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Retrospective
The Mayor and Commission Look Back at ’09 and Look Forward to a New Decade

By Lee Molloy

In 2009, they oversaw the opening of the new South Pointe Park, dealt with a massive deficit in the city budget, upset a world-class architect and, after a hard fought citywide election, gained two new members. The seven men and women on the City of Miami Beach Commission earn less than minimum wage for the responsibility of legislating on the expenditure of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and tirelessly putting in their time and effort to serve the residents of their community. And yet, they keep showing up for work.

The commissioners have found the end of the year a good time to review their personal performances in 2009 and speak about their hopes and aspirations for the year 2010.

Mayor Matti Bower

“Enjoy life and love each other, all the rest isn't as important,” Bower recommends.

Bower jokes that after the challenging budget faced by the city the biggest accomplishment of ’09 was “that we finished the year alive.”  However, she also recognizes the great diversity showcased in the community from the Women’s Conference to the Gay Pride Parade and Disability Awareness Day. “All of these were such simple things and made so many people happy and proud of living in Miami Beach,” Bower told The Lead.

Bower says that, due to her own passion for historic preservation, a defining moment for her this year was when the Miami Design Preservation League made a deal with the city to run the newly-renovated 10th Street Auditorium — as reported in The Lead’s online edition on Dec. 18

“Now the world-famous Art Deco district will get the educational showcase it deserves,” she says.

When looking forward to 2010, Bower still sees the budget as a challenge. Although she’s happy that money was found to renovate the convention center, “that battle is far from over,” she says.

When it comes to her own New Year resolutions, like many of us, the mayor is paying lip service to trying to lose weight. However she also seems determined to be stricter during meetings. “I'm thinking about installing little electric buzzers under everyone's seat, so they know when to move on,” she says, adding, “I'm kidding - Maybe.”

Bower’s biggest wish for the New Year is that everyone has health care.

“The three most important issues in a person's life are housing, health and education,” she says. “If we could accomplish making people happy on those issues, we would be better off.”

Commissioner Jerry Libbin

“Raquel, Sari, Moshe, and I wish all of your readers a happy holiday season and a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!” Libbin says.

Libbin adds that his biggest accomplishment in 2009 was “achieving my goal of establishing a world-class cultural campus” in the shape of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Symphony building. “This is a vision that I have championed since 2005 when I was campaigning for election to the City Commission for my first term,” Libbin told The Lead.

Libbin, however, did experience some significant disappointment in 2009, when Tallahassee totally ignored the efforts of his campaign to reform Florida Statute 718.116  — the law pertaining to the fiscal responsibility of banks that foreclose on condo units but fail to make the required condo association payments.

“Despite gathering petitions that represented over 350,000 Floridians, which urged the Legislature to help,” Libbin said, “they simply chose to ignore the plight of their constituents.” However, Libbin says he is not giving up the fight.

The commissioner also hopes that in 2010 “the Commission is able to focus on modifying our pension system to ensure that we are able to afford to provide the benefits that we promise our employees in the future, and to make sure that our residents are able to afford to pay for them without sacrificing essential services.”

He also believes that the commission must identify new revenue streams for the city.

“We simply cannot continue to cut our budget and still provide quality service to our residents,” Libbin says. “I insist that we spend the time and effort to explore all ideas that may produce significant new revenue.”

Libbin is serious about his commitments. “I make a resolution to continue my fight to keep our beaches clean,” Libbin says, adding “I make a resolution to continue to pursue a change to the Florida Statute 718.116 to help our residents living in condominiums who are being so unjustly harmed by this law.”

Commissioner Ed Tobin

“Recognize how fortunate we are compared to the rest of the world, and count your blessings,” Tobin says.

Although he often seems to be at odds with the bureaucracy of government, Tobin is able to find satisfaction in the job. “A few weeks ago I awarded a proclamation to Miami Beach sixth grader Lexi Lehrman for her work in raising more than $30,000 for breast cancer awareness,” he said. “To see her at the podium accepting her award with a big smile and a wonderful speech, makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

That hard work, he says, can involve coming into conflict with the office of the City Manager. Tobin explains that as a commissioner one must vote on recommendations made by the manager’s office, but he asserts that the information is only ever in support of the administration’s recommendations.

“It’s almost impossible to obtain information, and a more thorough analysis, if that information and analysis might suggest a contrary course of action,” Tobin told The Lead. “With a $240 million budget and almost a billion dollars in construction work to be done, it’s disappointing to say the least,” he said.

