Stuck with Sarnoff
Marc Sarnoff won the election yesterday and continues to be our City Commissioner. Only 10% of the voters showed up to vote. Very sad.
For those of you who didn't bother to get off your asses and vote, please don't complain when things don't go the way you like. I voted. So when I see fit, I will complain.
FYI, I did not vote for Sarnoff this time around. I know he is the district commish, but honestly, aside from beautification projects, I don't see what he has done while in office. The Home Depot spit in our faces and opened and the Mercy Project is a go. Those two issues concerned me, I blogged about them non-stop to the point of being sickening. I thought that Marc could possibly sway one commissioner to vote our way, just one. But the others in office have no respect for Marc and that lack of respect will never allow him to get anything worthwhile done.
We live in a selfish money-driven city. I travel often and Miami is nothing to be proud of. I know Marc is not one of the bad ones, but I feel since he is a "good one" he can't get things done in this city with the jerks that have control of the commission.
I know, maybe either of the two running against Marc would probably not have been on the Grove's side on issues, but by voting against him, I just wanted to send a message. He can't seem to get things done for the Grove, so what would be the difference if someone else was in office not getting things done? Same difference.
I've been looking for property in Cambridge, Mass. I may only live in the Grove during winter months and spend the rest of my time in a city with respect for history and quality of life.
For those of you who didn't bother to get off your asses and vote, please don't complain when things don't go the way you like. I voted. So when I see fit, I will complain.
FYI, I did not vote for Sarnoff this time around. I know he is the district commish, but honestly, aside from beautification projects, I don't see what he has done while in office. The Home Depot spit in our faces and opened and the Mercy Project is a go. Those two issues concerned me, I blogged about them non-stop to the point of being sickening. I thought that Marc could possibly sway one commissioner to vote our way, just one. But the others in office have no respect for Marc and that lack of respect will never allow him to get anything worthwhile done.
We live in a selfish money-driven city. I travel often and Miami is nothing to be proud of. I know Marc is not one of the bad ones, but I feel since he is a "good one" he can't get things done in this city with the jerks that have control of the commission.
I know, maybe either of the two running against Marc would probably not have been on the Grove's side on issues, but by voting against him, I just wanted to send a message. He can't seem to get things done for the Grove, so what would be the difference if someone else was in office not getting things done? Same difference.
I've been looking for property in Cambridge, Mass. I may only live in the Grove during winter months and spend the rest of my time in a city with respect for history and quality of life.
posted by Tom Falco at 7:27 AM
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21 Comments:
To all those folks that care about Miami and that helped District 1 candidate Mike Suarez with his run for Angel Gonzalez's Commissioner seat:
Thank you for your extraordinary efforts in trying to improve Miami by helping to elect Mike Suarez.
Even though Mike did not receive the amount of votes required for a victory, all of you deserve a great deal of respect and appreciation from our community.
They say that we get the government that we deserve.
But I do believe we still deserve better then Angel, Joe, Michelle and Manny.
Congratulations to Marc, Tomas and their staffs on their election victory.
We hope they will continue to support our community as they have been doing.
We hope they will continue to support those that elected them.
We hope they will continue to support slow and smart growth.
We hope they will continue to maintain an adversarial relationship with all developers, lobbyists, and special interest groups (especially with Lucia and the Related Group).
Many of us are very sorry that Angel Gonzalez was not defeated so that Marc and Toms might get some help in their noble efforts to change the course that Miami has been on for far too long.
All the very best to you in your continued efforts to help make Miami a better community for all of us.
Regards,
Harry Emilio Gottlieb
Coconut Grove
i agree with you grapevine. i believe the commissioners spent 4 meetings in a row talking about the related group and mercy hospital. contrary to popular belief there are more serious problems facing this city than a zoning change near a hospital and whether or not you can see a building form a local park. he clearly shown he doesn't want to tackle the larger issues by dragging out trivial crap like a condo.
I think Coconut Grove Curmudgeon would be a better name for this blog. See ya...
I voted for Sarnoff (before and now) Why?
The home depot was contained to just the Kmart shell- we didn't get the big orange box nor did we get the massive "key west" design. All things considered- the grove did ok, not great, but ok. It could have been much worse. I credit Sarnoff among others for keeping it contained.
The traffic circle on Virginia and Shipping was in development YEARS before Sarnoff took office. Doubt it? SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE! That's right- innocent before proven guilty. You want to make a charge against sarnoff- back it up with verifiable facts.
On your other point about Miami being nothing to be proud of... you're right. Nothing drives that point more than coming home to MIA. Of every major city in the world I've been to, MIA is the absolute worse. Bad parking, restaurants, luggage carts... everything is horrible. We have the inextricably corrup County Commission to thank for that.
And don't even get me started on the security theater...
Harry - you totally summed it up. Marc has done a good job - if Suarez could have won, there would have finally been a consensus on slow and controlled growth on the commission. He's doing the best he can, Regalado is an ally and we have to keep moving forward to get another commissioner on deck who represents the people, not business interests. The original post is ridiculous. How is voting against Marc really doing anything but making themselves feel better about - I'm not sure what?
Jose Curas:
You said:
"The traffic circle on Virginia and Shipping was in development YEARS before Sarnoff took office. Doubt it? SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE! That's right- innocent before proven guilty. You want to make a charge against sarnoff- back it up with verifiable facts."
What you you mean by "in development"? How so? What development took place over the last few years? If you know that the project has been years coming wouldn't you want to support the assertion with some evidence of your own?
