Three months ago, a run for public office was the furthest thing from attorney David Wieder‘s mind.
But last month, after several people pressed him to run,
Wieder announced he would challenge Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.
“I was approached by members of the community who were essentially outraged at what’s going on at City Hall,” Wieder said.
It’s not just the Relentless for Progress political action committee, though that might have been the camel’s last straw. The shady PAC — used by Levine and Commissioner Jonah Wolfson to shakedown $1.5 million in contributions from developers, vendors and lobbyists with interests in the city — has become such a huge controversy and liability that Wolfson has already announced he would shut it down (after spending $750K).
It’s the bulging mayoral staff that Commissioner Ed Tobin brought up at the last commission meeting. It’s the activists and volunteers who serve on board and committees and have been discarded. It’s the projects and contracts doled out to friends and cronies. It’s the “atmosphere of fear” among employees if they disagree with the mayor.
Sure, he’s upset about the razing of more than 80 old homes for the construction of new more modern McMansions. But he didn’t mention that once during Political Cortadito’s short interview Thursday.
He said he is running to “keep Miami Beach’s humanity.
“I want to keep regulating development and keep Miami Beach as a destination. I want this 
to be a place people can keep living in, not a place that pushes out the middle class,” Wieder said.
“I want to restore some integrity and transparency and responsiveness to City Hall.
“We’re not going to have a $90,000-a-year chauffeur and we’re not going to have a staff of four PR people and we’re not going to raise the city sidewalk in front of own own garage or our own building. We’re not going to give away the city to cronies. We’re going to have an honest, open government,” Wieder said.
And Ladra wishes she could vote for him.
Here is Wieder’s first email blast to supporters Wednesday, which also had links to the Miami Herald stories and the Random Pixels blog:
“My name is David Wieder, and I am running to restore integrity, trust, and responsiveness back to City Hall and make residents the number-one priority. I will work hard to earn your vote on November 3rd, 2015.
Recently, many members of the community have approached me regarding allegations of corruption and back room deals going on at City Hall under its current leadership, and I have witnessed the alarming decline in ethics and transparency over the last two years. The Relentless for Progress PAC, recently shut down, is accused of soliciting donations from developers with pending contracts in the city. The mayor’s commercials have been all over TV, promoting himself using funds from the PAC.
City Hall has become a place of fear, closed doors, and unreturned phone calls. Commission meetings have devolved into shouting matches between well-meaning commissioners and our mayor. Residents who come out to speak often feel unwelcome and unheard.
This is not the city in which we want to live. We the taxpayers should not be relegated to standing idly by as we watch our mayor and his cronies attack respected journalists, use the city’s funds to pay for a bloated mayoral staff including a $90k chauffeur and security entourage, and leave our neighborhoods in a state of constant construction with no long-term plan to address growing congestion, traffic, and a diminishing quality of life.
We need to change course and we need to do it now. Mayors are here to serve the public, not their own interest. With your support, we can help get Miami Beach back on track before it is too late.
For the last six years I’ve had the honor and privilege to serve on our city’s Historic Preservation Board, overseeing development and restoration projects in our twelve historic districts. In my current role as Chairman, I’ve worked with residents and developers to help balance growth in our city while also protecting the qualities that attract people from around the world to visit and live here.
I look forward to meeting you over the coming weeks and to sharing my program to make you, the residents, our number-one priority.
Miami Beach: David Wieder runs for mayor, integrity added by Ladra on
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