Ballot Bewilderment
Miami Beach Voters Faced With Confusing Ballot Questions

By Lee Molloy

Although many observers predict a paltry turnout Nov. 3, Miami Beach voters who do go to the polls on election day will not only be asked to vote for the mayor and three commissioners, but also on four charter amendments that have been put on the ballot by the city commission.

However, voters without law degrees who face the ballot questions for the first time could find themselves unsure of exactly what it is they are being asked to make a decision on — and more importantly, the consequences of those decisions.

“In general, ballot questions are a little bit complex to understand,” said Commissioner Jerry Libbin, whose name will appear on the ballot as he seeks re-election to his Group 1 seat. “I think that they are sometimes more difficult than we would like them to be.”

Libbin’s fellow commissioners, Deede Weithorn and Victor Diaz, echo this sentiment. Mayor Matti Bower disagrees. “I think the language is clear,” Bower told The Lead. “However, those residents who have not followed some of these issues may not understand the context or implications.”

The issue with the intelligibility of the questions comes down in part to the strict legal restrictions that must be followed when drafting ballot questions, which include limiting the number of words that can be used to frame each question to 75.

Weithorn thinks that the complex way that the questions are communicated “is why I think a lot of people vote ‘No,’” on important issues, she said. “Because, they don’t understand the question.”

Diaz, who sponsored three of the four questions on the ballot, believes that, in the future, the city should hold voter education drives to make sure that the public understands the issues.

Although Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, who sponsored the remaining question on the ballot, thinks the questions “should be comprehensible to everyone, and not just lawyers.” He believes it is the responsibility of the commissioner that proposed the question to ensure the public fully understands what they are being asked to vote on.

Group 2 candidate Sherry Roberts adds the problem isn’t only a local one.

“Didn’t our lawmakers in Washington say that it would not matter if they read the health care bill from cover to cover because they would not understand it?” Roberts said. “This is not just a Miami Beach problem.”

Question 1: Ethics in Government

The first question on the ballot is, relatively, the most straightforward. It proposes that the “Citizen’s Bill of Rights” in the Miami Beach Charter should be amended so that city officials and employees are all bound by the same standard of ethics as the elected officials. And, if they fail to live up to those standards, they can be penalized.

“The employees act on behalf of the elected officials, especially the aides to the commissioners and the mayor,” Group 3 candidate Alex Fernandez said. “So, it is good to reinforce that they be held to the same standards that the elected officials are.”

Commissioner Victor Diaz, who sponsored the ballot question, explained to The Lead that the idea was to create “a broad sweeping right to public ethics.” Diaz likened the proposal to the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law.

“It could become a vehicle — for citizens who feel that if there is unethical behavior going on — to use the charter to address things that the city commission may not have addressed through legislation,” Diaz said.

With the exception of Bower and Group 2 Candidate Jorge Exposito, both of whom wished to refrain from recommending to citizens how to vote on the issues, all the commissioners and candidates that expressed an opinion to The Lead recommended a ‘Yes’ vote on the issue of stricter ethics for city staff.

“It’s a no-brainer,” Weithorn said.

Question 2: Public Street Ends

Currently, there is no restriction in the city charter that prevents the commission from selling off public property by a majority vote. Commissioner Diaz proposed the item that would mandate, in the case of streets that border, and allow the public direct access to the ocean, bay, public golf course or other land designated for government use, the commission would not be able to sell the land at the end of the street to private interests without a unanimous vote by the commission or a voter referendum. This would prevent condo developments or other businesses from gating the public out of some of the most popular parts of Miami Beach, and it could help stop the kind of disputes about public right of way that have been taking place over access to the Baywalk, Diaz reasons.

However, there are two proposed exceptions to the rule. The first would be that the commission could vote to give away up to 10 percent of the width of a street-end if it “advances a significant public purpose.” A qualifying purpose would not be “for a hotel to build more rooms,” Diaz said, “however could be to create a public plaza, for example.”

The second would be to allow for “underground utility easements.”

“I inserted that language in there,” Weithorn said, “because I don’t want to have to convince my colleagues to give FPL an easement.”

Most politicians are again recommending a ‘Yes’ vote on this question, but a skeptical Libbin thinks it may sometimes be to the City’s advantage to have the option to do something with street-ends.

“It makes me nervous that [the vote] has to be unanimous. I would prefer it to be” a six out of seven vote, Libbin said.

