Layoff Mayor Gimenez signs pop up before recall

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A planned recall of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Good to Go” Gimenez is not yet underway, but these very rustic signs are popping up already urging folks to “Layoff Mayor Gimenez.”

It is one political sign that stands out from the rest in this election week, perhaps because of its minimalist style and rustic appearance.

Capt. Jack Garcia, a retired Miami-Dade firefighter whose son died in a Fourth of July boating accident — and who is spearheading the effort after Gimenez refused to refund the $1.8 million fire boat — said the signs were not his.

“But I love them,” Garcia told Ladra.

The first sighting was by El Nuevo Herald reporter Brenda Medina who tweeted a picture of one sign on Northwest 17th Avenue by the 836 ramp.

Just 20 minutes later, Ladra got a text message from a county employee who drove past a bigger sign on the corner of Southwest 87th Avenue and Miller Drive.

Then came another of signs in a median and a sign on a tree at Coral Way and 109th Avenue, then a sign on vacant lots at the corner of Coral Way and 132nd Avenue and Northwest 7th Street and 97th Avenue in the Fontainbleau Park area.

These signs are getting around.

And no, it does not tell Ladra to “lay off” Mayor Gimenez. I suspect the new and very basic, improvised signs have more to do with the employee layoffs, particularly in the police department.

PBA President John Rivera did not immediately return a call from Ladra.

While the mayor has indicated that there may not be any layoffs at all in the police, labor leaders and many employees are still frustrated with the way “Cry Wolf” Gimenez went about threatening their livelihoods and diminishing their contribution to the county.

Many of the employees keep asking Ladra when they will see petition gatherers at the polls so they can sign the recall of Gimenez, but the collection won’t begin until after the primary. Certainly by Oct. 1, Garcia said.

He is taking the language from the recall petition against former Mayor Carlos Alvarez — hey, why fix it if it worked the first time? — and wants to have an attorney review it before presenting it to the Clerk of Courts. Garcia told me he had been in touch with former U.S. Atorney Kendall Coffey about it.

So, it’s just a matter of weeks now.

Meanwhile, these signs can only help.

  budget cuts, Carlos Gimenez, labor issues, Miami-Dade budget, Miami-Dade Police, recall