Ladra is going to have to start going to the Hialeah Council meetings again. They always get good right before an election.
Last week’s meeting proved no different, when dozens of parents showed up — reportedly at the behest of Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez — for a special presentation to renew a contract for a company owned by Cuban baseball legend El Duque Hernandez basically for exclusive use of Babcock Park.
Since at least January of 2012, the public park has been used by the Cuban baseball defector Hernandez for a private sports academy. Hey, weren’t the Miami Marlins supposed to have built a baseball academy in the City of Retrogress by now? More on that later.
The Babcock Park contract has come under fire by those who say El Duke’s fees — at $300 per season — are too high for most parents in Hialeah, where the unemployment is one of the highest in the state, and that at least some of the public park should remain open for public use. What a concept.
Last Tuesday, Marcos Miralles, a candidate for Hialeah City Council running against incumbent Councilman Paul “Pablitiquito” Hernandez became one of those critics.
Miralles probably didn’t know what he was stepping into — a meeting where Mayor Hernandez traditionally uses the dais to call his opponents and those of his lackies “clowns” and “cowards.” At the previous meeting, which I also heard had fireworks, he said the campaign circus had begun.
And, so, it has. Enter clown numero uno: Council President Isis “Gavelgirl” Garcia-Martinez actually called Miralles a liar on Tuesday. Right there. In front of his parents! Maybe I ought to change her nickname to La Grosera. It fits better now.
“One of those liars is here, Marcos Miralles. He is one of those that wants to shut down the park,” she reportedly told parents. Remember, Ladra wasn’t there. Tried calling him a couple of times but couldn’t get him. And, admittedly, this report comes secondhand from his Libertarian Party activist campaign consultant, Pierre-Alexandre Crevaux.
Crevaux said boos followed, from children even, and Miralles’ father went to the podium and addressed the mayor and council in his son’s defense.
“You are accusing my son of using this issue as a campaign talking point. Yet you are the one making it an issue tonight. You are the one manipulating these parents and kids by telling them lies,” the candidate’s father reportedly said in Spanish.
I am telling you: I have to start going to these meetings. But I probably would have stood up and applauded.
Interviewed by America TeVe after the meeting, Miralles said he supported the baseball academy, but wanted to ensure that local kids got to benefit from it.
“I love what El Duke has done with our kids. He has brought a whole generation off the streets with his school of future pro players,” Miralles said. “What Mayor Hernandez tried to imply was that I want to close Babcock. I don’t. What I want is for parents to be able to pay for classes without having to put themselves into debt. Remember that Hialeah has the highest unemployment rate of large South Florida cities.
“I have nothing against El Duke. But before renewing the contract, I want to make sure he keeps his promises and follows our local laws by not closing down the park to non-players.”
Inside sources say the council meeting was supposed to be a pitfall for Miralles, but that it backfired and ended up getting the candidate more interest and support in his campaign. Having caught wind of the possible criticism to the contract, Hernandez and his supporters brought in close to 100 parents from the academy — much like the Castros in Cuba use rapid response brigades — to defend the program. Trouble is, many if not most of those parents came from Miami Springs and Miami Lakes and Miramar, not Hialeah.
El Duque’s brother has gone on TV to defend the academy, saying that all they want to do is make the next generation of great baseball players.
“But Hialeah is not in the business of making baseball players. It is in the business of providing recreation for its citizens at no costs, because that is what we pay taxes for,” said former Mayor Julio Martinez, a longtime critic of the exclusive contract who is also running for mayor against Hernandez.
Martinez believes that as long as El Duque has the exclusive contract for his academy, the city will never break ground on the baseball academy promised by the Miami Marlins in 2009 when they pitched their publicly-funded stadium.
“Nobody talks about it. Grodnick said in January that they were close. Here we are in September,” Martinez said, referring to City Attorney Bill Grodnick.
“They’re not going to do anything because it would compete with El Duque,” Martinez added about the Major League Urban Youth Baseball Academy, which would take Hialeah students in for free.
That project is still on the bench.
The final vote on the contract will be on Oct. 8. And, yes, Ladra will be there to see any fireworks.
Hialeah candidate Marcos Miralles scores at council meeting added by Ladra on
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