A longtime activist, and president of the Kendall Federation of Homeowners, has filed to run for county commission in District 7, to replace the termed-out Xavier Suarez, who is running for county mayor.
Michael Rosenberg, best known as co-founder of the Pets’ Trust, filed paperwork for the race on Wednesday. He joins an already 
crowded and interesting field in the Aug. 18 primary: former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner, former Miami-Dade School Board Member Raquel Regalado and former cop Rafael Sanchez. The two top vote getters will face off in the November general.
While Mike’s intentions have been rumored for weeks, there is still time for another late game surprise: The qualifying period, which started Tuesday, doesn’t end until noon June 9.
“I believe all that I’ve done as a community activist could be amplified by the hundreds or even the thousands if I had the resources of the Miami-Dade Commission,” Rosenberg told Ladra Wednesday afternoon. “I could do so much more in that role to help people.”
This could be worse news for Lerner than for Regalado, a one-time mayoral candidate who has the incumbent’s endorsement, or Suarez, who has the incumbent’s last name but is otherwise unviable anyway, because Ladra suspects Rosenberg will peel more voters from her. Lerner has sorta made the non partisan race partisan and Rosenberg is an alternate Democrat for anyone who doesn’t like Lerner or her push for a special tax in Pinecrest to connect septic tank homes to county water.
Read related: More lies from a desperate Carlos Gimenez vs Pets’ Trust
This was already a fun race. And I like Mike. A lot. He has gone above and beyond for this community as an activist and could be a true believer public servant in a sea of seasoned politicos. Many of whom he knows and maybe owe him.
But this won’t be easy for Rosenberg — he says he aims to raise at least $80,000, which is much less than the two women will have but exactly what his P.A.G.E. 2020 — and he has a mixed history.
Rosenberg, whose main source of income is a photo imaging company in California, was the main force in getting more than 60 
percent of the voters to agree to pay a special tax for the population control of stray dogs and cats. He famously spent three days and two nights in a cage at Miami-Dade Animal Services to make his point and promote the Pets’ Trust initiative. He loudly protested the county commission’s betrayal of that vote. He is a frequent speaker at county commission meetings on multiple issues, meets with commissioners and, as president of the KFHA, has held multiple town halls and candidate forums so he knows how to work a crowd. And he’s real. Sometimes he’s real annoying, but isn’t that what you want in your lawyer and/or county commissioner?
It’s why some people love Joe Martinez.
After surviving a heart attack, Rosenberg campaigned to educate people about cardiovascular health. His interests have grown from animal rescue to public health to transportation to extending county offices further into impoverished neighborhoods. His website, which is still under construction, will show his position — and what he has done already — on these and other issues. He does have the street cred.
And yet, while his Pets’ Trust group succeeded at the ballot box, they failed politically. Even after they hired lobbyist Ron Book to help them out — or maybe because they did, since Book was later working for a puppy mill company at the state level. They pushed, unsuccessfully, for statewide legislation to force the county to respect the non-binding referendum. And when that didn’t work, they formed a political action committee to back other candidates against incumbents — and lost most of the time. He also failed to recall then Commissioner Lynda Bell.
Rosenberg makes a lot of sense a lot of times and asks the right questions, but he sounds out of touch at other times, like his support for the development-driven West Kendall Parkway, which is an 836 extension over the Urban Development Boundary, threatening wetlands and setting the stage for development at the exit — at least a gas station and fast food joint — or it would be a bridge to nowhere.
Read related: Kendall Parkway to nowhere is an intentional slippery slope for UDB
The KFHA board voted in favor of it because, Rosenberg said, the people in West Kendall need relief from the daily traffic nightmare that keeps them in their cars and away from their families for three hours a day. And the support is on the condition that the commission also moves to change the requirement for development over the UDB to a super plus majority, or 11 of 13 commissioners. There is already legislation requiring a super majority. But Rosenberg said the threshold should be higher.
Still, one would think that someone with Rosenberg’s civic experience would know that extra roads do not help congestion but, rather, create more. And that District 7 is not in West Kendall.
The race may center, however, on another controversial subject: The mega development planned for the Calusa neighborhood — a 
proposed 550 homes built on an abandoned golf course — which has been indefinitely delayed due to COVID19 but could come before the county commission for the release of a covenant and other zoning changes any day now. A growing number of residents hope the county waits until they can gather to protest and get more signed petitions.