Question 3: Greater Restrictions on the Disposal of City Owned Property

The purpose of this proposal, sponsored by Wolfson is to require that the commission cannot approve the sale, exchange or even the lease for more than ten years, of city-owned property (that is not specifically covered elsewhere in the city charter) without a six out of seven vote by the commission.

“I think that the city public property belongs to the residents, it is their asset,” Wolfson told The Lead. “And, I think that it should be very difficult for a city commissioner to dispose of that property for any reason.”

Although Group 3 candidate Michael Gongora recommends a ‘Yes’ vote, he does so with some hesitation. “My only concern is that by doing this, two of seven members of the commission could prevent a conveyance, sale or long term lease, that five out of seven of the commission believed was in the best interests of Miami Beach,” Gongora said.

Libbin, on the other hand, offers insight into the pragmatism of the commission.

“The interesting thing about that is, oftentimes we go around that requirement,” Libbin said. When leasing land, he explained, the commission could always “offer a five year lease with a five year renewal.”

Loopholes aside, the bottom line with question 3 is that a ‘Yes’ vote, “makes it harder for the city to sell, exchange, lease or give its property away,” Bower said.

Question 4: Parking Spaces Allocated to the New World Symphony (NWS)

The final ballot question is “about making a promise and keeping it,” Diaz said.

The history of this issue goes back to 2004, when the City entered into the arrangement with the NWS regarding the building of its new theater and multi-story parking garage. The garage was required because the theater is being built on the site of two former city parking lots, losing parking spaces for the city.

Because of the City’s Zoning laws, the NWS is required, in addition to a parking garage to replace what was lost, provide at least another 175 parking spaces within 1,200 feet of the new building. So, the NWS made a deal to provide the 175 spaces at a new project being constructed at 420 Lincoln Road. However, that project was delayed so the City agreed to allow the NWS to use 175 spaces in the 17th Street parking garage for five years, or until the spaces at 420 Lincoln Road become available.

At the end of the five years, if the 420 project is not finished, the NWS will have to either find another location for the 175 spaces, ask the City to extend the five-year agreement, or request a waiver to let them off the hook from providing the spaces at all. With the law as it stands, these options could be approved by a simple majority vote of the commission.

One voice among current candidates is recommending the public vote ‘No’ on this question. Mayoral candidate Laura Levey thinks the commission should be empowered to do what they think is “for the greater good of the community,” Levey said. “The New World Symphony will bring worldwide tourism to our city and much needed tourism dollars.”

However, most politicians say NWS shouldn’t be given a pass.

“Let’s not let a future commission waive the [responsibility] of the New World Symphony to have to build those parking spaces,” Libbin told The Lead.

To stave off the potential problem, Diaz proposed the ballot item, which will require that only the public can decide, by referendum, if the NWS can get a waiver.

“Every parking space that was being taken away from public use was going to be restored by the parking garage,” Diaz said. “This says ‘keep your promise or go to the voters.’”

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Posted Oct. 16

Laura Levey

Ambitious Endeavor
Newcomer Laura Levey is Going After the Mayor's Gavel
 
By Lee Molloy

Going up against a popular incumbent, with very little money raised and scarce name recognition, mayoral candidate Laura Levey embarked on quite an uphill battle when she filed to run against Matti Bower. However, unlike perennial candidate Raphael Herman, the passionate and outspoken Levey has not only gone door to door in her “grassroots campaign” but has stepped up to the plate by facing Bower at a recent candidate forum held at Old City Hall, and one-on-one at a Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club debate. 

Levey thinks her dedication to the democratic process deserves to be taken seriously.

“Our city has a glaring lack of leadership,” she told The Lead. “No one with political experience stepped up to address this situation because professional politicians all have vested interests to protect. I am only interested in the needs of our city and quality of life for our residents.”

Levey was born and raised in Venezuela. A quick study, she says, she was able to skip a year of high school and was accepted to a program to learn English in Miami. She continued her education at Miami Beach Senior High, Miami-Dade College and finally Florida International University.

Upon graduating college, Levey got married and opened her own shoe store, but after about a year, gave up the business to start her family. She says that since then, she has dedicated her life to her home and five children, although she has also been involved in her community, taking leadership roles in the PTA’s of her children’s schools and serving as a board member of the American Jewish Committee for more than a decade.

