Medley cop who bought trailer meets requirements to run for council seat, judge says
.JPG "Medley Town Hall")
A highly ranked veteran cop can run for a council seat in the tiny town of Medley in November’s general election because he bought a small property a year before he qualified to run and has lived in the village for long enough to satisfy the town’s charter requirement, a judge ruled this week.
In her nine-page order, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Tanya Brinkley found that Medley Police Lt. Arturo Jinete and his wife — who happens to be Medley’s police chief — purchased a small trailer in the village that he planned to move into early enough to qualify for the November election.
The judge found that the only reason Jinete didn’t move into the trailer until a month after the required residency date was because it was infested with mold and termites. He eventually rented a nearby trailer, where he’s been living now for over a year. In her order, the judge citing precedent, determined that even though Jinete moved into the city a month late, he bought the property in time with the intent of moving into it.
“Defendant never made a fraudulent effort to assert that he in fact slept in the City during the period at issue, rather he was frank as to his absence and provided a detailed explanation as to why,” Judge Brinkely wrote.
Jinete’s attorney David Winker said his client had the electricity and water turned on at the trailer site and that he also informed his bosses about the move and changed his voter registration card.
“He took steps to establish it as his residency,” Winker said.
The complaint to disqualify Jinete was brought by Medley Council member Ivan Pacheco, who questioned why the police lieutenant would give up the spacious Southwest Ranches property he’s owned and lived in with his wife and children for the past two decades, for a 912-square-foot trailer. Pacheco also complained to the court that Jinete never lived in the Medley trailer.
Medley’s charter requires a candidate to live at a property within the town’s limits for a year before the qualifying date, which in this case was July 8, 2024. Jinete moved into a rental property near the trailer he bought on Aug. 6, 2023.
Medley’s mayoral and two of its five council seats are up for election in November. Because the small town on Miami-Dade’s western fringe is not divided into districts, the three candidates who receive the most votes will win the mayoral and council seats.
Jinete, the town’s long-serving police lieutenant, is married to Police Chief Jeanette Said-Jinete, whose $163,811 contracted annual salary is up at the end in October. In the small town of Medley, family members serving together in various capacities doesn’t seem to be discouraged — though Florida’s Government in the Sunshine laws prohibit elected council members from discussing business outside of public meetings.
Pacheco, who filed the lawsuit trying to stop Jinete’s candidacy, serves along with his wife, Karina Pacheco. And two other council members are father and daughter.
