(Continued from previous page)
zoning change debates, particularly on the North Beach project by Custin’s
client, and turn any proposed zoning changes to an independent panel.
“We cannot bend to the demands of one developer and his well-connected consultant,” Urstadt said.
Yes, but wouldn’t that dry up the PAC contributions?
“Thank you for the compliment. I look pretty good as well,” was the only thing Levine shot back at him, referring to his remark about how the mayor looked good in the video.
Read related story: Follow up: Shady Miami Beach PAC costs — what for?
Remember, Levine and Wolfson need those funds — despite the mayor being a millionaire who bought his last election — to help get the next three pocket commissioners elected.
In a PAC paid mailer from Commissioner Wolfson — who is termed out and might
be looking to become the next city attorney — he openly writes about picking his not just his successor but also state candidates.
“As my second term comes to an end, I look to shift my focus slightly,” Wolfson says in the mailer, which arrived at homes, at least in North Beach, earlier this month.
“Miami Beach is impacted on a daily basis by decisions made not just here in our city, but statewide. Preservation, traffic, flooding, transparency, education and public safety are not issues that stay inside our borders,” he writes to “Dear Neighbor” in a piece that, laughably, says “demand transparency” on one side as well as “honor preservation,” which many Beach activists say is the opposite of what’s been happening.
“To get the most for our city, we have to make sure that the right people are elected, here and outside of our borders. So, over the next few months, I will look closely to see who is running to serve you on our city commission,” 
Wolfson said, as if he is not already in the tank for Levine’s trio.
“And I will fight to get the right people elected to represent us and our interests outside of Miami Beach.”
Is he talking about Commissioner Deede Weithorn, who had filed to run for state House when Rep. David Richardson was running for Senate? Weithorn has publicly raised concerns and suspicion about Wolfson’s PAC and perhaps he will fund a candidate against her.
Read related story: Doubletake: David Richardson jumps back to House for 2016
Or is he positioning himself to run against her? Or for some other county or state office?
Or is it all just bullshit posturing so he can try to remain relevant as a lame duck?
Some people are already beginning to smell something rotten.
Ladra got several emails from concerned voters who said that Levine does not seem the same humble guy who came to their door a couple years ago for their vote. The mainstream media is beginning to look closer, too.
And now the Ethics Commission has begun to investigate the alleged shakedowns made for the PAC (might we suggest they start with Custin’s clients? Especially the developer of that Ocean Terrace tower).
But that is not enough. Voters must be educated and realize what Levine can do if he owns every last commissioner on that dais except for Micky Steinberg, who is too scared stiff to do anything.
And they need an alternative. Someone has to run against this mayor and his ego.
Weithorn, who admits she’s been encouraged to, is the best shot. Naturally, she is afraid to waste her time against the well-financed machine the mayor can use to chew up anybody. After all, if it gets close, all Levine has to do is throw more money into it, like he did with his first election.
And now, it’s not all his own money.
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Study all Ladra’s brilliant articles on Miami Beach Election
Read all those Pac Mailers carefully.. The clues are there.
The Relentless Money Pac that he is working so hard for?
Its acting as a Shadow Campaign . For himself.
The cheeky dimpled smiling one . With gelled hair. Doesn’t do
gravitas. A candidate he surely is.. He is the one seriously
promising to deliver a Safe, Sensible, Strong Shining City by the Sea .
With the help of Progressives .
The Mayor only talks about what he’s done. How great and new it is.
He ‘s a very impatient man . Maybe ready for the next thing.
Is that the correct answer to: Whats in store for us?
Whats the answer to: How will this come to pass?
And are Pac methods ethical? The Mayor didn’t much convince
on Michael Putney’s show.
Be afraid, very very afraid for honest government in Miami Beach.
CEO,Mayor Levine made a nice faux apology for July 9th meeting
when Commissioners had that ugly spat.
The one that drew Michael Putney’s “stinky “beach remarks lasts Sunday
At Friday July 31st meeting City Attorney closely coached our
Mayor on how to run an orderly meeting .Even whispered in his ear!
