the two unions at Jackson Health System, which happened without Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who keeps saying it is […]