Is it really over? Maybe not
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| Ken and Teresa courtesy of their Facebook pages |
After all, what would be the point? Teresa's decision to bow out has been spread all over the news, I even saw it on tv last night, and then what? in the end, she takes office because she received votes on November 17? She would look like the biggest liar. She would end up being the most hated person in town and she would look very foolish for doing this. I don't even think the other Commissioners would work with her if this was to happen, she would be out on an island all by herself. She's a hero now. Besides, she would have to start campaigning again now, knocking on doors, sending out mail, etc.
I really believe that she is over the whole charade of wanting to be a City Commissioner, what many felt was to be a puppet of her husband who could not fathom term limits. The news has spread fast.People are happy. It's almost like the part in the Wizard of Oz where the black and white part turns to color. It's like we are out of jail. I joked on Facebook last night saying that I wanna drive around District 2 with pots & pans like they do on Calle Ocho after a big game. It's been a dark time for the Grove.
I am told that we need to get out and vote for Ken Russell on November 17, just to be sure. So hopefully we all will do that. One friend mentioned that the King Mango Strut will be back to the way it was in the past, without the iron fisted control and so much will change around here for the better. But again, let's all go out and vote on November 17. Just to put the final nail in the coffin. If Ken's supporters don't show up, then who knows what will happen.
And one more thing, what is this 51% rule? It's a waste of time and money. Ken won Tuesday's election by getting almost double the amount of votes as Teresa. What is the point of spending millions of dollars more on another election because he received 42% of the vote out of nine candidates, rather than 51%?
I do have to laugh at all these developers and construction people that threw money at the election and got nothing out of it. Love that part. It's not about money guys. It's about quality of life.
posted by Tom Falco at 5:00 AM
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57 Comments:
So all those developers that own all that property decided it was okay for Teresa to step down? Or, did they join forces with the Russell camp? And why are they so adamant to keep Solares off the ballot? I'm afraid that this is the biggest Sarnoff win ever, except it will be Ken as the puppet instead of Teresa with even more developers pulling the strings. I hope not, but Miami being what it is, it won't be the first time the voters got screwed by politics as usual.
Enjoy the celebration and euphoria while it lasts. Electing a politician is similar to getting married. Eventually the honeymoon will end and reality will appear. At first it seems like you have found the perfect person to fulfill all of your hopes and dreams. But pretty soon you realize that person does not agree with you on every issue and no longer pays you as much attention as before. You begin to think you have made big mistake and start looking around for the next person to fulfill your hopes and dreams. And life goes on.
If Sarnoff pulled out, who can beat Ken? That's the good news, except for some reason I just don't trust Ken Russel much either, that easy twisted smile, something in his eyes, and parading with his kids around too much. I liked a more simple Javier better. Couldn't buy Solares' good grandma image either, just another typical career politician. That girl with the fish&chips joint, I would have trusted her more.
It's all about Moral Fortitude in City Hall. A game of power, cash and commercial interests. Contractors, developers, the real heavy duty business people pulling strings behind the scenes. The little Donald Trumps of this world.
Who will bend the Commissioners' objective decisions with cash or hidden personal favors? In the post-Sarnoff era, can you expect that to change much?
"I do have to laugh at all these developers and construction people that threw money at the election and got nothing out of it. Love that part. It's not about money guys. It's about quality of life."
Don't you think that they will simply throw their money and special favors around again, except just in one direction one, to the next comishs or mayor or zoning or derm officials? Who approves one project over another, say the sailors Mc Mansion over the Historic Arts Theater. Who moves the tax payers money around between districts, often forgetting the Grove Village's fair share? Who signs the RFP's for one contractor instead of the other, so that we get concrete benches on new parks? Who's paying for the deluxe rolling bathroom rental at Kennedy park. Who is behind the next Mall and Don Shula by the water? How long will the next endless construction project last in Main, Bayshore or Bird. That type of thing.