According to Levey, she has hosted dignitaries from Eastern Europe, Germany, France and Israel on their visits to the United States. During one of these visits, she says, she was able to demonstrate to her German visitors ways to get volunteers to help out in school projects. On a reciprocal visit to Germany, Levey says she was pleased to see that her visitors had implemented her ideas when dealing with child obesity.

“I learned about how they changed the school meal programs,” she said, adding that, to ensure the kids had proper diets, volunteer “parents were taking charge and cooking the meals.”

In 2007, Levey says she also helped to found Miami Beach Senior High’s Marine biology program — World Ocean Watch (WOW), which introduces students to the relationships between the land and sea components of our coast.

Now that she is running for mayor, however, the environment is only one of her platforms. She is also concerned about the city’s infrastructure and finances.

“The budget tsunami heading towards our city, that the city manager and mayor are ignoring,” is my main priority, Levey said. “They are going to leave us in a tax nightmare.”

Posted Oct.9

Left: Incumbant Mayor Matti Bower. Right: Challenger Laura Levey. Photo by Angie Hargot

Ready to do 'Business?'
Challenger and Incumbant Mayor Debate Tourism, Local Business, the Convention Center and Blight

By Lee Molloy

In the final installation of the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club’s candidate debates held in anticipation of the upcoming Nov. 3 general election, the group of politically engaged citizens hosted two candidates for the Mayoral race. Until the most recent, Oct 6 gathering the group, along with media co-sponsors The Lead, has successfully hosted every candidate for Miami Beach office – Tuesday, two candidates that had initially qualified for the race were not in attendance.

Twenty-eight-year-old Joshua LaRose, was kicked out of the race after his qualifying check of $1,360, bounced. However, instead of accepting the fact that his finances were not in order LaRose, who is also running for Governor in 2010 and for the U.S. Senate in 2012, told the press that he believes incumbent Mayor Matti Bower had something to do with his disqualification.

And LaRose is not the only one making dubious claims against Bower.

Assuming the phrase ‘perennial candidate,’ Raphael Herman is running for Mayor against incumbent Matti Bower. The race marks his sixth candidacy for Miami Beach Mayor. And, according to a police report filed on Sept. 22, the former Israeli soldier told police that three men, one of who was armed, told him to drop out of the race against Bower, or he be killed.

Bower’s Chief of Staff Rebecca Wakefield dismissed all the allegations against the Mayor.

“Its ridiculous,” Wakefield said. “The Mayor is obviously not going to send goons to attack a candidate or interfere with the decisions of the City Clerk’s office.”

Absent the presence of LaRose and Herman, attendees at the Breakfast Club debate which included commission candidates Michael Gongora, Sherry Roberts, Alex Fernandez and Oddy Segui, along with Mayor Charles Burkett of the Town of Surfside, settled in to watch the debate between the two attending candidates: incumbent Mayor Matti Bower, who entered the room to a rapturous round of applause, and political newcomer Laura Levey.

Moderator David Kelsey opened proceedings and handed the microphone to Levey to make her opening statements.

Levey, a mother of five and a former President of the North Beach Elementary School PTA, expressed her concern that the current commission simply doesn’t work well together. She promised to “prevent taxes from going up” and “to make Miami Beach a city that can be the best,” she said.

Bower’s platform differed, however.

“As a commissioner I worked hard to represent your interests, the residents’ interests,” Bower said, reaffirming her election-winning moniker of the ‘People’s Mayor.’ However, facing the reality of a declining economy, she focused her efforts on tourism. “Our lifeblood is tourism,” Bower said.

An audience member asked the candidates about the $55 million once tapped by Miami-Dade County to build a ballroom at the Miami Beach Convention Center, but is now considered to implement a hotel and a food court, many say would negatively impact Lincoln Road restaurants.

Bower said that those involved need to sit down and have a discussion about “what is it that our Convention Center needs to be competitive in the nation,” she said. Bower added that there are differing opinions on what needs to be done in regard to a hotel or a restaurant. She did, however, seem open to the idea of a rooftop restaurant. “We have never taken advantage of the roof of the Convention Center,” she said.

Levey opined that $55 million was a lot of money to spend, and could be better spent on infrastructure.

“We have got to watch where our dollars are going because there is nobody watching over our dollars,” Levey said, adding “a restaurant would take a lot from business from Lincoln road.”

The topic of tourism again arose when an audience member asked what was being done about dirty city streets.