Lerner has tweeted about it, telling the homeowners on Twitter that she was committed to keeping the 99-year covenant intact.
But Rosenberg lives there. “I taught her everything she knows about Calusa,” he said.
He was also a big supporter of Regalado during her 2016 mayoral campaign. So why not support her again?
“I can bring county residents something they’ve never experienced before, and that’s. commissioner who listens to them,” Rosenberg said before reciting his phone number. “People can call me directly. I’ll talk to everybody. I’m not saying that Cindy or Raquel are bad. I’m just offering people something they’ve never seen before.”
Is that una directa on Suarez?
Rosenberg knows he has a steep learning curve.
“I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know all the answers to the questions we’re going to have,” Rosenberg said. “But I’ve learned along the way what needed to be done to get the answers. When I have the experts at the county at my beck and call, I’ll get the answers that I can’t get right now.”
Does that mean that electing him would put Deputy Mayor and budget director Jennifer Moon and Transit Director Alice Bravo in charge or Lester Sola? That could be a problem.
Read related: Calusa golf course covenant to be killed for massive Kendall development
He may also face some ground opposition on his home turf. That’s because he is a member of the Save Calusa Trust, otherwise 
known as The Ring, which is the group of homeowners adjacent to the golf course who formed to fight developers but have since sold out to support the zoning change for what las malas lenguas say is between $200,00 and $300,000 (not everyone gets the same) and six more linear feet in their back yards.
If he’ll sell out his neighbors, who’s to say he won’t sell out the rest of us?
Rosenberg, who says he can’t talk about the deal under a gag order for all the Ring members, told Ladra he “didn’t know what was going on until the deal came out.” Still, he will benefit from it. And he sorta defends it.
“The fact is 75% of the homeowners can vote for the covenant to be released,” he said.
Hope that’s not a campaign slogan.
Kendall activist Michael Rosenberg files for District 7 county commission race added by Ladra on
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Getting to know Mike as I did over the last few years working with him on The Pets’ Trust, I can tell you this – – when he puts his mind to something, it gets done! There’s no stopping him! He’s absolutely brilliant and tenacious – – but more important, he’s got heart and integrity! If he can care so much about the shelter animals, just imagine what he can do for us!
Dear Anonymous……this is good. You are get closer to reaching out. Unfortunately, you have no idea what you are talking about. I look forward to speaking with you. 305 439 3571. Secrecy? That’s you. No phone number. No name. That is you.
Look forward to the call….or will meet you at the local Starbucks.
Mr. Rosenberg, I feel like you are asking people to call you as a cover for not publicly answering the questions we have on your ties to the massive development proposed at Calusa. You need to address that issue publicly. And if you can’t speak about it because of some confidentiality agreement you signed with the Bacardi developer, you should approach whoever made you sign that and get a release to address these issues or drop out of the race. It’s not fair to us the voters. We need more transparency and less secrecy and behind closed door deals.
oh geez……..Another anonymous post.
Would you please call me at 305 439 3571? How about this? I challenge you to call me and learn the facts. There are SO MANY wrong statements in your anonymous letter that I don’t even know where to start. It seems like you are trying to wear me down with so many incorrect and off the wall comments.
Also, what does withdrawing from an election have to do with the Calusa Golf Course. Is what you really is for me to withdraw from the Commission race, or do you really want to know the answers about Calusa? Just call me and ask the questions. Sadly though, almost every time someone makes an anonymous attack they never call.
By the way, if you call me and I talk to you about your health, and making sure you have seen your doctors, it’s because my code blue death and triple by pass has given me new purpose in life so part of my conversations are always about encouraging others to not make the mistakes I did when it comes to health.
So Mr/Ms anonymous….I look forward to speaking with you. Don’t be afraid to call. I’m fun!
Michael Rosenberg
Mr. Rosenberg, you need to come clean on Calusa and the money you are being paid by the Bacardi backed developer. Hiding behind a Confidentiality Agreement you signed in order to get your money to vote in favor of development of Calusa is unacceptable. Voters deserve to know what you are being paid for your vote to lift the covenant and if you can’t answer that question bc of something you signed you need to withdraw.