Maybe because you've lived in Miami so long 7:26, you just don't know what an honest man looks like anymore. I would suggest to everyone that they chill out, pay attention if there is a vote needed on November 17th, and at the same time give Ken Russell a chance to catch his breath, sort out some of the more mundane things associated with becoming a City Commissioner and hold back on being so judgmental until he has the opportunity to tell you himself what his plans are after he gets sworn in at City Hall.
Really, everyone has gotten so worked up on the basis of the most idle and at times idiotic speculation that if I owned a drug company I could probably become very rich selling tranquilizers to folks in District 2.
I can only tell you that I trust him, and believe me, I don't give my trust lightly, and that I think he will do right not only the folks who voted for him, but for everyone who wants to see positive changes.
So, let's remember that prolonging a climax is a hallmark of maturity, and what Miamians could use right now is a little maturity about politics and governance.
al crespo
Teresa's strategy might be brilliant in the end. If people become apathetic and she does grab enough vote in the runoff I actually think she would not look bad for having stepped down. Her message would simply be, "well, the people have spoken and even though I tried to do the right thing I simply cannot ignore my call to duty." She wouldn't look like a liar at all. It's all about the spin.
Anon 8:10, I was going to post precisely what you wrote, almost word for word. Jobie Steppe
If Sarnoff doesn't officially withdraw her name the race is still on. Whether she has "conceded" or not is irrelevant..If she gets the votes she takes the chair..hated or not..Once in power she is in and Sarnoff is back again for a third term..
If Sarnoff really wanted to do what she has said, she needs to make it OFFICIAL...otherwise her words are meaningless.
This is a very devious and dangerous move by Sarnoff...NOTHING has changed. Sarnoff is still on the ballot.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW THIS..NOTHING HAS CHANGED.SARNOFF IS STILL IN THIS RACE.
Charles Corda
The Sarnoffs are up to no good. I'm not buying her excuse about not wanting to withdraw over the fear of getting sued or not running a dirty campaign. Has anyone looked at the FEC's or Miami Dade County Elections Department's regulations to see if there's something in there about candidates withdrawing prior to a runoff?
The whole situation seems very odd and has the usual Sarnoff stink to it.
I'm rather bothered that no one is complaining about a candidate being elected (I voted for Jav) with 58% of voters in opposition. Why did we even have an election if people get to select our commissioner behind closed doors.
If you look at the voting results all around the country this week and also look at Donald Trumps popularity, I think the people are waking up and realizing our elected leaders are being bought and sold by corporate and union interests. I think next year is going to yield many uncomfortable surprises to our ruling class in both parties. This local election is a microcosm of things to come.
Isn't the analysis simple? I believe that the law states that in the event one candidate does not win a majority of the votes, the top TWO vote getters compete in a run-off election. In a sense, it is a new election. Two people have qualifies. It is between those two people. Not Grace or Mark Simpson or anyone else. If Teresa would withdraw from the race, that would leave one candidate. It is convoluted reasoning (which is why I suspect a trap) to think that it if one of the two contestants drops out she is replaced by the first person willing to run who got the next greatest number of votes in the primary election. Even for Miami that's a silly argument.
What are the Sarnoffs really up to? Can't Ron Nelson put this to rest, in writing?
This is definitely Sarnoff's last trick, and attempt to lull you all to sleep. Then on the 17th Buses will show up at every old folks home, shelter, etc. in D2, and ply people with coffee & donuts and drive them over to vote for Theresa.
STAY WOKE!
Don't trust Ken Russell guys. He's a politician now and we have to watch him closely.
We don't need a younger version of Marc Sarnoff!!! Be on your guard!
The one thing that concerns me about Ken Russell is that he's poor and probably in plastic debt, much like Marco Rubio. Except it's easier to get corrupted in circuit 2 than at the top white house job. The Sarnoffs are already rich, so how much much did they need anyway?
Before the election all the developers funded Teresa. After the election many of them hedged their bets by funding Ken Russell. He also has been in the company of Carollo, Wynton and Gordon. This is undinable proof that Grace is the best choice for our community.
Will someone please take some empty cardboard boxes marked Marc and Ron to their office.