Bower explained that, over the past few years, programs have been implemented to keep the streets clean.

She maintained the City has a comprehensive plan for “how to keep a city clean,” Bower said, adding that Miami Beach is a “tourist community…it is hard for us as residents sometimes to tolerate where we live, but, that’s what Miami Beach has been and will be” in the future,” she said.

Levey described the issue as a delicate and emotional one, and addressed the problems tourism creates for residents. “They leave garbage on the beach,” she said, “they take our parking spaces.”

In accordance with a burgeoning sentiment among local business owners that City Hall possesses an anti-business sentiment, an audience member asked how that attitude could be changed.

“I’m with you,” Levey said, “I think our city is being abandoned by businesses.”

Levey thinks that permitting rates, taxes, other fees and city codes are scaring away local businesses. “We have to modify the laws in this city and bring businesses here,” she said.

Bower, however, focused on tourism and cited the noise and disruption thousands of visitors bring to neighborhoods, especially South Beach.

“The residents don’t want all that aggravation,” she said, “then, on the other side, you have the businesses” that need it.

Bower also said that the city has not raised taxes in two years. “I don’t think that we have anything against the businesses,” she said, “I think that the balance is hard to find.”

Surfside’s Mayor Burkett stepped up to give his two cents to the mayor.

“Kudos to the city,” Burkett said, “I think everything is running smoothly.”

However, Burkett did get opine that it is easy for politicians to say they have not raised taxes when they have “hiked every fee in sight,” such as the water rates and various permit fees. Burkett also suggested that the City look at their staffing levels.

Bower was quick to point out that cuts had already been made to City staff.

“If you go to the clerk’s office you will see a lady crying there because she lost her position,” she said. “By attrition in the past year, we have cut 80 positions or more.”

One diehard audience member asked Levey why she felt qualified to be mayor.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to be the mayor of this city,” Levey said, asserting that her time serving in PTA’s and as a mother of five had given her the leadership skills needed on a commission whose “meetings are really a joke,” she said.

Left to Right: Candidate Gabrielle Redfern, Breakfast Club Moderator David Kelsey, Candidate Alex Fernadez and Candidate Michael Gongora. Photo by Howard Kaufman

Posted Oct.3
Threedom of Choice
Group 3 Candidates Face Off, and Face Residents

By Lee Molloy

With as many as eight candidates throwing their hat in the ring at one stage or another, the Group 3 commission seat vacated by caretaker-Commissioner Victor Diaz has been the most avidly contested this election season. However, when the qualifying period for the Nov. 3 election ended, only three candidates were still in the race. The trio faced off, and faced residents at the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club on Sept. 29.
At the most watched of the three debates that the gathering of politically-concerned citizens has held so far this season, Miami Beach Commissioners Deede Weithorn and Jerry Libbin, state-Rep Luis Garcia, and a host of other political names of note showed up with an eye on a different kind of dais. At David’s Café II at 1654 Meridian Ave., activist and political newcomer Alex Fernandez, 23, squared off against former commissioner Michael Gongora and Design Review Board member Gabrielle Redfern, in what turned out to be an exciting exchange of ideas.

Staff at Davids Café cheerfully rearranged tables and chairs to accommodate all the extra audience members, although many more ended up standing at the back of the room. Michael Gongora was well represented by supporters wearing T-shirts emblazoned with his name, alongside others holding Gongora picket signs, as the candidates circulated their campaign materials. 

Redfern was the first to make opening remarks. “My history in the city began on a bicycle,” said the cycling-obsessed candidate. She went on to explain how, when she moved to Miami Beach, she had written to then-Mayor Neisen Kasdin about the lack of bike lanes in the city. It was that grassroots campaign which kicked off her local civic involvement.

“We need to find new ways to generate revenue,” Fernandez said, citing the city budget as his main priority. He also discussed the decline in Miami Beach tourism and his concerns about public safety. “We have too many [police] officers who are making close to $60 grand a year and more, who are sitting behind a desk,” he said. The independently-wealthy Fernandez also vowed to “be a full-time commissioner,” he said. “I’m going to work 9 to 5 at city hall.”

Drawing on his time as a Miami Beach City Commissioner, Gongora said one of the major benefits of voting for him is his experience. “These are times that we need experienced leaders that can get the job done,” he said. Gongora spoke about the need to work for the sustainability of the tourism industry, as well as of the environment. However, his main concern is the “budget, budget and budget,” he said.

