Miami is strong but its leaders are fighting
With Super Bowl visitors pouring into the community, it was the perfect time for Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez to brag a little during the annual State of the City address that he delivered Tuesday.
Of course, where city of Miami government is headed these days, the situation clearly is less than perfect.
Still, in his inspirational and inclusive speech, the mayor brought home the message that: “As we enter 2020, a new decade filled with hope and promise, it is our responsibility to create a ‘Miami For Everyone’ and a ‘Miami Forever,’’ Suarez said.
For the future, the mayor wants to focus on making making Miami a safer and healthier city — so residents themselves can “shift the projection of their own future.”
That’s holistically admirable from Miami’s millennial mayor: Heal your body, improve your own quality of life and have that transfer to your city as a whole.
Suarez reminded us we are well prepared to fight and survive climate change — now including earthquakes. Homelessness, the aspirations of young residents, affordable housing and help for low-income seniors struggling to pay their rent are all in the mix now. Good for the mayor, who does think outside the box.
Looking at the numbers, according to the mayor, there’s nothing but good news.
The tax base grew by 10 percent; construction went up by $3 billion; the city has the highest tax rating in its history and the lowest homicide rate in more than 50 years — plus the highest number of police officers protecting the community. Overall, doing business in the city is easier.
But the mayor gave no hint of the trouble brewing in city leadership, the politics of it, the Game of Thrones of it.
If the mayor’s speech did not convey any trouble in paradise, Commissioner Ken Russell’s introduction of the mayor was a revelation, full of biting sarcasm over what is happening on the commission dais. Russell blamed his candor on the mimosas being served. “I’m not bitter,” he said. But...
Russell alluded to a recent power grab of the appointments on the city’s largest semi-autonomous agencies Downtown Development Agency and the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency. Russell lost his two leadership spots on those agencies, wrestled away by other commissioners. “I had to reprint my business card and it came out like a postage stamp,” he said. Insert rimshot on the drum here.
His prestigious District 2 has become too popular. “District 2 is the coolest,” Russell, the comedian, said. “It’s got like five commissioners!” Kudos to Russell for not ignoring the elephant in the room.
As the mayor spoke, other Miami city commissioners sat on the front row watching him. Some are out to make his life more difficult, Commissioner Joe Carollo among them. He recently led a successful effort to get rid of the city manager, a close ally of the mayor. Unfortunately, manager Emilio Gonzalez never got to publicly address Carollo’s allegations that he falsifying paperwork to get a permit for a backyard deck and using his position to fast-track that permit.
Carollo has indicated more scrutiny on the mayor and others.
Newly elected Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, has joined forces with Carollo and often with Commissioner Manolo Reyes. The three have a majority vote now. Under the mantle of cleaning house and holding everyone accountable, the ruling commissioners have turned the last few meetings into a needless political circus. Miamians should not sit still for this show.
So much for the state of the city.
This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
