The arrest of Joe A. Martinez, plus new members on the dais to bring new dynamic to Miami-Dade Commission | Editorial
Some 48 hours after bonding out of the county jail, Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe A. Martinez was absent on Thursday from his seat on the dais — a seat he had hoped to parlay into more influence on the commission and a run for the new post of county sheriff.
But best-laid plans can be derailed by an indictment for allegedly taking $15,000 in exchange for crafting a proposed law to help a property owner who ran afoul of code enforcement, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Martinez faces charges of unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation.
He has made it clear that be believes the five-year probe into his alleged wrongdoing is politically motivated to curtail his ambitions to be sheriff, a post the former Miami-Dade cop has publicly claimed as his for months. The election is in 2024.
On Thursday, Martinez sent a message to Commission Chair Jose “Pepe” Diaz saying he would not be at the meeting to avoid being a distraction.
Too late.
With the specter of Martinez’s arrest still fresh in the chamber, Thursday’s meeting, which required giant binders to hold the massive agenda, was adjourned just after 1:30 p.m. Unheard of, most on the dais jokingly agreed.
“I think this was a record,“ Chairman Diaz said of the lightning speed the commission moved item after item.
In other words, little work got done on county residents’ behalf, and it’s not a joke.
Rumors have been swirling that Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has the power to do so, plans to suspend Martinez from his post.
A governor has not removed a Miami-Dade commissioner removed from office by a governor since 2001, when Commissioner Miriam Alonso was charged with misusing funds from a political campaign.
No matter how this sad chapter plays out, Martinez’s arrest already has disrupted the workings of the nonpartisan commission, which, unfortunately, is getting more partisan by every election.
Martinez’s possible exit from the dais would leave the commission one person short, for now, and clearly without a long-time veteran standing when the commission gets a total of five new members after the November election.
Long-time commissioners departing are: Sally Heyman, Rebeca Sosa, Jean Monestime, Javier Souto and Diaz. Three new members were elected in August: Anthony Rodriguez, Juan Carlos “J.C” Bermudez and Danielle Cohen Higgins, who was initially appointed. Two more races will be settled in November.
Well aware of his commission-elder status, Martinez, might have planned to run for commission chair and was using the August primary to attract two allies by making large campaign donations to Rodriguez and Kevin Marino Cabrera’s commission campaigns. Cabrera is in a runoff.
Martinez was about to become the commission’s apparent leader, if only by seniority and experience. That matters on the commission in terms of leading meetings and learning how to actually get legislation passed in a body made up of 13 commissioners representing as many districts .
All the while, Martinez appeared to be working to cement himself as the obvious candidate for county sheriff, scaring away any other contenders with his boastful demeanor..
Martinez often arrives in the commission chambers dressed in a three-piece suit and armed with a concealed handgun, the Miami Herald has reported. He can be combative on the dais and often opposes what he considers new-fangled ideas.
But all of Martinez’s “Game of Throne-ing” is probably for naught, observers say, but he will be a presence on the dais, whether he’s there or not.
Getting things done on the commission likely will take longer as we wait for all the new members to get up to speed. The knowledgeable, newer and more outspoken members like Raquel Regalado, Oliver Gilbert, Kionne McGhee and Eileen Higgins may now have to slow down for the others. Despite his brusque, no-nonsense attitude on the dais, Martinez knew how to control the gavel.
The results will likely be that we just have to get used to the commission churning at a slower pace. We hope newer members emerge as non-partisan, unifying leaders on a commission where the good of the entire county and its 2.7 million residents, not just “my district,” is a priority.
This story was originally published September 3, 2022 at 3:51 PM.