The audience, however, had other ideas about what was important in the election. The three candidates were quizzed on corruption in government and breaches of the public trust.

“I would do whatever it takes to weed out corruption,” Gongora said. He then explained that a failure to live up to ethical standards were “crimes” that must be punished to the full extent of the law.

“There is no room in government for corruption,” Fernandez told the room, and agreed with Gongora that corruption in Miami Beach was, luckily, not as bad as in other governments where people steal taxpayers’ money. Fernandez also has a simple solution to make sure that our tax dollars are safe. Citizens must “continue electing officials with integrity that won’t let that happen in Miami Beach,” he said.

The question of how Miami Beach elections are organized into groups has been a favorite topic at the Breakfast Club. Currently a candidate runs for election to a group that has no geographical or otherwise defined meaning. Therefore, candidates are not really choosing whom they want to represent, but rather whom they want to run against. The candidates for Group 3 were asked if they were in favor or against the group system.

Gongora, who refers to the system as having “fictitious group designations” supports doing away with groups and believes that a change “would do away with negative campaigning,” he said.

Many believe that Gongora fell victim to the current system during the 2007 election. Even though he lost his seat, with 4,564 votes he still got a few more votes than Commissioner Deede Weithorn (4,503) who, although pitted against more candidates, was elected via a different group race.

Fernandez advocates for a direct “at large” system where the top three candidates are elected to the commission and the candidate with the most votes would become mayor.

“Abolish the groups,” Redfern said, adding that, “by eliminating the group seats we eliminate runoff [elections]. That could save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

A concerned resident asked the candidates if they would be willing to stand up to the unions.

“I’m not going to be the commissioner who stands up against the unions. I’m going to be the commissioner who stands with the unions,” to work together on solving the city’s problems, Redfern said. “We are paying our people more than any other municipality in this country,” she said, adding that city employees “need to realize that the good times right now are over.”

Fernandez took a harder line. “We need to get our unions to understand that you’re lucky if you still have a job,” in the current economic climate, he said. “Police and fire [unions] this year are still asking for a raise in their salaries when they should be getting a cut. … And I’m not scared to say that.”

Gongora disagreed that all city employees are overpaid and said that he thought there is actually even some disparity in the current pay levels  leaving some employees underpaid. Although he is and would be happy to have union endorsements “that is not going to influence my decisions,” he said.

Gongora admitted that he had received a $500 donation to his campaign from the Hispanic Law Enforcement of Miami Beach union and a personal donation of $250 from local fire union president Adonis Garcia.

During discussion of graffiti as an indication of the decline of a community, candidates were asked what could be done about tagging of the urban landscape. The seemingly benign topic revealed the candidate’s positions on what could be perceived a need for structural change in local government: the city’s Code Compliance Division.
Fernandez said that he believes graffiti is a code enforcement issue but warned that if the commission creates new regulations without adding to the number of people to enforce the rules, it could create an even bigger problem.

Saying that the defacing of buildings is a pet peeve of his, Gongora does not think that graffiti is a matter for code enforcement but rather one of law enforcement. The former commissioner opined that there must be more law enforcement officers on the street to prevent graffiti that “leads to car break-ins, house break-ins and more major crimes,” he said.

Redfern vocalized her dissatisfaction with the city department charged with enforcing the rules. “We don’t have a code enforcement department,” she said. “We have ‘code compliance’ officers. …We need a code enforcement department.”

In closing, the three candidates were given the opportunity to let the audience and viewers know what distinguished them from each other.

Declaring himself “the green candidate,” Gongora spoke about his dedication to creating a sustainable city. I will “ensure Miami Beach continues to be the place that we love — the place to live, work and play,” he said.
Fernandez voiced his desire to enhance the culture of giving service to the city and explained that he wanted to “bring our government closer to the people,” by being more open and creating more opportunities for citizens to have dialogue with commissioners.

Redfern rounded off the discussion by confirming her “deep love and commitment” to the city. “My resume is not only long but it is deep,” she said and then declared her readiness to lead. “I am ready, I am willing, I am able and I am educated.”

