It's time to join Miami-Dade's citizen revolution
Life is like a train ride. We get on and off. And one day, two enemies might find themselves sitting near each other in the same car.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and his unwavering adversary, Commissioner Natacha Seijas, are traveling on the same train -- and apparently heading for a cliff.
In 2006, both politicians faced each other in an ugly political tug-of-war. Alvarez had invested his political capital in his strong-mayor initiative and Seijas went to court to derail his thirst for power. The commissioner also sought to significantly reduce the mayor's salary.
But Seijas had her own problems: She faced a recall referendum after voters accused her of favoring interest groups and being insensitive to residents.
Alvarez, whose corruption-fighting stance as head of the Miami-Dade police earned him the public's favor, joined the recall effort by publicly calling on voters on Spanish-language radio to oust Seijas.
At the final whistle-stop, both politicians got lucky. Alvarez won special powers to become a strong mayor. And Seijas, the first Hispanic woman on the Miami-Dade Commission, managed to keep her empire in District 13 -- which covers Hialeah and Miami Lakes -- with the support of the majority of voters.
Five years later, the two are again protagonists of a new drama: Miami-Dade voters have grown tired of boorish behavior and the tin ear of their elected leaders in tough economic times.
Residents have reasons to gripe: the exorbitant salary increase within Mayor Alvarez's inner circle while many in the community can't make ends meet; the mayor's taxpayer-financed BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo; property taxes based on apparent artificial values that empty our wallets; luxury ``commercial missions'' abroad for globe-trotting commissioners, who also enjoyed millions of dollars in philanthropic activities in their districts.
Enough already. It's time to take back the county government.
Whatever the results, the forthcoming referendum marks the beginning of a citizens' revolution.
We need to limit the term of commissioners to a maximum of eight years; renumerate them with decent salaries; and forbid them to work in the private sector. And worse, many commissioners have fought to make the recall process harder on citizens.
Now voters who sign recall petitions, as well as signature gatherers, face not only a legal attack but private investigators -- including former Miami-Dade cops -- showing up at their houses, courtesy of Alvarez and Seijas.
Sounds like intimidation.
I don't know if the Miami-Dade commissioners -- who scheduled the referendum for March 15 -- remember the Ides of March, days of good omen that fell on the 15th.
But that good fortune ended in 44. B.C., when a soothsayer warned Julius Caesar to ``beware of the Ides of March!'' Caesar would soon be dead and the course of history changed.
I gather commissioners were actually thinking of spring break for Miami-Dade schools, when many families leave town.
One way or the other, there are already some Miami-Dade residents calling to make March 15 a county holiday.
Just as Caesar's death unleashed two civil wars that marked the end of the Roman Republic, the referendum against Alvarez and Seijas will unleash other citizen movements that will not stop until the present form of Miami-Dade government ends and its charter is reformed.
For now at least Alvarez and Seijas are stuck on the recall train -- in a freight car of their own making.
In 2006, both politicians faced each other in an ugly political tug-of-war. Alvarez had invested his political capital in his strong-mayor initiative and Seijas went to court to derail his thirst for power. The commissioner also sought to significantly reduce the mayor's salary.
But Seijas had her own problems: She faced a recall referendum after voters accused her of favoring interest groups and being insensitive to residents.
Alvarez, whose corruption-fighting stance as head of the Miami-Dade police earned him the public's favor, joined the recall effort by publicly calling on voters on Spanish-language radio to oust Seijas.
DUMB LUCK
At the final whistle-stop, both politicians got lucky. Alvarez won special powers to become a strong mayor. And Seijas, the first Hispanic woman on the Miami-Dade Commission, managed to keep her empire in District 13 -- which covers Hialeah and Miami Lakes -- with the support of the majority of voters.
Five years later, the two are again protagonists of a new drama: Miami-Dade voters have grown tired of boorish behavior and the tin ear of their elected leaders in tough economic times.
Residents have reasons to gripe: the exorbitant salary increase within Mayor Alvarez's inner circle while many in the community can't make ends meet; the mayor's taxpayer-financed BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo; property taxes based on apparent artificial values that empty our wallets; luxury ``commercial missions'' abroad for globe-trotting commissioners, who also enjoyed millions of dollars in philanthropic activities in their districts.
Enough already. It's time to take back the county government.
Whatever the results, the forthcoming referendum marks the beginning of a citizens' revolution.
We need to limit the term of commissioners to a maximum of eight years; renumerate them with decent salaries; and forbid them to work in the private sector. And worse, many commissioners have fought to make the recall process harder on citizens.
WATCHING YOU
Now voters who sign recall petitions, as well as signature gatherers, face not only a legal attack but private investigators -- including former Miami-Dade cops -- showing up at their houses, courtesy of Alvarez and Seijas.
Sounds like intimidation.
I don't know if the Miami-Dade commissioners -- who scheduled the referendum for March 15 -- remember the Ides of March, days of good omen that fell on the 15th.
But that good fortune ended in 44. B.C., when a soothsayer warned Julius Caesar to ``beware of the Ides of March!'' Caesar would soon be dead and the course of history changed.
I gather commissioners were actually thinking of spring break for Miami-Dade schools, when many families leave town.
One way or the other, there are already some Miami-Dade residents calling to make March 15 a county holiday.
Just as Caesar's death unleashed two civil wars that marked the end of the Roman Republic, the referendum against Alvarez and Seijas will unleash other citizen movements that will not stop until the present form of Miami-Dade government ends and its charter is reformed.
For now at least Alvarez and Seijas are stuck on the recall train -- in a freight car of their own making.
