Miami City Hall descended into turmoil this week -- echoing the dark days of the mid-1990s -- with two commissioners expected to lose their seats for misconduct.

It's the culmination of a bustling two weeks that saw the city hold elections for mayor and three commissioners, even as prosecutors had their sights on a pair of veteran elected leaders.

A day after being sworn in for a second term, Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones is expected to turn herself in to authorities Friday on a grand theft charge. Angel Gonzalez is expected to resign Monday on a charge that he exploited his position to get his daughter a job.

And, adding to that one-two punch, the city will hold a runoff election for another seat Tuesday. The winner can't take office until five days later.

The result: Miami could find itself with just two sitting commissioners on a dais with room for five during next Thursday's scheduled commission meeting.

That would be one vote short to vote on any agenda items.

More importantly: There wouldn't be the quorum necessary for commissioners to fill the empty seats.

Or will there?

The city's charter says if a commissioner leaves office, a new one will be appointed by the remaining commissioners within 10 days. If they fail, it falls on the governor's lap.

Complicating matters further: By Thursday night the city attorney hadn't determined how to interpret the section of the city's charter involving vacant seats.

According to Mayor Tomás Regalado, City Attorney Julie Bru was deciding between giving the governor a call, or using a strict interpretation of the charter, which says the ``remaining'' commissioners can make the call -- it doesn't mention a quorum. Bru did not respond to interview requests.

Regalado said he preferred turning to the governor. He has met with Gov. Charlie Crist twice this week. ``He's willing to expedite the process.''

Never before has City Hall's commission dais been so empty at one time.

``This would be a first, without any question,'' said former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, a resident for 60 years.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said the Spence-Jones case began to crystalize in September, after former County Commission Chairwoman Barbara Carey-Shuler agreed to cooperate. Gonzalez's case has been in the works for months.

In weighing charges against Spence-Jones -- who won reelection this month -- the state didn't want to make the same mistake it made 11 years ago, when it arrested Humberto Hernandez a few months prior to an election.

As his trial date loomed, Hernandez opted to run for reelection. He won.

Fernandez Rundle said the Spence-Jones arrest had to take place after she was sworn back into office. ``We were trying very deliberately to not interfere in the political process,'' she said.

As the mess swirled Thursday, Regalado promised residents that ``we'll be OK'' and announced a tentative plan to move Thursday's commission meeting to Nov. 21. But he added: ``I've been through a lot. But two at a time is not what you'd expect on your second day as mayor.''

Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@