So good Commissioner Tobin tried yet again, but was not allowed
to ask Mayor Levine’s sidekick,Commissioner Jonah “Gimme the money’
Wolfson to be transparent and accountable.
I can’t wait to find out what this Relentless Money for
Progress Pac is really about.
What’s in store for us?
Hope the conspiracy will be revealed after the summer break.
.
Here’s another reason not to vote for a Commission of lackeys in November.
Commissioner Joy Malakoff proposed that Conflict of Interest rules to qualify for a place on an important Board be changed.
Her reason is expediency . Forget about the principle.
According to her, Miami Beach is enjoying such a boom that its impossible to get a qualified architect ,for example, to accept a seat on the Design Review Board, because they can’t afford to lose work .
In my opinion, the true reason Boards and Committees haven’t had full complements is because the Mayor stalled from Commission meeting to meeting until the perfect crony could be selected.
Absolute Power . Is that what’s required to “Just Get It Done !”?
I am one of the many residents of Miami Beach who is concerned about cronyism — or the whiff of same — on the power boards, but this is by no means a new issue. In Sins Of South Beach, former mayor Alex Daoud talks about being bribed and pressured to appoint a son of the banker Abel Holtz to the Zoning Board of Adjustment…which Daoud does. Then, as Daoud recounts it, he says he is pressured to appoint yet another Holtz son to this board, and this time he says no. (See another person’s opinion on this matter at )
None of this was unusual, according to Daoud. Does it still happen? Perhaps it does. There have been some odd nominations to power boards in the opinion of more than a few people — I include myself here — and this is discouraging to citizens who want transparency in government.
Well-respected newsman Michael Putney spoke out on what is sadly happening on Miami Beach this Sunday on television. It was re-posted on the blog Random Pixels. Please read:
http://randompixels.blogspot.com/2015/07/michael-putney-blasts-miami-beach-mayor.html?m=1
You can sense that Miami Beach is having buyer’s remorse.
We are stuck with Mayor” I Don’t Need A Penny From Anyone” Levine.
He used to be ever so humble when he needed our votes.
At the recount he got FOUR votes to confirm his majority.
That was his mandate!
Mayor” I Don’t Need a Penny From Anybody”Levine’s grip on the Commission must not be allowed to turn into a chokehold stifling
all dissent.
This will happen if the three candidates he supports , get elected.
His Boards are stacked. His Blue Ribbon Committees in place.
His side- kick on the dais,who plays bad cop to his good cop ,
Commissioner “Gimme The Money” Wolfson is doing more damage to Miami Beach, before he leaves ,with proposals to change our admirable City Charter,with measures that will favor incumbents in elections,and strengthen the Mayor’s role.
We must say NO to that.
We must support candidates who will work for us,the residents.
And we should not allow our now very cocky Mayor to get away with it.
Support quality of life issues for residents, attend Land Use meeting, July 29th, 11am , 3rd floor city hall where 3 commissioners will be voting on an ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Malakoff which restricts outdoor hours of operation for alcohol beverage establishments located next to residential neighborhoods in Sunset Harbour, South of Fifth, Palm View, North Beach, and West Ave.
It is essential that residents come to this July 29th Land Use meeting! We have to show City Hall we are serious about saving our city. Please show up!
From the moment that Levine took office, it was apparent that he had big plans that did not consider the greater good of the community. His enormous greed is and has been completely transparent. His disregard for the community is blatant and glaring. I had that gut feeling about him from the start of his campaign, and my fears were solidified when I attended some of the first City Commission meetings of his tenure by the way he treated citizens with something to say about issues that he does not care about. He is an insincere shark and is destroying all of the charm of this city. Levine and his commissioners have a warped view of progress, and no regard for the very people and things that got Miami Beach back up on it’s feet in the first place. It is sickening. As a resident of Miami Beach for more than two decades, I am so down hearted about what is going on that I am considering moving to the west coast of Florida because I barely recognize this city that I have loved for so long. I’m hoping for change beginning with getting rid of Levine and his posse.