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Left to Right: Sherry Roberts, Jorge Exposito, and Maria Mayer

Posted Sept.18
Three for Two
Group 2 Candidates Debate, Fend off Allegations video

By Lee Molloy

On Sept 22, with Mayor Matti Bower and her Chief of Staff Rebecca Wakefield in attendance, along with Commissioners Deede Weithorn and Ed Tobin, and group 3 commission candidates Gabrielle Redern and Michael Gongora also taking note, the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club’s second commission debate was a veritable Who’s Who of local politics. It was also a packed house, as candidates seeking the group 2 seat on the commission come Nov. 3 squared off in the at times tense discussion-style debate.

It was just after 8 a.m. that Breakfast Club regulars at David’s Café II on Meridian Avenue were joined by the most politically-engaged members of the Miami Beach citizenry.

Campaign literature made the rounds: and candidate and Board of Adjustment Member Sherry Roberts distributed her list of political engagements of which roughly half were connected to seniors’ or women’s interests. (Roberts also handed out a nail files with her campaign logo on it.)

Businessman Jorge Exposito’s handed out some standard political fare, although his boasted some heavy political endorsements: a photo of Commissioners Saul Gross and Jonah Wolfson flanking the candidate with former Mayor David Dermer towering above the trio.

Breakfast Club moderator David Kelsey got the party started, turning the microphone over to the candidates to give their opening remarks. Up first was Roberts.

“I’m not about speeches,” Roberts said. “What I’m about is results.”

Roberts informed the audience of her resume and campaign bullet points. Exposito, much the same format. Finally, the largely unknown newest addition to the Group 2 race, Attorney Maria Mayer, explained that she is new to the political arena. However “I’m not new to the community and I’m not new to public service,” she said.

Kelsey turned the microphone over to the floor for questions which proved that Breakfast Club members had come to play hardball. Stanley Shapiro quizzed Exposito about campaign contributions from friends of sitting commissioners.

Among other names not uncommon to campaign contribution lists, city records show that $480 was contributed by Commissioner Jonah Wolfson as an ‘in-kind’ donation of stamps, and a further $500 was donated by the commissioner’s wife, Amanda.

“I have been, and I’m proud to be, endorsed by three great gentlemen,” Exposito explained, adding that it was through these relationships that he has received several donations.

Asked what their primary issue would be during the campaign, Mayer was the first candidate to speak, and addressed the City’s economic woes. She spoke about declining property values and the problem of thousands of foreclosures facing the city.

We need to “resign ourselves to some reduction of services,” Mayer said, and “minimize that by looking at waste. … We are overpaying our vendors … sometimes by 10 times.”

Exposito stated that all the candidates were likely to agree that fiscal responsibility would be the number one issue.

“Who best can provide that for you?” he said, and went on to say that he knows how to run an organization, work with others, and argued that the City and commission doesn’t “need more money,” he said, they “need to be more efficient.”

Although Roberts agreed, “We have some other issues,” she said, referencing the topics of neighborhood flooding and the problems with getting permits for projects.

“It took me six months to get a permit for our condominium to put in a pool area,” Roberts said, speaking from experience as president of her condo association.

In reference to the problems with the city budget, activist Mike Burke inquired about the city’s enterprise fund.

Although Roberts and Exposito admitted they knew little about the fund or it’s function within the city, political newcomer Mayer took a swing at the question.

“I do know what an enterprise fund is,” Mayer said, “I’m not an accountant but I am educated on the issues.” Mayer likened the city’s enterprise fund to a small business that the city owns, such as the Parking Department, which “sustains itself from the revenue it brings,” Mayer stated.

However, on the controversial topic of whether city employees are overpaid, it was Roberts who had the most enterprising assertions.

“Yes, I do believe we overpay people,” Roberts said, “When I’m elected commissioner I will look at all salaries.”

Exposito admitted that he did not know enough to say if city employees were overpaid, but conceded that “we need to make sure that we retain talent, but at a reasonable cost,” he said.

Mayer, who does not believe that the city’s top managers are overpaid, cited a study that compared city employee salaries to those in the private sector, and found those in city employ were getting paid more for comparable jobs. She did however defend the salary of City Manager Jorge Gonzalez, likening his job to the CEO of a company who, in the private sector would be paid millions for performing the same functions.

Mayer was forced to defend herself against audience allegations of a perceived conflict of interest due to the fact that her husband works in the City Manager’s office.

Gonzalez appointed Emanuel Mayer to the position of Special Assistant to the City Manager for Construction Issues in October of 2008. The position itself had just been created “to address concerns expressed by the City Commission regarding how we procure and manage construction services in the City as well as the cost that the City pays for same,” Gonzalez wrote in an Oct. 14 memo.

