Former South Miami Mayor Horace Feliu — who was taken out of office after he was arrested the eve of election day on some trumped up charges that were later dropped — may be ready for a political comeback.
But it won’t be as mayor.
Feliu has filed paperwork to run against South Miami Commissioner Walter Harris for the incumbent’s seat in the Feb. 11 election and told Ladra he was intentionally staying out of the fray expected to be whipped into a froth by the two candidates in the mayor’s race — incumbent Philip Stoddard and his nemesis on the dais, Commissioner Valerie Newman (more on that later).
Out of office for four years, Feliu said he has watched city government suffer without him and was encouraged by many friends and supporters to run for office again.
“A lot of people have noticed the difference, the downward spiral in terms of how the city is run, the lack of decorum at meetings, but also, more importantly, the increase of lawsuits,” Feliu told me., adding that the city had been sued at least 10 times in the past four years.
There’s also the fact that there have been four city managers in the span of five years, he said.
“People are looking for stability.”
Why didn’t he run for his old job? Isn’t this a step down? And was it a deal with Newman, as is widely rumored, so the two could collaborate and not split the Hispanic vote (which doesn’t traditionally show up much anyway)? Sure, the former mayor and the current commissioner were once at odds when she was a rabblerousing city activist during his administration. But Newman and Harris, a Stoddard solid ally, are more at odds on the dais. And you know what they say about the enemy of my enemy being my friend.
Feliu says there will be no slating (we’ll wait and see) and that he just didn’t want to get involved in the crossfire.
“Philip Stoddard has a record to slander people. He has been sued twice for slander,” Feliu said. “Between the two individuals there, there’s enough anger and animosity. I didn’t need to be involved in that mix.
“But I can still make a difference without being mayor,” he said. “I prefer to be on the commission. Whoever wins the mayor’s race, I’m not going to be a rubber stamper, which is what Walter Harris is.”
Harris didn’t trust Ladra enough Monday to talk to her much about the race. “I don’t know you,” he said, “and I don’t want to talk about it.”
He said he had “delivered on all the promises I made on the campaign” but would not tell me what those were. What I do know is that he is an environmentalist, like the mayor, who supported the legalized marijuana referendum.
Before he hung up, Harris also hinted that there were forces behind Feliu that were trying to switch out the mostly majority three-guy panel in place now, which would be himself, the mayor and Commissioner “Bicycle Bob” Welsh, who was elected in 2012.
“Let’s just say there’s another agenda at play here,” Harris said.
Mayor Horace Feliu comes back as commission hopeful added by Ladra on
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