When former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo was taking newly elected Doral Mayor Luigi Boria, then a candidate, around during the campaign and helping him, he told Ladra he wasn’t being paid one cent.
- Looks like Joe Carollo knew he had something to be happy about way back at the swearing in of the county mayor and commissioners, where he went with then-candidate and now Mayor Luigi Boria.
But the truth is the man known as “Crazy Joe” got a new $144,000-a-year job thanks to his efforts.
Talk about a high fee. Political consultants do not usually make that kind of cheese.
Everyone expected former Doral City Manager Yvonne Soler-McKinley to be fired, part of an alleged deal struck between Boria and former Councilman Pete Cabrera, who later endorsed his opponent in what many said was a surprise back-stabbing to the other mayoral candidate, former School Board Member Frank Bolaños.
But Soler-McKinley quit first, and was replaced by transition expert and interim city manager extraiordinaire, former County Manager Merrett Stierheim, whose main mission was to find a permanent for the post but who resigned when he was left out of the loop.
Soler-McKinley, former city manager in South Miami, has time to find a new gig: She got a severance that includes six months’ salary, totaling $88,364.64, six months of retirement contribution at 12 percent of salary and three months health insurance.
Carollo did not want a severance package, according to today’s Miami Herald story.
- Lourdes Gimenez, wife of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, greets Joe Carollo and then-candidate now-Doral Mayor Luigi Boria at her hubby’s swearing in.
And while his naming, although voted on unanimously with little questioning from Councilwoman Sandra Ruiz — a Boria ally who wondered whether the city should do a more thorough search (duh ) — sent ripples of shock throughout the community, Carollo told Ladra late Thursday that he has had support from the community for his new role.
In a very short, terse telephone interview, Carollo said he didn’t have time to respond to my questions about the process and his sudden six-figure salary.
“I have a city to run,” he said, promising to call me back when he has some time. “Probably over the weekend.”
But I wouldn’t bet on it. Among the things he did have time to tell me was “I’m not one of your buddies like Carlos Hernandez.” Um, does he even read the blog? “Just be fair,” he added, like knowing there was a reason to question.
I thought I also heard him say something along the lines of “We need to have someone who is a good liberator so that Hispanics have someone to lead them.” Yeah, I know. Say what? When I asked him what he meant or to confirm what he said, he said he never said that.
But he wouldn’t correct it either. No time, I guess.
Still, we all know that Carollo is known for saying weird and off-the-wall things from time to time. And while Ladra does respect “Crazy Joe” somewhat for his tenacious ripping of absentee ballot fraud and how the powers that be let it slide, this gift job does sort of look like a payback for his help and maybe not a very good move for Doral.
But, c’mon, we should have seen it coming.
Carollo was almost by Boria’s side 24/7 during the campaign. He was his race whisperer. And, las malas lenguas say, he was looking for a job.
Stierheim — who later told the Herald the naming of Carollo was “a terrible decision” — even resigned because of the selection process, which stinks of quid pro quo to Ladra. And maybe to Stierheim, who was quoted in the Herald as saying that he “played no role whatsoever” in the selection process. “Nor was I aware of it.”
That’s because there was no process, Mr. Stierheim. And you probably know that.
There may, however, have been a promise.
Mayor Boria woudn’t answer that question directly. He also had very little time for me.
“The process was the same that any executive from a big corporation would take,” Boria told me on the “Who says I had to search?”
Well, nobody Mayor Boria. What I said is that usually cities do that. But, on second glance, Doral is not usual. All four of the previous city managers were appointed by former Mayor JC Bermudez without much of a search.
“It’s not uncommon,” said Ruiz, who once made a public records request for the other applicants when Soler-McKinley was named and did not get a response.
“On this particular issue, the mayor has the right under the charter to nominate whoever he wants. In fact, he’s the only one who can nominate a city manager. None of the council members can,” Ruiz told me.
Still, this particular appointment has raised eyebrows. While some people expected Carollo to remain as Boria’s right hand man or confidant — maybe even snag a business development position — its pretty safe to say that almost nobody expected this.
“I did it. And I don’t have to explain to anybody why or how I did it,” Boria told me before going onto another line to answer a call from the Miami Herald. He never came back and following phone calls were sent to voice mail.
But I guess that is pretty much a synopsis of what we can expect from Mayor Boria: He will do what he wants and he doesn’t have to explain why or how.
So no process, no promise (supposedly). But now, let’s have a pledge. Let’s get a pool together and bet, shall we? How long do you think the harmony between Boria and “Crazy Joe” — two reported Latino hotheads — is going to last?
My money is on a month.
“Crazy Joe’s” campaign help in Doral = $144,000 a year added by Ladra on
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