There's never enough for some people..
After 8 years of receiving plenty of phone calls, e-mails, complements and invitations, the next few month may prove to be a tough adjustment to the new reality.
So long as Ken promises to never wear spandex to official functions, we are all so much better off.
~The OG That Guy
Speaking to the unleashing of the Mango Strut, who wants to help organize "The Synchronized Marching Yo-Yo Brigade"? Commissioner Ken has a great sense of humor and I'm sure he'd agree to be the Head Yo-Yo...
So, 58% of the voters, voted against Ken Russell!
So, let the person who got that 58% of the vote be Commissioner. What's their name again?
OK as a formality let's just show up to the polls and cast our ballots comes November 17th. I will vote for Ken, even Teresa and Grace agreed, so why is the elections department keeping the voters in the dark?
We already see brand new friendships being formed. Beautiful. It's platonic.
Wasn’t Seth Gordon head of the Grove Chamber of Commerce and booted out, when it was discovered he conveniently forgot to mention the fact that he was a paid consultant to Home Depot.
Marc Sarnoff and Teresa Sarnoff showed a total lack of respect for the voters by fluffing up Teresa and putting her up like a show pony. Even with a over a years notice Teresa could not learn the issues. Voters were eager to send Marc Sarnoff a message. Watch Teresa get crushed by the educated voters who show up for the runoff.
Read the crespogram report. Teresa's "concession" is looking more and more like a vote suppression ploy. Everyone needs to vote on November 17.
This should be called "Curmudgeon comments" because it all of these verbal spars are hilarious.
You can't look at the positive side of any issue because you are blinded by "Sarnoff hate".
Did any of you self serving proclaimed intellects read Russell's website or bother to research this guy? His personal life story is endless but his ideas on how to improve District 2 quality of life is only a few very basic paragraphs. My personal favorite is is solution to our traffic problem- water taxis. If this is his solution, as Bette Davis said" Fasten your seatbelt cause it's going to be a bumpy ride". Unfortunately change, merely for change sake, does not mean the next person is going to be better than the last.
Oh yes and then there's the Secret Society with a ploy to catch everyone off guard and come out en masses with bus loads of voters for Teresa. She bowed out gracefully, accept it and start keeping track of your hero, Ken. I am anxious to sit back and read all of your comments about him this time next year. Hmmm - bets are on that you will hate him by then. Change is frowned upon in the Grove and already some of you are calling him "the puppet" and he hasn't even sat in his chair yet.
I hesitate to respond to such utter stupidity, but for the sake of the normal people reading this I will make an exception to note that "Anonymous 4:46" is a complete idiot who knows nothing about Coconut Grove.
I had been chairman of the Grove Chamber for a year before my public affairs firm was asked to represent Home Depot as they prepared to open a very special store in the Grove designed by Max Strang a very highly regard Coconut Grove architect. His design addressed every concern ever expressed about having a so-called "big box" store in the neighborhood.
Meanwhile Marc Sarnoff, the leader of an area homeowners association, began to organize community opposition to the store by spreading disinformation about the store...that it would be incompatible with the neighborhood, etc.
We invited him to review our plans and after a lengthy presentation Sarnoff said he liked the plan and would tell "his people" they needn't fear the store.
Within hours he was back in circulation telling people the store would ruin the Grove.
As the fabricated controversy grew, I told the Chamber board I would step aside to minimize divisiveness within the community. Some people may have been relieved to have the Chamber taken out of the vortex of the controversy. But no one at the Chamber – most of whom were there because I recruited them - ever asked me to step aside.
Last night, as i wrote on my blog, I received a copy of a Sarnoff flier that had been sent out by her campaign that was geared towards the runoff. I immediately sent her an email asking for clarification, given that she had declared that she was essentially dropping out of the race. When I did not get a response, I went ahead and uploaded my story. Approximately an hour later, I received a Twitter message from David Smiley of the Herald, who told me that this flier had been sent out by the Sarnoff campaign prior to the end of voting on Tuesday, when their polling showed that Teresa would come in second to Grace Solares.
