Just a little more than two months away, campaigns are already heating up for the mayoral and commission races in South Miami, which is kind of like wha
t Coconut Grove might be like if we let those artsy fartsy people form their own government.
And it looks like it could be a real fun one to watch.
In addition to the political comeback of former Mayor Horace Feliu — off the release of his thriller alien sci-fi book that he read from at Books & Books earlier this month — we have what will likely develop as a down and dirty mayoral race.
On one side of that battle you have the incumbent Mayor Phil Stoddard, a nerdy, tree-hugging FIU biology professor and nudist aficionado. Running against him is on-again, off-again Councilwoman Valerie Newman, a former loudmouth activist who hasn’t lost that, er, um, tone up on the dais — only now, many say, it is directed at the residents who come to speak.
The two have been at odds with each other almost since the beginning, and their battles include the booting last year of former City Manager Hector Mirabile and former Police Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro.
Could we ask for two more disparate candidates?
The latest campaign reports turned in Tuesday indicate that the incumbent, naturally, has more support and that Newman is, well, the only person behind her effort. She loaned herself $500 while Stoddard collected $2,425, including a maximum $250 contribution from ally Commissioner “Bicycle Bob” Welsh.
It is uncertain if Stoddard, who was first elected in 2010, will get the same financial help as he did in his re-election in 2012 from then Florida House Speaker Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who was only involved because former State Rep. and South Miami Mayor Julio “The Good One” Robaina was running for his old seat and they have a longtime feud.
Stoddard is a defender of South Miami’s old time quality of life. Like most small town mayors, he counts public safety and community policing as one of his main issues. Unlike most small town mayors, he also cites climate and environmental concerns among his top three issues and recently posted a “simple composting” tutorial on his Facebook profile.
Stoddard has been one of the leading voices in a coalition of local mayors who are fighting the planned expansion of FPL transmission lines along U.S. 1 in South Dade. He has traveled to Tallahassee on the issue, serves on the Miami Dade League of Cities Energy and Environment Committee, and helps direct the Florida Sierra Club’s lobbying efforts to protect drinking water. He co-founded the organization Citizens Allied for Safe Energy and has been inducted in the CLEO Leadership Circle for his advocacy on climate change in South Florida.
Maybe he should be running for a state House seat.
Well, he might have been running for a state House seat before the news articles came out last year about the burglary to his house and how the mayor was allegedly totally naked in the presence of two teenage girls when police arrived. Stoddard said his daughter and a 16-year-old exchange student were sleeping in another bedroom and that the police, who were at odds with him at the time, elaborated in the report with malevolent fiction in order to turn the incident into a political opportunity.
Could be. It’s true that it is no big deal that he sleeps nude at night — if the girls were never in his room, which is what he swears. He also can’t talk too much about it because he has a complaint against the officer who he says used too much creative license.
But it is going to be an issue, whether he likes it or not. It was already reported on Channel 7 by none other than the breathy Carmel Cafeiro. I can see the “sexual deviant” mailers now, whether it is warranted or not. The words will just be in quotes and someone “respectable” like Harms will say them.
Newman did not return several calls and two messages I left on her voice mail. But, from all accounts so far, she seems to be quite angry with the way things are going. Maybe that is why she was accused of bullying in 2011, after which she got a “letter of instruction” from the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, “to emphasize that extraordinary caution should be exercised by elected officials in the way they act when representing the government entity of which they are a part; whether it be with employees of that entity or members of the general public.”
Newman had been “accused of threatening AT&T with negative publicity if they did not go along with her wishes. She was accused of ordering the Manager and high-level employees to do certain things although doing so was outside of her scope of powers. She was further accused of demanding to be treated differently than the general public. In short, Commissioner Newman was accused of bullying people inside and outside of City government in order to complete her personal agenda,” the commission wrote, seemingly frustrated at the inability to take stronger action.
“Commissioner Newman must keep in mind that often actions, which may themselves be legal and ethical, are subject to misinterpretation when performed in an aggressive and threatening manner. Rude, boorish and tyrannical behavior by elected officials, while perhaps not actionable under an ethics code, is inexcusable nevertheless,” it went on and on and on.
“Commissioner Newman has maintained that she was simply trying to do her job in helping the City of South Miami and its constituents and that the Code of Conduct hindered her ability to do so efficiently. This is a poor excuse. In our opinion, ethical behavior is not simply the doing of what is right but doing it the right way.”
For things like that, and because both candidates are Democrats, Newman may not get the kind of support she got four years ago. Maybe she ought to concentrate on finding a way to motivate the Cuban vote that traditionally stays home. Because she won’t be getting another Obama campaign phone bank, that’s for sure. Even though Stoddard took a lot of Republican money last year, las malas lenguas say the local Dems are staying out of it this year.
Or, if they lean, they lean toward the incumbent: Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner hosted a meet and greet for Stoddard this past weekend with longtime city activist Penny McCrea. If any monies were raised there, though, they will become public in the next report, due Jan. 10. Stoddard may also get help from Palmetto Bay Mayor Shelley Stanczyk. Both the local mayors were at his re-election celebration in 2012 (as pictured in the Facebook photo up there).
Newman only reported a campaign account of $500 — all of it a loan to herself. But do not be fooled.
Some expect her to get help from Commissioner Josh Liebman, since the two are often aligned on issues. Some expect her to get FPL money, since the power company has a vested interest in getting rid of Stoddard. She may also get money from those who supported the former chief of police, since she defended him ’til the end.
See? It’s early yet.
And there are rumors that more candidates will come out of the woodwork before qualifying ends Jan. 10.
South Miami mayoral race revs up to be a raunchy, racy run added by Ladra on
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