This year Tobin feels his greatest accomplishment has been “saving taxpayers millions of dollars” in the overpayment to contractors for city projects such as the Normandy Shores Golf Clubhouse and the New World Symphony garage. In 2010 he wants to see Miami Beach gain a stronger voice in the spending of taxpayer’s money by the school board and Miami-Dade County. Tobin also says he wants the commission to achieve “accountability. And world peace.”

But in the meantime, Tobin’s New Year’s resolution is “to spend more time with my family and get back into the gym.”

Commissioner Jonah Wolfson

“May God bless you, and your families,” Wolfson says.

Family is obviously very important to Wolfson. With his wife having just given birth to a baby girl on Dec. 14, and a 2-year-old son running around, he has resolved to be healthier, and cut back on fast food in the New Year. “I want and need to be around for them,” he says.

As a commissioner in 2010, Wolfson hopes to reduce government spending, and vows not to vote for tax hikes. Wolfson is a recent appointee to the chair of the city’s Sustainability Committee. He is also championing a green agenda as the City Commmission’s representative assigned to the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. “I look forward to working with local businesses on how we can create ‘local green jobs’ and be more environmentally responsible,” he says. 

Wolfson says that he believes his defining moment as a commissioner in 2009 came when he “stood up to a wealthy developer, Fred Karlton, and his special interest cronies, who sought to appoint Karlton as a City of Miami Beach Commissioner” he said. A job he believes “was one of the things I was elected to do.”

Looking again to the coming year, Wolfson says he will attempt to fill the very big hole on the dais left by the much-respected, termed-out Commissioner Saul Gross. “I will attempt the very difficult task of filling his shoes in an effort to improve the way our elected officials treat each other,” Wolfson said. “Our Mayor, Matti Bower, is a capable and fine chairwoman who treats people with respect. If everyone follows her lead, we will be on the right track.”

Commissioner Deede Weithorn

“I want wish everyone a wonderful holiday and a brighter new year,” Weithorn says.

The commissioner is happy that she was able to make a difference to the residents of Miami Beach in 2009, not only by making decisions on the dais but through community outreach.

“I think it is the small things we do that define who we are,” she told The Lead.

This year Weithorn sponsored several spay/neuter days, which resulted in procedures being performed on more than 400 cats. She also made seven trips to the Humane Society to deliver linens that were collected for the charity, and hosted an intra-generational event to bring seniors and children closer together at North Beach Elementary School.

Although disappointed that they were unable to move more capital improvements projects forward, Weithorn says that her biggest accomplishment on the dais this year was “the fiscal stewardship of the city and its capital and general fund budget. I am quite proud of how we were able to cut the budget approximately 10 percent without seriously affecting services and jobs, and at the same time not raise taxes.”

In 2010, Weithorn hopes to see the economy improve, not only in Miami Beach, but nationally. However, for now, she still sees the city budget as problematic.

“I hope to achieve another successful budget — a daunting task in a year that is expected to include more cuts and tighter resources,” she said.

When it comes to New Year resolutions, Weithorn is all business.

“I want to continue to push forward for transparency, reliability and accountability in our city,” she said.

Commissioner Michael Gongora

“I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday, and desire for all a prosperous new year,” Gongora says.

Gongora was one of two new faces on the dais for 2009, debuting on the dais at the December meeting of the Miami Beach Commission. It isn’t, however, his first time in the position, having previously served on the commission for a year before losing his seat to his now-colleague Commissioner Tobin in 2007.

Gongora says that winning the 2009 election by such a large margin was his happiest moment this year, albeit bittersweet, because “surprisingly, I miss the thrill of the campaign,” he said. “It was very exciting to be working closely with my parents and Elsa Urquiza, and to be out every day meeting people and strategizing.”  

His main accomplishment so far “is being open and accessible to the residents and having an open door policy to meet with constituents,” he says.  To that end, on Dec. 11, Gongora started a series of community meetings called “Meetings with Michael.”

“The first meeting was very well-attended and we had about 50 community activists representing various groups,” in the city, Gongora said.

Next year Gongora says that his experience as a community association attorney has him well placed to take the lead on land use issues, as well as environmental initiatives and traffic calming. Like the rest of the commission, Gongora is also concerned about the economy but he thinks Miami Beach is strong enough to come back.

“I believe in Miami Beach,” he said. “We are uniquely positioned to increase tourism through promoting cultural and art events, which will also bring money into our city and help our businesses.”

As to New Year resolutions, “I am looking to get back to the gym after too long of an absence,” he said.

Commissioner Jorge Exposito was not available for comment.

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