While I share the concerns of some folks regarding the motives and behavior of the Sarnoffs - I have after all chronicled the activities of Marc for 5 years - I can accept that the flier was not sent as part of some devious effort to lull folks into a stupor, and then try to rally Sarnoff voters to come out on November 17th.
At the same time, election law in Miami and Florida don't seem up to the task of being able to sort out this particular situation, and I don't believe that the Miami City Attorney is going to stick her neck out and issue a legal opinion that will end this confusion without a runoff taking place.
Therefore, I think that it is prudent for everyone who supported Ken Russell to prepare to either fill out their Absentee Ballot when they receive it, or to go to the polls on November 17th and vote for Ken to ensure that he gets elected.
As for all of the other comments, Ken Russell has not not yet become the City Commissioner, and already he's being slammed and comments are being made about his ethics, his intelligence and his willingness to sell out even before he's sworn in.
Being an elected official in Miami - or for that matter anywhere else - can, and often is a very difficult job. Everyone wants something from you, you are constantly being pulled and pushed by conflicting and competing issues of pubic policy that involve lots of money, powerful people who want things done their way, and an effort to try and look out for, and protect the public's interest.
Ken Russell will be facing serious challenges once he becomes a City Commissioner, and in part the challenges he faces will be made harder because Marc Sarnoff basically turned his office into a giant Pay-For-Play cash register, and the people who paid into that cash register now consider that this is the way that they are able to get what they want, and they will no doubt want that process to continue.
I think that Russell is a decent guy, with his head screwed on the right way, and that in some ways he is going to face a steep learning curve, because no one - not a single one of the other candidates, including Grace Solares had a clue of what is really involved in being the City Commissioner for District 2.
That Russell is going to make mistakes is a given. WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES! I also think he's got the character and smarts to quickly learn from those mistakes and not make them a second time, which in the real world is the best you can hope for when it comes to having people who make decisions that could impact your life, or livelihood.
I know there are some folks out there who are batshit crazy and who will never, regardless of what evidence they are provided with give up on the various conspiracy theories that they have, but I would ask everyone else to take a deep breath, vote for Ken either by Absentee Ballot or at the polls on November 17th, and let him organize a staff, talk with folks who can provide him with the insight and guidance that he'll need to go from being a candidate to being a Commissioner, and let him start doing the job before you start bitching about what a lousy job he's doing.
A good,decent, honest man cannot be rattled by greedy developers but its not going to be an easy job for Ken to deal with so many of them at once. I believe he has the skills to listen and discern between a deal that benefits the people and his community or just a few. Let's put the last administration behind us and move forward.
Ken visited numerous houses/households in his bid to become commissioner. This I can attest to for sure, as Ken communicated his message to me, I became more talkative than usual because I noted he engaged comments in the Grapevine and I took the time to e-mail him and advised against doing so. Months later, when he asked my name he said, "oh, you're the one who advised against responding to comments". As I talked his body language indicated he was attentive as he listened and was interested in learning what common average folks thought. His eyes were constantly focused on mine and his mouth never flinched to gain control, his eyes didn't move up or down or sideways and his stance was steady, never tilting slight forward, as in frustration; he was sincerely interested to hear what this one person had to say. Jobie Steppe
I just got a post card from Teresa Sarnoff with her usual overly Photoshopped image saying "Please honor me with your vote on November 17th"
Wowww, the Sarnoffs' mysterious Phoenix return from the ashes or Ken's eye-to-eye deep connection with an ego-less Mr. Steppe. We're all in great hands.
1) Al Crespo is being paid by a Russell supporter to be a cheerleader and make malicious remarks against his opponents
2) Seth Gordon is the ultimate political insider who has "clients" representing every interest from development to outdoor events.
3) Ken Russell might be new but his platform is 100% in agreement with Marc Sarnoff's positions. The most egregious example is the park conservancy (privatizing our parks!!!)
Vis a vie, we're getting another Marc Sarnoff. You all messed up by buying into the lies Russell has been good in spreading.
