Commissioner Hardemon is the only one who stuck up for Ken. They both voted against the motion by Diaz de la Portilla.
Diaz de la Portilla was just recently elected to the position as commissioner in November. He is starting out as a bully.
While the Omni CRA and the DDA may not fully represent anything Grove-related, there was a plan to extend the Omni CRA to Village West, which would help with redevelopment of the neighborhood. Now that seems to be something that will not happen.
The problem with the whole issue is that it seems to have been planned way ahead of the vote, which would be in violate of State Sunshine Laws. There was no prior discussion or agenda item of the issues of replacing Ken - no debate or discussion and citizens were not permitted to speak on the issue.
At the January 9 meeting, there was a brew haha when a loud argument broke out between commissioners. It was an immature argument about the order of agenda items. The meeting was adjurned early - 11 am, over the scuffle. Commissioner Joe Carollo, who acts like a child at every commission meeting started an argument with Commissioner Keon Hardemon.
The Miami Herald explains what went down at the meeting here.
To that end, after enough nonsense from Joe, citizens are taking action. Political strategist and organizer Juan Cuba, former executive director of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party has started a recall Joe Carollo effort. Can trouble maker de la Portilla be added to that?
As of now Emilio T. Gonzalez, the City Manager has resigned, not wanting to deal with "this silliness." He was under constant pressure from Commissioner Joe Carollo.
So as it seems now, there is a 3-2 split on the commission, Russell and Hardemon being the two against the "gang of three."
I joked with a friend over the weekend about the Coconut Grove BID being taken over by other commissioners, but there is a charter/law against that happening.
And only one week after Miami Beach commissioner John Elizabeth Alemán agreed to become acting director of the DDA, she has already resigned. She's not having the mess that is City Hall these days.
“Nine weeks have elapsed since the DDA Board of Directors voted to appoint me as Executive Director,” wrote Alemán in a letter sent to city officials Tuesday morning. “While I was honored by the selection and eager to begin working with the DDA’s board and staff to tackle the critical issues confronting downtown, clarity around the terms of my employment and the nature of the position moving forward has diminished greatly since November.”
If you look up dysfunctional theses days on Wikipedia, "The City of Miami" pops up. Or at least it should.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteHow can you or anyone else be surprised at what is happening at City Hall? Seriously!?
I've been writing detailed stories about Joe Carollo, Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Ken Russell for a long time now.
On January 11, 2018, I stood in front of the Miami City Commission and in a room full of Grove residents I was was very clear and very specific that the chances of the CRA boundries being extended into the West Grove were slim to none. https://youtu.be/tspo68uPIOs
I also stated specifically how many of the problems were initially created by former Commissioner Sarnoff, who has, behind the scenes been working like one of Santa's helpers in the last few months educating Diaz de la Portilla on the CRA's, the DDA and other issues that he has a personal or financial interest in.
When Diaz de la Portilla opens his mouth, or makes a motion to pass a Resolution, it's actually the voice of Sarnoff that you will be hearing.
The screwing that many people finally woke up to realize is coming is something that I've been predicting for a while now, and quite frankly, since people get the the politicians they deserve, then all the whiny, self-entitled Coconut Grove residents - the ones who never bothered to pay attention to what was going on at City Hall, or how their money was being spent, - but were all in about trying to impose their personal will on their neighbors house designs or yard landscaping deserve the screwing they are about to get.
Remember this, all it takes is 3 commission votes and a corrupt city attorney willing to issue "legal opinions: that are little more than justifications for the Gang Of 3 to do whatever they want and there will be very little that can be done to stop these guys in the short run from bending the residents over and screwing them any way they want.
Six months from now, everybody will be so exhausted and fed up that instead of standing up and continuing to fight - which is something that should have happened before, and not after these guys seized control - most of these people who are now so alarmed will wave their flags in abject surrender and look to sell their pitchforks purchased from Amazon with next day delivery.
Think I'm joking? Take a serious look at the people now standing up to whine and bitch and remember that many of them are the same ones that let Marc Sarnoff gut the Mango Strut.
As for taking the side of Emilio Gonzalez or Francis Suarez, remember that they too had ample opportunities to hear off Carollo and company and chose not to do so.
The best suggestion I can offer you is buy a lot of popcorn, because the show is only now beginning, and no one in Coconut Grove has the smarts or courage to really take on a real fight against City Hall.
You pal,
al
What on earth is happening to the gorgeous gorgeous Coconut Grove Playhouse??
ReplyDeleteWhat can you expect from these people when they can’t even get public bathrooms built in Kennedy park? It’s been over 5 years that they e been renting porta potties, several buildings have been built in those 5 years, and they can’t fix the bathroom situation?
ReplyDelete