Call me cynical. But doesn’t it seem like Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell — who is fighting for her political life in the 
most heated commission race this year — has had a slew of publicity stunt events in recent days?
There’s no doubt that Bell is active year round, taking part in community events, working at area businesses for her “Work Days” initiative or sponsoring something or other every now and then. But there is also no doubt that she has stepped it up a notch in recent weeks as her re-election is solidly challenged by newcomer Daniella Levine Cava, a social services agency director whose momentum must be scaring the commissioner.
Bell served slices and pizza pies at Sal’s Italian Restaurant in Cutler Bay last Friday during one of her “work days” when she visits area businesses to see what a day in their life is like.
A few days before that, she was “pleased to announce” that the Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development was accepting online applications through July 21 from low-income families who wish to be placed on a waiting list for efficiencies, one-bedroom and two-bedrooms units in the Moderate Rehabilitation program.
Earlier this month, she took part in the street-naming ceremony for John F. Cosgrove Way, a stretch of U.S. 1 named for the founding mayor of Cutler Bay. Last month, she sponsored a free citizenship workshop at the library in Cutler Bay and attended a ribbon-cutting of a 100-unit affordable housing complex.
This week she sponsored an ordinance that would require former city employees or electeds, to wait four years, rather than two, before they can start lobbying the commission. Because she is suddenly anti lobbyists?
Last week, she sponsored an ordinance that regulates animal breeders and limits their breeding of dogs or cats to once a year. She calls it her anti puppy mill ordinance and says that this helps efforts to make Miami-Dade a no-kill shelter for animals, like the Pet’s Trust people wanted and got the community to vote for, but which she ignored at the time.
“We must make Miami-Dade County a more humane county,” the commissioner said at a press conference, where she got some free air time on TV. “And we can’t let dollars be our guiding principle when it comes to how we treat our animals.”
Ladra bets the Pet’s Trust people will be happy to hear that, since she has been voting against their $19 million initiative to curb strays and stop the killing a
t the shelter, a measure approved by 64% of the voters but which Bell has helped stall.
Nothing like a tough re-election to make you rethink things.
But, no, the animal lovers are not biting.
“It really is appalling to me to see this new puppy mill bill just passed by Commissioner Bell called a ‘landmark’ bill,” said Michael Rosenberg, founder and president of the Pet’s Trust. “It is another band-aid that does not stop the overpopulation, and does nothing to stop businesses from getting these puppies from out of state, where most come from.
“Commissioner Bell had a landmark bill in her lap — and she dropped it. She sponsored the Pets’ Trust [initiative], 45,000 people in her District voted for it, and she could have been the national spoke person for a program that would help end the killing of millions of animals around the country,” Rosenberg said.
But it’s so much easier to just hand them free food!
This weekend, Bell’s hit the motherload of election-time publicity stunts: The commission vice chair will be distributing packages of food — and exchange old and inefficient showerheads and lightbulbs for the new, more cost-effective ones — to the lucky first few hundred people who show up at the South Dade Government Center, 10701 SW 211th Street, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The event is being done in coordination with Farm Share and just by coincidence comes on the weekend before the absentee ballots are mailed to people’s homes for the August 26 primary. What happy timing!
After all, why go knock on doors when you can reach voters by having them come to you and handing them some free onions and bananas?
Lynda Bell gives away free food days before ABs drop added by Ladra on
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