There’s a real debate going on about the $393-million that rich, big wig lawyers want to get from your taxpayer dollars for a brand new, shiny 600,000 
square foot courthouse that is bigger than what we need in the heart of downtown.
We have Miami-Dade School Board Member Raquel Regalado to thank for that.
In what could have been a one-way propaganda campaign that the Building Blocks for Justice — which is run by attorneys who do business before the judges who they apparently want to please — has already raised $1 million for, Regalado seems like the sole voice of reason questioning the rush to push yet one more bond (read: tax), mostly because there is no plan and no real objective except to build something.
She’s been going on radio and TV shows to question the wisdom of the initiative, which seems rushed and has not been thought through. And while some people may say she is campaigning for a future mayoral post (more on that later), she is the only one asking the right questions.
Or she was the only one.
Because on Wednesday, she was joined by the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida, which represents 200,000 black Dems in in Miami-Dade County, and Opa-Locka Commissioner Dottie Johnson who both urged voters to reject the courthouse bond issue.
“The average person knows nothing of this,” said Henry Crespo, president of the Democratic Black Caucus, in a statement that also blasted the FIU expansion question on the ballot and questioned the motives of the PACs that each have raised close to $1 million to urge voters to approve these two measures.
Crespo said he found it “shocking that these critical issues” are not vetted more thoroughly by our elected leaders and in our community. Ladra says to him: Welcom
e to Miami-Dade, Hank.
“Black voters have not been outreached to and it appears that these covert campaigns hope Black voters will simply skip these down ballot issues thus assisting their passage without our voices being heard. It’s another form of voter suppression,” Crespo added.
Well, Ladra wouldn’t go that far. Not sure that race has much to do with it. I think they proponents of the courthouse tax just want to fool everybody with their slick campaign about the historicy, crumbling 1925 courthouse known as Cielito Lindo when this is about a much bigger business deal.
But both Johnson and Crespo feel that black voters are being intentionally ignored in the campaign, even though Crespo said African American voters outperformed the general voting population in the primary — 19 percent to 14 percent, respectively.
“There is no excuse why these ballot initiatives are not engaging our community,” Johnson said. “It makes absolutely no sense, especially since we are voting at a higher turnout rate than others.
“I believe in front porch conversations, face to face explanations and community discussions by those who seek our vote. Local ballot initiatives must be understood by the voters I represent in Opa Locka, the supporters of these issues should clearly articulate how they positively affect our community directly, If they fail this test then vote no.”
Ladra says vote no anyway.
Black Dems joins Raquel Regalado as courthouse tax critics added by Ladra on
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