Why nobody wants Martin Zilber to be the Miami commissioner in District 2

ABZ. Anyone but Zilber.

That’s the refrain heard on social media and at private gatherings in Coconut Grove and Brickell when people talk about the special election in Miami’s District 2.

Some voters can’t believe that Martin Zilber would even run for office again. The former (read: disgraced) Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge resigned after an ethics investigation into unexcused absences and mistreatment of staffers. He admitted his wrongdoing, then cut and run.

But, in a way, that makes him perfect for Miami, doesn’t it?

Commissioners Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Joe Carollo really want Zilber as a third vote for their bloc so they can do whatever they want. Commissioner Manolo Reyes has sort of seen the light and drifted away from them and they need a new stooge to be The Three Amigos again.

Zilber would be a walking, talking rubber stamp.

That’s reason enough for some voters to reject him. A new political action committee tied to a former Carollo staffer sent a mailer linking Zilber and Diaz de la Portilla, calling them birds of a feather because of their unethical behavior. Voters have told Ladra that they won’t vote for Zilber simply because of ADLP’s endorsement.

Others don’t like the endorsement from former Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who has become a lobbyist and who, las malas lenguas say, will really be voting behind Zilber. Or the fact that he’s raised more than $100,000 from special interests.

Then there’s the whole ethical complaint against him which caused him to abandon the bench.

Zilber resigned in May of 2021 following an investigation by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Committee that found he had berated staff, had his judicial assistants run errands for him and missed 51 workdays between January, 2019, and March, 2020, without notifying the court administration. This is on top of 16 court holidays and 25 days of approved leave.

Do the math: 51 days is 10 weeks and one day that he was out of the office without permission, and getting paid. Isn’t that theft by fraud? It amounts to about $31,000 of his judge’s annual $161,000 salary.

“The Commission also found that when he was present, the hours that Judge Zilber was at the Courthouse often fell below what would be considered a full workday,” the final findings and recommendations filed in court reads. “While the Commission is mindful of the fact that certain aspects of judicial service lend themselves to remote work, the Commission also believes that it is not unreasonable to expect that a judge serving in a trial-level court, especially one as busy as the 11th Judicial Circuit, be generally present at the courthouse during normal court hours.

“Recurring tardiness or absences from the courthouse works to damage the public’s perception of the judiciary,” it reads.

Zilber also told his judicial assistant that the timing of her pregnancy was inconvenient for him and ordered her to wheel his chair to the courtroom and back, even lifting it up to the dais. He had his judicial assistant create a scrapbook of his personal and professional achievements and work on his re-election. Other staffers drove him to events, did his online shopping and picked up his Art Basel tickets during work hours.

What? No picking up his dry cleaning?

In total, the judicial committee investigation found that Zilber had violated nine cannons of judicial conduct. They included a failure to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary and impropriety.

Zilber admitted to and apologized for his actions. The committee gave him a public reprimand, a 60-day suspension without pay and a $30,000 fine. The Florida Supreme Court refused that offer, however. They did not think it was punishment enough.

But Zilber quit before they could discipline him appropriately.

Despite the admissions and apologies, Zilber — who also co-owns an upscale women’s sportswear boutique called At Ease — got a new private sector gig within months at South Florida commercial real estate firm Krinzman Huss Lubetsky Feldman & Hotte. As partner.

Despite the admissions and apologies, he has been posting a letter from the Florida Bar on social media pretending that it exonerates him, when it absolutely does not. The Florida Bar found no probable cause for further discipline — but only because Zilber had already quit his dream job. They can always reopen the case and discipline him in the future.

Zilber has also been boasting about a bunch of endorsements that were obtained vís-a-vís the palanca pulled by the commissioners who want him to be their puppet pocket vote. Don’t expect the rank and file of the police and fire departments to knock on doors or hold signs on Election Day.

They are also mostly ABZ.

Alex Diaz de la Portilla, District 2 election, Martin Zilber

Why nobody wants Martin Zilber to be the Miami commissioner in District 2 added by Ladra on February 8, 2023
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