It's that time of year again: Turkeys handing out turkeys

Next week is Thanksgiving and that means that you can throw a rock in almost any direction and hit a politician giving away free turkeys.

No, not the giveaway contracts and projects promised to friends, campaign contributors and family. These are real frozen turkeys to roast or fry or otherwise cook and put on a plate somewhere.

In the East, Commissioner Audrey Edmonson will distribute turkeys to residents of the new Seventh Avenue Transit Village Saturday. In the West, Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz is giving away turkeys at Hialeah Educational Academy Monday. And to the North, Commissioner Barbara Jordan is giving away turkeys on Tuesday.

Also on Saturday, and in the South, State Rep. Frank Artiles — who is proud of his monthly Farm Share giveaways and being known as the guy who gives out food — is having another giveaway. This time it’s a drive-through at Zoo Miami.

Yeah, yeah, these turkey dealings and the Farm Share Saturdays and the book bag giveaways in August have long been a tradition for politicians. Last year, Edmonson distributed 2,200 turkeys at an event pictured above. Heck, it’s Jordan’s 11th year.

But it still seems a little sketchy. Cheesy pandering, too. It’s akin to a soup kitchen on Christmas morning picture. Nobody is saying you shouldn’t do it. But maybe you shouldn’t send a press release about it. Doesn’t that take a selfless act and turn it into a selfish one? Aren’t these politicians really using these “needy” folks to get a positive impression photo op?

Jordan doesn’t only do the public venue thing, she also visits four homes to delivery the Thanksgiving dinner baskets — likely with camera crews in tow. is also going to stop by four homes, likely trailing some media behind her, to deliver turkeys and baskets to those lucky recipients. Did Shanika Hill and the other three women Jordan is visiting know they were inviting the public into their homes? Or did they agree begrudgingly. I mean, free food is free food.

Also, what about the involvement of the “sponsors”?

Jordan will team up with record mogul Ted Lucas to give away 800 turkeys and baskets with veggies and trimmings to pre-selected low-income families. Her event at Landmark Auditorium in Miami Gardens will be sponsored by Farm Share, Landmark Aviation, the Miami Dolphins, Orion Jet Center and World Waste Recycling. Aren’t these companies or entities that want something from the county?

The Miami Dolphins will also join Diaz on Monday. “Steve Ross and the Miami Dolphins are proud to partner with Commissioner Diaz and continue a 50-year philanthropic tradition this Thanksgiving,” said Tom Garfinkel, President and CEO of the Miami Dolphins, which distributed turkeys with Mayor Carlos Gimenez in 2013. “We look forward to another 50 years of giving back to the community that has given us so much.”

He should just say a community that gives us hundreds of millions in sales and millions more in government subsidies.

Maybe if these electeds didn’t send out press releases about the giveaways. Maybe if they didn’t post photos on Facebook and twitter and Instagram. Maybe then we could believe they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, like the rest of us when we give.

But that hasn’t happened yet. Despite a warning earlier this year from the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics about Sweetwater officials getting in on the Farm Share giveaways in the city, elected officials — yes, even in Sweetwater — continue to gobble gobble up this publicity.

The commission investigated a complaint but couldn’t find any evidence that former Sweetwater Mayor Jose Diaz was seeking absentee ballots as he distributed food. But it did recommend that Farm Share — which receives monies to operate from federal and state grants – “terminate its relationship with the city and use local religious or non-profit organizations to provide food to needy residents to reduce the temptations of politicians to exploit this opportunity.”

Ethics Commission Director Joe Centorino told Ladra in an email back in July that “these types of distributions are inherently problematic when elected officials are distributing goods on behalf of a non-profit agency or in a city sponsored event, particularly during campaign season. The possibility for abuse with a suggestion that the elected official is somehow to be credited with the distribution is an obvious issue.”

In other words, it’s good to give, but it’s better to give quietly.

This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful that I don’t have to be grateful to any elected official who makes a publicity stunt out of my need.

Audrey Edmonson, Barbara Jordan, Frank Artiles

It’s that time of year again: Turkeys handing out turkeys added by Ladra on November 20, 2015
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