I am not making a charge against Sarnoff, but I will make the observation that a $95,000 traffic circle was built in front of his house shortly after he took office.
To the blog guy - what a waste of a vote. A communist party meat packer or a man that calls himself an "Ambassador" who doesn't pay his qualifying fee to run, doesn't file a campaign report and is getting fined $250 a day and has code violations against his run down property is better than someone who cares about the Grove who is trying to help its residents. These other two candidates didn't even bother to come to the Grove to find out what the issues were here. You have told me a lot about yourself.
Go to Cambridge!
Here's a suggestion. We ran a modest get-out-the vote campaign on Miami Beach this year called Doublethevote.com and MB posted a 25 percent turnout, up from 10 to 15 percent the last few years. You can read about it here: http://www.category305.com/candidates/miami-beach-election-results-2.php and http://www.category305.com/trends/canvassing-precinct-19.php
Start now to build up the civic networks, so you can mobilize a decent turnout the next time. We're to blame if we don't vote.
C.G. Curmudgeon is funny - but the truth is we're all addicted to your blog Sir Grapevine, so hope you're not insulted.
We could do worse than to be "stuck" with Sarnoff.
As to the traffic circle:
Budget item B-30235, "city wide traffic calming circles," was initiated in 2004, two years before Sarnoff took office.
http://www.miamidade.gov/citt/cittBudget/view_all_projects.asp
So much for "Sarnoff Circle." It's just another smear tactic.
Note to "the server"...
The Dolphins begin a season with eight losses in a row AFTER SARNOFF TOOK OFFICE. But hey, you know who to blame.
Id like to see evidence about who presented the idea of the traffic circle on Virginia and then who made sure it was finally executed.
As for Jose Curas' post about Home Depot - get over it. Marc Sarnoff had very little to do with the reduced size store. Not to mention that HD is still there and not going anywhere (and I really dont find that to be a problem at all, FWIW). Sarnoff cant use HD as a crutch anymore, nor can he use the Mercy project. What does that leave? I think this will be the year to find out whether or not he really gives a crap about the Grove or if he is out for his own personal interests, like most shady lawyers.
As for the rest of the lot... Id like to see an investigation quite like the one on "The Firm", but one that doesnt stop at middle management and instead searches for the ones who "issue the code red". I think that Miami Monthly article was an exposure, but at the same time it was a total cover up to protect the top people involved.
BTW Grapevine, now is not the time to search for property in Cambridge, unless youve got a basement full of money saved away. Prices are still high in those inner city areas. I suggest searching in some of the nearby suburbs like Medford, Watertown (lots of action here), Somerville, etc. Much more affordable pricing there and you can easily access the city of Boston by train (wouldnt it be great if we had something like that in Miami? Then again, that would make too much sense...)
Id like to see evidence about who presented the idea of the traffic circle on Virginia and then who made sure it was finally executed.
Since it was proposed 2 years before he was in office, and ground was broken before he was in office, all I can tell you is that Sarnoff had nothing to do with it.
Johnny Winton was still in office when the final plan was approved.
The project came in $30,000 under budget.
Who the F cares about the damn circle. There is a clear assumption that has been made that this circle is a good thing. Let me tell you, better in front of his house than mine. The only thing I see to protest on is how it can cost the city 100k and maybe its something Sarnoff can detail or explain as our commissioner.
He is by far the best candidate for the Grove. Even if you feel (and I do not agree) that he did nothing to help keep HD out or help with those other issues. He was always on the Grove residents side, more than I can say about Winton. Do I agree with Sarnoff 100%, of course not, but I see him fighting battles alone to save our great village from the City of Miami Corruption. For that he has my support and respect. I just hope the continuous onslaught from Diaz does not discourage him and change him.
Those that disagree deserve Winton, but I am sure you’re already Winton supporters trying to tarnish Sarnoff’s name. The Grove has once again said YES to Sarnoff!
Tigertail:
28 circles were constructed for a total expenditure of $476,100. That makes each circle about $17,000.
Beyond that, I agree with you about Sarnoff; he's been a terrific force to preserve the Grove, and improve Miami.
not that I care, but the ground on that particular circle wasn't broken until about a month ago.
still, if that is what you people have to worry about, I think we're doing ok.
CL Jahn,
THe circle cost $95K. There is a sign right there that says that was the cost. The evidence that was provided was that "CITY WIDE" traffic circles were approved. It does not designate where and why.
Like many have commented, its not THAT big of a deal. Heck, it improves my neighborhood too, I guess. I dont dislike Sarnoff, Im just not ready to start drinking the Sarnoff Kool-Aid quite yet.
Regalado announced last week that a traffic circle was to go in at the very intersection at SW 16th St and 24th Ave. where the firefighter and the young driver of the other car were killed last week; it was scheduled to go in this year - now when it goes in it will be a dedicated memorial. How sad. We don't need any memorials in Coconut Grove; let's just be happy someone is being proactive and doing something to help us.
Wow. I've lived in Cambridge, and it's a great town, as is Miami. In case you didn't know, corrupt politicians in Miami are amateurs compared to the ones in Massachusetts ... maybe that's why they get caught so often here. And in case you're not happy with the high property tax, you can pay income tax there, too, in addition to your property tax that doesn't have a homestead exemption to protect you when the values go up. I love it there and would go back in a heartbeat but don't kid yourself. Every City has its problems. Marc isn't one of them.
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