The Miami city commission appointed a temporary District 5 commissioner to finish out the term vacated by Keon Hardemon, who was termed out and is now the county commissioner in Miami-Dade District 3.
It wasn’t who everyone expected. But some suspect a fix anyway. And it looks like Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla doesn’t have a full grip on the city anymore.
Jeffrey Watson, a onetime chief of staff to former Mayor Xavier Suarez and finance administrator for the city’s department of housing and development who later became assistant to President Bill Clinton, applied at the last minute late Tuesday and ended up the spoiler over Hardemon’s hand-picked heir apparent, Christine King, president of the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation
The dark horse has history with both Commissioners Manolo Reyes and Joe Carollo, who joked that the last time they saw each other, the commissioner’s hair had less gray and Watson had more hair.
They chatted it up like pals.
“I have too much respect for you, my old friend,” Reyes said at one point.
Carollo said he was “pleasantly surprised” to see Watson applied. “It’s good to see you again.”
But it almost seemed like they recruited him.
King, who had overwhelming support from public speakers and a produced campaign-like video, refused to serve as a “caretaker” or placeholder in the seat. If appointed, she said, she would still run for a four-year term in November, which was a deal breaker for Reyes and Carollo, who didn’t want to give someone an advantage in 2021.
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“My love of community and service didn’t evolve because of a vacancy,” King said, adding that the fairest and most transparent thing to do was to have a special election.
Reyes provided a history lesson when he read the minutes from a 1989 meeting in which he himself declined an appointment from then Commissioner Victor de Yurre because he planned to run in the next election. He suggested Athalie Range, who then became the first African American to serve on the commission. Reyes was later accused of turning over “a Cuban seat” to the black community and lost his first race against a woman named Miriam Alonso.
In the first vote of the special meeting, Diaz de la Portilla, who had publicly supported King, voted for her despite his colleagues’ concerns and the writing on the wall. Commissioners Carollo and Reyes voted for Nancy Dawkins, a longtime activist and retired teacher, and Ken Russell voted for Watson, who was the last applicant to get in.
In a second vote, ADLP stubbornly stuck to King, even though it was a lost battle. Political observers expected Russell to go with Dawkins, who was another late addition. But, instead, Carollo and Reyes flipped to Watson, who had all of zero community stakeholders supporting him there.
Como? Are The Three Amigos splitting up? There was a lot of tension and verbal jousting between Carollo and The Dean and this vote certainly shows that the power could be shifting again (more on that later).
There’s also some possibility that this was cooked from the beginning.
Watson allegedly submitted his affidavit and documents late Tuesday. It is stamped 4:51 p.m. But it was also notarized on Friday, which was the original deadline for the affidavits. Almost like someone wanted him to stay under the radar. And Dawkins is a nice lady. But she’s 95 years old. Were Joe and Manny seriously considering her? Especially after they had such a nice chat with their old friend Watson?
Or was this a thinly veiled coup d’etat? Because it sure looks like one.
Diaz de la Portilla first moved to have a special election on Jan, 12, which everyone knows was a scam because King has already raised $103K for the 2021 race and would have a huge advantage in such a short cycle. Russell withdrew his second after realizing the two amigos wouldn’t budge from their stance that the appointee not run for the seat.
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“I am the Christine King,” the Christine King said, opening her remarks, after more than 20 people had spoken on her behalf. She established, “for the record,” that she started her journey in public service as a volunteer for former county commissioner James Burke. It seemed she wanted to express that she would not be a Hardemon proxy, like everyone expects.
“A public servant was born long before I met Keon Hardemon,” she said, adding later that she was proud of calling him a friend. “He has served our community with dignity, with integrity and has accomplished much.”
She waxed nostalgic about deep roots in the district and how her experience with the MLK Kitchen Incubator — which has served 1,500 hot meals to seniors every week since the COVID19 pandemic started — “is a testament to good government and great leadership.
“I am not discouraged by the politics in service nor am I affected by untruths or bad press,” King said, referring to rumors and the robocall. “My record speaks for itself. Everyone who spoke on my behalf today, did so because they believe in me.
“I have earned the kindnesses expressed here today,” she said, her voice raising in seeming anger.
“I do not stand here before you asking for you to appoint me. I am asking you to listen. Listen to your colleague, who was elected to serve the residents of District 5 and knows what is best for his district. Listen to the leaders of District 5 who expressed their support for me.”
She said any commitment to stay out of the 2021 race was not enforceable and would violate the appointee’s legal rights. If she was not going to be appointed, she said, the commissioners should let the residents vote.
“Respectfully, commissioners, it is not your job to decide what is best for District 5. It is the responsibility of its citizenry,” King said, her voice raising in seeming anger. “It is disingenuous of you to criticize my efforts thus far, as all of you have been candidates yourselves.
“I am beholden to the community. Full stop,” she ended. Damn! Ladra likes her. Why does she have to be a Hardemon?
Reyes said he liked her too and that she will make a good candidate for 2021, but that there were several qualified candidates who were willing to commit to just one year of service. “Nobody has put a gun to their head,” Reyes said. “District 5 is going to be well represented because there are a lot of residents that are willing to serve and willing to sacrifice.”
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But Watson wavered on that issue. At first he said he had “no intention” to run. Twice. Then he asked Reyes not to make that demand because it would create a lame duck who was not accountable to the people. “That’s out of the question. That’s not going to happen,” Reyes said. When Russell asked Watson if he would make a pledge not to run, he hesitated.
“Would I pledge not to run? Most folks would not want me to make that pledge, it would go against whatever the community might decide,” Watson said, and then immediately reversed himself. “I’ll pledge not to run. I don’t know what is going to happen in November. I may not be here, in one form or another. So I have no intentions nor will I run in November.”
It is worth noting that Reyes asked for a second ballot after he marked the first one in the first round wrong and that commissioners didn’t have any discussion at all between the first and second round of votes — like they knew what to do next.
After Watson got three votes, Carollo made the motion to appoint him and Reyes seconded it. Remember, these are the guys who originally voted for Dawkins. ADLP asked to amend the motion to make it unanimous.
Translation: He can count and Diaz de la Portilla can clearly see that he no longer controls three votes.
It was too little too late anyway, Watson seemed angry when he was brought back up to the podium, looked straight at ADLP, took off his mask and said, “I won’t run.” Pause. Stare. “Is that good enough?”
Watson told Ladra late Tuesday that he had been briefed on the items coming before him Thursday at his first meeting and that he hoped to make an impact on economic opportunity and homeless assistance and homeownership — although he doesn’t own his own and lives with his in-laws.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. Longer than anybody out there.”
Miami Commission appoints Jeffrey Watson to vacancy in a new power shift added by Ladra on
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