Look like it’s going to be a busy week in the 305 for political intrigue, what with a caliente county commission meeting, the arraignments of two allegedly corrupt elected leaders, a hearing for a Hialeah boletero and the qualifying deadlines for
the suddenly open seats in Miami Lakes due to the mayor’s arrest.
Ladra expects a big turnout at the Miami Dade Commission’s committee of the whole meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday, where there will likely be some discussion about the sudden saving of the libraries and other budget matters. This is the last time the whole commission meets until the first budget hearing on Sept. 10, so there’s some hope among activists that there could be changes made either to the proposed millage or within the budget itself to assuage some outrage.
It’s also the first time Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez comes out in public after postponing two budget town hall meetings so he could fly off to D.C. and attend the 1972 Miami Dolphins championship team ceremony at the White House with some friends, including team owner Stephen Ross and former State Rep. and lobbyist Marcelo Llorente. Later this week he will attend two of those community lynch mobs as he further whittles downs the cuts to where they should have been in the first place. Many have said that it is the first time a county mayor goes out to meet with his critics and make his points. At least he has done that.
If the Monday meeting goes long, as it very well might, we can head afterwards to the News Lounge, 5580 NE 4th Ct., for the Miami-Dade Young Democrats monthly meeting, this time starring Sen. Dwight Bullard and State Reps. Kionne McGhee and Cynthia Stafford. Wonder if the chatter might get around to putting Miami Dade Democratic Party Chair Annette Taddeo in a campaign, perhaps for mayor. The buzz is out there.
But even so, Monday is not as exciting as Tuesday, when we will have the arraignments for Sweetwater Mayor Manny “Maraña” Maroño and Miami Lakes Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi, who were arrested earlier this month on federal bribery and extortion charges after the FBI nabbed them in a sting collaborating to steal hundreds of thousands from the U.S. government while pocketing a few thousand fulas for themselves.
I don’t know if the court is open to the public, but I’m going even if Ladra has to sit in the lobby our outside in the hot sun. Just to see them go in and out and so Pizzi — who, sadly, has the weakest case against him and could actually get off despite taking a $3,000 kick-back in the closet — can see me.
Tuesday is also the deadline for Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez to decide if he is going to stay in the race against incumbent Mayor Tomas Regalado. Suarez has said he would resign by Tuesday to give the city time to put the commission race to replace him on the same ballot. He has taken a series of recent blows that have led some to think he might pull out of the mayoral race. But Ladra would not take that bet.
Then we can go celebrate the arraignments and unwind with the Miami Young Republicans, who are going to be joined by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Bob Kuechenberg, one of the 1972 Dolphins who announced last week he would not be part of the publicity event at the Obama White House, at the Globe in Coral Gables, 377 Alhambra Plaza. Ladra is supposed to make a few observations also, but not only do I hate following la Reina Ileana, there’s also talk that the illegal maquinitas that Hialeah Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez has been allowing in the City of Retrogress (more on that later) may be brought up by someone during the city council meeting Tuesday night. Wish Ladra could be in two places at once. No, three! There’s also that budget town hall meeting in Little Haiti.
Speaking of Hialeah, the hearing at 9 .m. Wednesday for ballot runner Sergio “Tio” Robaina is open to the public. Robaina, the uncle of former Hialeah Mayor Julio “Psst. Need cash?” Robaina will finally have his first day in court stemming from his arrest for absentee ballot fraud more than a year ago. That is, if he doesn’t get it rest a third time. Robaina faces two felony charges of ballot tampering and two county ordinance violations for possessing more than two ABs at once. He will go before Miami-Dade Judge Milton Hirsch in courtroom 2-5 at the criminal courthouse, 1351 N.W. 12 St. (more on that later). I can’t help but wonder who might be in the courtroom. Maybe Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban Bovo, whose district office Robaina dropped his ABs off at? A dog can dream, can’t she?
On Thursday evening, Gimenez will attend the second of his two budget town hall meetings. The first is at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, 212 NE 59th Terr.. The second is the one that had been rescheduled from the West Dade Regional Library, 9445 Coral Way, from last week. And that’s not even ’cause he was in the White House. That one he postponed to go to a manufacturing convention in Orlando. Ladra has to be there to watch that rescheduled reunion between the mayor and his constituents.
Then, the week ends with the qualifying deadline for mayor and commissioner in Miami Lakes, seats that opened up after Pizzi was arrested and Commissioner Nelson Hernandez decided to run to take his place. Hernandez resigned, which left the door open for his buddy Frank Mingo, who is State Rep. Jose Oliva‘s (R-Miami Lakes) boy. Mingo is “supply chain manager” at Oliva Cigar Corporation and someone in his family named Carmenchu Mingo is the rep’s district secretary. It is likely Hernandez and Mingo will collaborate (more on that later). Miami Lakes attorney Lorenzo Cobiella has announced his intent to run for councilman and there are malas lenguas wagging about former Councilwoman Mary Collins trying to make a comeback.
But the mayor’s race will be the main attraction. Activist David “Dave” Bennett and founding mayor Wayne Slaton have also said they will run for mayor, and then there was the shocker last week when Pizzi’s son picked up a candidate packet at town hall, sparking speculation he would run or get a stand in. There’s already a fourth candidate named Edwin Romero, but we don’t know anything about him, except that he’s a Realtor.
And there’s a whole five days of suspense to wait for the qualifying deadline to pass. Who knows who else might step in? Ladra hears every day that there could be a surprise.
And there’s always the very real possibility that something else is going to pop up. Like maybe an arrest in Homestead, perhaps? These things always come in clusters.
We better take our vitamins and get a good night’s sleep.
Big week: arraingments, budgets and Miami Lakes deadline added by Ladra on
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