Ed…..Jackson…..El Puma
I waited the entire day for a phone call from you guys to discuss your comments. I know it is fun to post attack type remarks under the cloak of anonymity, but I can assure you we will have a great conversation if you are willing to step into the light. Also, I’m not sure what type of community activity you are involved with. Perhaps you just shout from the sidelines while others do the work, I just have no idea and that is why I want you to call. Perhaps you will call on Friday. If not, Saturday or Sunday is fine.
Also….please watch this. https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-news/cardiac-patient-listen-body-get-checked/ I am a strong believer in people seeing their doctors when your body begs you to go. I almost died because of my mistakes. So, if you would write that I was kind of dumb, for not seeing a doctor, you would be correct! However, I have more than made up for that by encouraging other to do what I didn’t do. In fact, I was creating my plan of action for this three days after the surgery, in the hospital be, with my computer in that bed as I wrote about what happened to me should never happen to anyone else.
So, we can talk about that, or we can talk about the other comments. I look forward to it. 305 439 3571
It’s going to be a Fun Election in Miami Dade ! No More Cava , Suarez , Bovo & Gimenez in the BCC 1/4 of the Actual Discriminators and Worthless Politicians will be Adios !
I met Michael Rosenberg at a Westwood Lake community meeting near the end of 2018. Some of my neighbors organized a meeting at a local church to talk about problems we were facing in our neighborhood. My main issue involved one neighbor who frequently had parties with DJs blasting music that could be heard several blocks away late into the night. As I learned about other problems in my neighborhood I realized my noise problem paled in comparison to some of my neighbors’ problems involving crime – especially the brothels that had been operating in certain homes. One of the organizers must have known Michael and his penchant for helping people because Westwood Lake is nearby, but not a part of Kendall where Michael is most active.
Michael shared his ideas, experiences, and contacts, and offered his willingness to help us. Soon I was attending several of his Kendal Federation of Homeowner Associations (KFHA) meetings and eventually talking to him on the phone quite often. My first experience witnessing Michael help me and my neighbors outside his KFHA boundaries turns out to be typical, not an exception. I’ve since seen him work on tearing down dilapidated drug dens in Overtown, assist neighbors concerned with zoning changes with the Norman Brothers property, and similar to my noise problem, stop the police from allowing off-duty officers hired to provide security at private parties at the Miller Plantation be a reason to ignore noise violations at those parties. None of these issues were within the KFHA boundaries.
I saw a man harshly criticize Michael online regarding one of the KFHA political forums where community leaders are invited to speak, and answer questions from neighbors. We all deal with online trolls differently, but I was shocked seeing how Michael responded to the critic by publishing his cell phone number online and inviting the man to call and talk by phone, or meet in person to discuss the man’s concerns. Michael doesn’t hide from anything or anyone. He’s open to everyone.
Many men his age find pleasure in golf –an activity that briefly gets them away from their work and families to clear their heads and relax. I don’t think Michael plays golf; instead he finds pleasure in helping others. He’s a bulldog; he doesn’t quit until he gets somewhere. I appreciate his activism so much that when he called me earlier this month and told me he was considering running for commissioner I offered to help him in any way I could. I’ve since agreed to be his campaign treasurer doing whatever paperwork and reporting I can to help him. He’s a good man who isn’t influenced by money or power. He simply wants to help. District 7 voters won’t regret choosing him as their commissioner.
Michael Rosenberg has a proven track record of tirelessly advocating for this Community’s residents, both people and animals. He walks the talk and gets things done. Might the suspiciously overly negative commenters perhaps be connected to family or friends of any of the other candidates?
Jackson….Ed…..El Puma…..
Call me….305 439 3571…..that is 305 439 3571….
Don’t go on believing what you wrote until you call me. After you talk to me, see if you believe the same. We have a free press so you can write whatever you want, but I am offering you an opportunity to speak to the person you write about. So, I look forward to your call.
Part Four…
Your comment stated, “If he’ll sell out his neighbors, who’s to say he won’t sell out the rest of us”? I knew politics is dirty, and this becomes the first trash thrown at me. I’m not sure why you would write such a statement, but if you actually believe it, then you don’t know me at all. I’m sure there will be other unfounded words as time goes on, but you get credit for doing it first.
You wrote, “The fact is 75% of the homeowners can vote for the covenant to be released,” Rosenberg said. That is 100% accurate. I didn’t make those words up, but the Commissioners in 1968 put those words in the covenant as a way to break the covenant in the future. It’s just a fact. That is the rule for breaking the covenant.