An interesting back and forth on David Smiley's twitter asks why Sarnoff mega-pollsters didn't catch that Ken Russell had almost double their support going into Election Day.
Either the polls were poorly done up or there was intent to let it happen like that. Otherwise, why was poor Grace Solares the only target of negative mail?
Either its a collusion to prevent Gracie from getting in or an agreement from the beginning to make sure that this scenario happened.
The votes are now in and tallied and (TA DAH!!) we are pleased to announce that Mr. (or Ms.) "Anonymous 2:50 PM" is officially the dumbest sack of bricks in Miami.
Give him (or her) a big hand!
If Teresa stepped down gracefully, why did I just get a direct mail piece from her saying to vote for her in the run off? She said she wasn't going to waste dollars and would use her campaign to take care of animals, the homeless and get a free trolly in the Grove. Why spend money on a double-sided UV coated four color direct mail pieces with postage paid??? North Grove Gal
I just received a Teresa Sarnoff mailer with today's mail.
What does that mean?
I mailed a check from the Grove Post Office on October 11 that reached its destination in center Grove yesterday, November 4th.
Do you two commenters above think maybe the flyers were mailed BEFORE she conceded?
This is US Mail people, not the Internet. Stop the paranoia and grow up or take a chill pill.
Seth Gordon is correct.
The building that Max designed was really great looking- not just the building but both buildings with Milams in the front corner of Bird.
The renderings were outstanding! The opposition and presumptions that this was going to be a lumber yard with trucks was not correct - it would have had a solarium and featured plants similar to the store on 136th Street. I still don't understand how or why the majority of Grovites didn't look at the renderings that were available in handout form at Milams and use their own brain to make a decision instead of drinking the Anti- Home Depot KoolAid. Major loss for our community. Now we are left with a grossly ugly old building with roaming idiots wandering out in front of cars all over the drive through area. Sad.
3:24, Seth, is that you again? Oh, and congratulations. This whole election makes you the greatest PR guy ever. You have really snowed everyone into thinking Ken Russell is something more than he is. Sorry that whole incident with Katherine Rundell didn't work out for you, but you have risen upon those accusations to put forth yet another "activist" for Dist. 2. You took a nobody and made everyone believe he was somebody. He didn't care about the district enough to vote in the past, but now he's going to save us all!!! You even have Al Crespo saying he trusts him, and he never writes that he trusts anyone. You're the best!!!!! Last time it was Marc that ran against Home Depot and then he got elected and we still got a Home Depot with you as their lobbyist for them. Tell Marc we all say hello because we know you have him on speed dial. Are you ever going to tell Ken what's really going on, or does he already know? He has such a baby face its hard for the people to believe he's a Sarnoff in sheep's clothing.
Has anyone asked the several Developers and Attorneys that donated to Teresa’s campaign how they feel about her dismal voting results and embarrassing withdrawing from the run-off? Didn’t they contribute funding for the express purpose to help get her (and her husband) get elected so that she (they) could continue to vote for spot rezoning to increase height and density of their upcoming projects? It is doubtful that they have any interest to help fund her desire to care for animals, the homeless and establish a free trolley in the Grove. Wouldn’t they just rather get their money returned, so they can find another politician that is For Sale?
Throughout the election I felt very sorry for Teresa since it was obvious she was pressured to rum. Let's see if and how Sarnoff plans to save face after nine years of odious governance
Like Jobie noted, Ken looks U straight in the eyes and listens; how did Mark Sarnoff get by all U pundits and gadflies 2 voting sessions and all those years? HELLO, comments are gladly welcomed, HELLO, HELLO!
Responding to the question in the box where we all can leave our comments, "WHAT DO YOU THINK?"....
I think that the many of you who leave abrasive attack comments anonymously are cowards. Although I've lived in South Florida for 28 years, two of them in the Grove from '90-'92, I have moved back to the Grove just this year. I'm interested in my new community and I use this blog to help me know what is going on here. However, I read so much pathetic bickering by people who can't stand behind their words by choosing to post their identity rather than cowardly posting anonymously.