Also in attendance: former Group 2 commission candidate Fred Karlton. On Sept. 18, The Lead reported that Karlton had vowed to back Mayer for the commission seat he once sought.

“We need to put capable, committed, prepared people on the commission,” Mayer told the audience.

In closing Exposito said that he has the training and skills to make a difference, “I’ll be ready from day one,” he said.

Roberts said that she looked forward to an amicable relationship with officials and residents. “I’ll be there for you,” she said.

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Left: Oduardo “Oddy” Segui. Right: Jerry Libbin

Posted Sept.18
Against the Odds
Political Newcomer Faces Off Against Seasoned Politician in Group 1 Debate video

By Lee Molloy

Amid veiled accusations of too much jet-setting, a promise to take on a candidate for State Chief Financial Officer and a platform of ridding the streets of the homeless, incumbent Miami Beach Commissioner Jerry Libbin and businessman-turned-candidate Oduardo “Oddy” Segui squared off in a discussion-style debate at the Sept. 15 meeting of the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club.

But it was a match up that almost didn’t happen.

Over the din of the bustling David’s Café II on Meridian Avenue, residents and politicians once again gathered and chatted over eggs and coffee at the weekly gathering they have attended countless times before.
They were there for the first of four debates that will cover the mayor’s race and the three commission seats up for grabs Nov. 3: the group hosted a match-up between Libbin and Segui who, in the days leading up to the debate, seemed unaware that a debate had been scheduled, and was unsure if he would be able to attend. A last-minute back-and-forth over scheduling with Breakfast Club Moderator David Kelsey finally got him in the hot seat alongside Libbin.

Although the competition against Libbin seems like a longshot, Segui asserted that his lack of political experience is exactly why he’s the man for the job.

“I’m in favor of new faces, new people and new ideas,” Segui said. “Jerry has had four years. Four years is enough.”

Although passionate and aggressive in his opinions, Segui admitted he is politically green and not always in touch with the facts of Miami Beach politics. As the incumbent, Libbin is already very well-known to the politically engaged citizenry, and remained laidback during the discussions, using the time to promote his record and to cement his position as a self-proclaimed consensus builder on the commission.

Oduardo “Oddy” Segui

Segui is a Cuban-American who says that he is very grateful for the opportunities that he has been given in the United States. He is married, has children, and describes himself as being not only a man of great faith but dedicated to both his family and the community in which he lives.

His first time running for any kind of political office, he has never sat on a city committee, or board, or been involved with any political group or association. Segui writes on his Web site that he has “a strong desire to commit myself to serve the residents of Miami Beach.”

Explaining why he was not more well-known in the community, Segui characterized himself as “a shy person,” who spends his free time with his family.

Segui studied business administration in college and has more than 15 years of experience in the field. Companies that he has owned and operated include a car dealership, a hotel and a transportation company. If elected, he hopes to bring his business experience to the commission, and apply those skills to job creation, attracting more tourism to the city, improving the roads and making the streets safer.

Jerry Libbin

When not knee-deep in city politics, Libbin’s day job is as an investment advisor with Invest Financial Corp. He received his master’s degree in social work with a specialization in business from Marywood College. With his wife Raquel, a PhD-wielding psychologist, he has two children, Sari and Moshe.

Libbin has more than two decades of community service under his belt. He was the Executive Director of the Miami Beach Jewish Community Center for eight years, served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, and for 13 years was President of the Normandy Shores Homeowner’s Association until becoming a city commissioner in 2005. Libbin had also previously served the city as a member of the budget advisory committee and as a member of the planning board.

At the debate, Libbin characterized his seat on the dais as “one of the best jobs in America.”

Since becoming a commissioner, Libbin has become known for several of his initiatives including his campaign to keep the beaches clean, his “coffee with the commissioner” meetings during which he confabs with an average of 40 residents at a time, listening to their complaints and attempting to expedite the city’s problem solving. More recently, Libbin has stepped up to the state level by working with Tallahassee legislators. At the debate he vowed to join forces with the political opponent of Florida Chief Financial Officer candidate Jeff Atwater, the politician whom Libbin says has almost single-handedly quashed his efforts to change the laws related to what he feels is a serious problem facing Miami Beach residents.

Libbin seeks to reform the state statutes regarding the special assessments that condo owners are hit with when their neighbors foreclose — and the banks dodge paying the maintenance fees.