And then, the DIG……”Hope that’s not a campaign slogan”. Of course it’s not a campaign slogan. It’s the truth to the question you asked me about the covenant.
Again, thank you for being the first to write an article about my campaign and for sharing information about me to the community. However, I know Michael Rosenberg, and a some of what you wrote is not that person. I’d suggest you get to know him better.
Dear Mike, I know him pretty good. And you know that.
Love, Ladra.
Michael Rosenberg will offer a fresh approach to being a commissioner. He will listen.
Hopefully the Pets Trust will finally be implemented.
Part Three…
Admitting you need to learn is not a flaw, but a strength. You implied it is a weakness when the opposite is true. You also stated that asking questions of Moon, Sola, or other directors would be troubling. Why would you assume I would just accept those answers as a final answer. Have you ever heard me when I question someone? Stating, that my asking questions of certain people could be a problem is an attempt to demean one of my strongest character traits. Just because I ask, doesn’t mean I accept the answer. I find this part of your article prejudicial in judgment.
Part Two
The Pets’ Trust did not lose “every time” in supporting Pets’ Trust candidates. We helped Philip Levine in his first Mayoral race and he won. We supported Jeff Porter in his first Mayoral race, and he won. We also strongly supported Daniella Levine Cava against…Lynda Bell, and she won. Were we perfect, no? Did we lose every time as you stated? NO. Also, almost every candidate has asked for the Pets’ Trust support and that is still happening today.
The Kendall Federation voted in support of the West Kendall Parkway not because we all supported it, but rather because the “will of the people” in the West Kendall Community DEMANDED it. The will of the people is important for me, and it’s not all about what I want! However, as a strong supporter of the environment I needed to come up with a way to try and protect those wetlands, and that is why I created the Super PLUS Majority idea regarding the UDB. The KFHA supports the new road as the community has desired, ONLY with that Super PLUS Majority idea in place. You made our position seem out of touch when the reality is, at least the KFHA listens to the people, and that is also a plus that I will be bringing to the BCC. We listen and I listen.
Part ONE response to your story
As a long time reader of your Blog, this is the first time I have been the focus of your story and I have looked forward to that happening, and also thank you for being the first to write about my candidacy.
Now…the corrections/comments to that article.
It’s not “could” be a true believer public servant as you stated, but IS a true believe public servant! And, you know that. Also, no one owes me anything. I didn’t do any of my work to be owed. Don’t think of the old ways and politics as normal. It’s one of the reasons I am different. I have NEVER thought OWED with all the help I have done. I would never say, I did this, so you do this for me. NEVER.
I may only have $80,000, but for me, having one dollar is like having $10, if you are creative. If someone needs hundreds of thousands to win a commission seat, you wouldn’t want them on the commission managing YOUR money. Manage your money better!
Dear Mike, please don’t gloss over the part where Ladra said she likes you.
Also, I didn’t say that you did things so people would owe you. I said that people maybe could feel they owe you. And there are some who will. It happens. Welcome to politics.
Also, you said you were going to raise $80,000. You don’t HAVE $80K. The PAGE 2020 political action committee does. So that’s your PAC, then. Welcome to politics?
Love, Ladra
Michael Rosenberg and the Kendall Federation are a bunch of self-serving corrupt individuals. Ask him how the Kendall Federation extorted $150,000 from Pulte Homes for a traffic study when they wanted to build the TND (Total Neighborhood Development) on Kendall Drive and 168th avenue? This project had 32 variances from the building code. The streets were so small that a fire truck would have had to go over sidewalks to get to the destination. The Kendall Federation looked the other way and did not oppose this proposed nightmare. The TND was later done by Lennar Homes with no variances. I have been going to zoning hearings for over 25 years and not once have I seen Michael Rosenberg nor anyone from the Kendall Federation at a zoning hearing. All he is after is the mighty dollar, you can tell by him staying quiet on the Calusa issue. He wants the money even if he rapes West Kendall. He always put money before the citizens, is that who you want to represent you? The Kendall Federation has been nothing since former president Jose Rojas left and moved to Broward. All this I have stated is public records and available to view and read in the county records.
Thank you for educating us in this important race.
My heart is with Pet’s Trust.
Calusa is disturbing. Highway support scary.
This guy sounds like another Left Wing Wacko California Democrat trying to push idiotic agendas in Florida. I wish guys like this would stop trying to destroy Florida like they have California