Joe Carollo recall and lawsuit chug along, but the damage is done

Quietly last week, with nobody really noticing, a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge ordered the city of Miami to turn the recall petitions against Commissioner Joe Carollo over to the county supervisor of elections already — well, by Dec. 1.

Team Carollo also scored a win, however, when Judge Alan Fine split the baby: He also announced he would grant a temporary injunction because he thinks their argument, that the petitions were turned in late, was valid. It means that even when they get the petitions, Elections Supervisor must wait for an appeals court decision before they are counted.

The judge “announced his intention to grant Commissioner Carollo’s request for an injunction to stop the illegal and defective recall petitions from being counted by the Supervisor of Elections,” wrote Carollo attorney Ben Kuehne in a statement. “Confirming his ruling announced at the earlier September 17, 2020 hearing that the petitions were submitted too late and are thus invalid, Judge Fine directed the lawyers to prepare an order for his consideration.

“The order is required to include findings that the electronic delivery of the petitions was illegal and came too late, even after the Recall Committee ignored the City of Miami Clerk’s offer to be open to receive the petitions on Saturday, February 29, 2020,” Kuehne said.

That seems counter to the ruling Fine made earlier this year when he granted the writ of mandamus — ordering the petitions submitted the first time — when he said it was not the city’s clerk’s job to determine the validity of the petition. Ladra thinks he forgot that the city attorney’s office had plotted all along to provide the narrowest possible interpretation and deny the PAC — and the 1,900 plus voters who signed petitions — due process.

“Fine’s rulings, once issued in writing, end the unsuccessful recall effort,” Kuehne said.

Wait just one minute, said recall attorney David Winker.

“There’s no final judgement. The case hasn’t been dismissed,” Winker said, calling the press releases sent by the city and Kuehne last month after the Sept. 17, claiming victory ridiculous, as the recall committee hadn’t even filed an answer to Carollo’s complaint.

Naturally, it’s headed back to the Third District Court of Appeals.

“The truth is a stubborn thing. It was only a matter of time before these false press releases by the City of Miami and Commissioner Joe Carollo came back to bite them,” Winker said.

It really doesn’t matter anymore. The damage is done. Both ways.

The recall group won’t likely get to go for round two of the signatures until February or March at the earliest. They get 60 days to get them, which takes us through April or May. And then they have to get it on the ballot. Would it be the same ballot on which Carollo has to run for re-election anyway? How can they justify a special election months earlier? They can’t.

This was Carollo’s intent and strategy all along: Delay, delay, delay.

But Crazy Joe is also heading into next year’s campaign wounded. He only beat Alfie Leon by 252 votes in 2017 anyway, and has been an antagonistic, vengeful instigator on the dais since, becoming only more obnoxious when Commissioners Manolo Reyes and Alex Diaz de la Portilla joined him last year. Remember, more than 1,900 people signed a petition to boot him from office. It won’t take much for a good candidate to take his seat.

Even a so-so candidate could take him.

Maybe that’s why he’s doubling down on his harassment of Little Havana businessman Bill Fuller, who got a visit from code enforcement and police on the very first weekday his Ball and Chain bar reopened after COVID19 closures — at Carollo’s behest. This after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Carollo’s appeal on the decision not to dismiss Fuller’s first amendment lawsuit against him (more on that later).

Former city manager Joe Arriola, who has funded the Take Back Our City political action committee’s petition gathering and legal costs — or $95,000 of the $128,000 they raised as of Oct. 13, according to the latest campaign finance reports — said he is not giving up on the recall.

“I’m not stopping under any scenario,” Arriola told Ladra. “We can’t let the corruption continue to go unchallenged.”

Must be nice to have money to burn. Arriola might want to think about saving some for a viable District 3 candidate.

Because, unfortunately, it looks like the recall is going to be next November.

David Winker, Joe Carollo, Joe Carollo recall

Joe Carollo recall and lawsuit chug along, but the damage is done added by Ladra on October 21, 2020
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