In the last few years, Libbin has also been at the forefront of city ambassadorship to China, asserting that with billons in tourism dollars spent by Chinese abroad, it’s imperative that Miami Beach keep open relations with the burgeoning Asian economy.

Head to Head

However, according to Segui, Libbin’s trips across the state and abroad are one of his downfalls as a commission candidate.

“I can’t promise you I’m going to be in China or in Tallahassee,” Segui said, “I’m going to spend my time in the city working hard on what we need.”

However harsh his allegations, Segui was hard-pressed to overcome his opponents political seniority.
“With an incumbent you have a measuring stick,” Libbin said, and then proceeded to deliver his list of accomplishments since being on the commission, including the “No Litter, No Butts” campaign.
Although his delivery less adhered to the public-speaking structure Miami Beach residents have become accustomed to, Segui outlined his platforms in a more conversational manner, expressing dismay over the “thousand people living under the bridge,” in reference to the dozens of sex offenders the State allows to live under The Julia Tuttle Causeway.

He used the issue as an example of more important initiatives than Libbin’s go-to platform of beach cleanup: “I think we need to do more than cleaning the beach,” Segui said.

Segui also expressed concerns about the “bad smell” on Washington Avenue and the amount of tourism dollars going to Cuba or the Bahamas instead of Miami Beach.

“I’m a fighter,” he said. “I want a better city, I want a cleaner city.”

Asked to pick their number one priority, Segui chose homelessness.

“I don’t see anybody doing anything,” about the problem, he said, but admitted “I’m an outsider. I don’t know what’s happening right now.” He added the homeless should be provided with a bed for the night, a hot meal, and a shower.

Segui also claimed that he had been told during door-to-door campaigning that the Miami Beach Police Department doesn’t want to do anything about the problem.

The homeless are “sleeping on Lincoln Road, on Washington, all over,” he said.

Responding to a challenge shouted from the audience questioning how many homeless slept on the streets of their city each night, Segui responded “How many? I didn’t count them.”

Many in attendance did know, however, because just two weeks before, the Breakfast Club had hosted Miami-Dade Homeless Trust Executive Director David Raymond, and Hilda Fernandez from the City Manager’s office, who addressed homeless issues. According to the latest census conducted by the Homeless Trust, there are roughly 200 homeless people in Miami Beach.

“I think that Oddy feels he’s seen too much of the homeless,” Kelsey summed up, and then turned the microphone over to Libbin.

Libbin said that his number one priority was his work with Tallahassee on foreclosed properties. Libbin wants to “put the pressure on the banks, not the condo associations,” he said.

Libbin said that his campaign had gained the support of more than 350,000 Floridians who want change.
“We need to get some measure to shift the focus from the good folks who are paying their fees and paying their maintenance and take away the pressure of special assessments,” Libbin said.

Libbin discussed his fact finding missions to China, recycling programs, his desire to end the sale of single cans of beer, and accepted a resident’s suggestion to explore ridding the city of abandoned FPL poles.

The subject then inevitably turned to the city budget and how, if elected, the candidates would address the projected funding shortfalls.

“Clearly the budget is one of the major responsibilities that the commission has,” Libbin said. He explained that the commission had gone through the budget line by line to find ways to make up for a $24.5 million deficit.
“We won’t have shortfalls in the budget, we’re not allowed to have shortfalls in the budget,” he said, referring to the state law that requires municipalities to balance their budgets.

Because Segui had to leave the debate early, he was unable to respond to the budget question and so Kelsey gave him the opportunity to make a closing statement.

Restating his commitment to ridding the city of the homeless and graffiti, Segui also praised Libbin. “He is hardworking,” Segui said. “I’ve nothing against him. Everywhere I go, I hear good things about Jerry.”
Libbin answered a few more questions from a quickly emptying room.

Sporting a campaign t-shirt supporting Group 3 candidate and former commissioner Michael Gongora, former commission candidate Elsa Urquiza expressed support for Libbin.

“In four years, sometimes, you can’t undo the damage that has been done in the previous six,” Urquiza said of Libbin’s time on the dais. “You have my full support.”

Urquiza’s is not the only notable name that is backing Libbin. In addition to state-Reps. Luis Garcia and Richard Steinberg, “I am particularly proud that every single commissioner, and the mayor, has endorsed my candidacy,” Libbin said.

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