If you have the balls to attack people and positions, why don't you have the courage to associate yourself with your words?
The Nature Of Endorsements
When Oprah endorses a product you can rest assure that it is of the highest quality and value so you have confidence in it because you trust her judgment and reputation. When a political candidate is endorsed by the likes of Johnny Wynton, Frank Carollo and Seth Gordon, perhaps not so much!
Mr Sullivan, I couldn't agree more. May I suggest you bait and snag, i.e.. think like a person who constructs their personalized fishing fly, but do so with words. These cowards to who you refer seek gratification(s). Construct you fly, but with words designed to attract a certain mental response/comment then counter with a response that demonstrates your comment had a retort attached that lets them know they were snagged. This tactic causes them to know they are the prey, not us folks who use our names. It's a stupid game, but it does shut them up. Besides Ken is going to win no matter what the Gadflies dream up. Jobie Steppe
It is said that you are known by the company that you keep. Developers that wanted to continue up-zoning, funded the Sarnoff’s to remain on the gravy train. When they realized Teresa failed to get the votes, they started to fund Russell. The fact that they declined to fund Solares is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was the only candidate that they opposed and did not wish to see get in the run-off. Not electing Solares will be a loss to all those folks that value the quality of our community over the increasing height, density and traffic that results from seemingly endless up-zoning.
Don't you ever change Grapevine commenters. This is the best comedy blog around.
The city attorney has written an opinion. The runoff election is on. Get out and vote on November
Sorry I haven't been able to post since Saturday, but my computer crashed, and contrary to the claims of the person above at 2:50, I am not, NOR HAVE I EVER BEEN PAID by anyone to write anything.
This has been a constant attack by Sarnoff and his followers ever since I first started writing about him and his illegal law firm that he operated out of the 2nd house on his property at Shipping Avenue. I guess because Sarnoff has always had his hand out, he figures that everyone else behaves as sleazy as he does. In any event, I've managed to borrow a laptop for a day or two, and I am as amazed as most everyone else that the City of Miami, and the Miami City Attorney has managed to perform well beyond the low expectations that I've had about her lack of legal skills.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to sit down and put together a long piece about what has been going on for the last week, because the screwup with the runoff election is just the tease for the real story about this election.
Al, of course you're paid. How else do you explain "make time" to go pick on Alberto Carvalho despite all the stories you publish about city of Miami pols?
No one here is a dummy. And a reformed convict is still just someone who has learned not to get caught --- there are plenty of your type around here.
Well, first of all, your lack of courage in attacking me, while choosing to hide behind the label of anonymity tells me that you're a coward, and cowards are always willing to stir up shit as long as they can evade being identified, because then people would immediately know just what of low life they were.
I wrote about Alberto Carvalho taking tens of thousands of dollars in free tickets to galas and fancy dress balls because I discovered that he had done so while doing a similar story about State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle AND Raquel and Tomas Regalado and Carlos Gimenez. It didn't require my taking "much time" to either write my story, or to file an ethics complaint against him.
I won't bother trying to defend myself against you accusation that "a reformed convict is still just someone who has learned not to get caught," because that's one of those claims that can't be proved or disproved, and quite frankly not relevant.
Here's what I will say, if you, or anyone else can "prove" with factual evidence that I have been paid by ANYONE to write ANY STORY that I have written over the last 5 plus years - and that's about 1400 stories - then you gather that "proof" up, scrunch up your tiny little balls and you run right over to Marc Sarnoff, and show him what you got, and tell him to spend some of that Pay-For-Play money that he's collected to publish that "proof"on a website. He'll be more than happy to do that.
Unfortunately, you can't and you won't, because while there are multiple reasons that I've spent the last 5 plus years doing what I've been doing, getting paid to do it hasn't been one of those reasons.
Can't wait to see the Mango Strut version of this election.
Seth: Candidates like you that received single-digit votes wasted valuable votes that should have gone to more deserving candidates.
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