This is it: Last chance to vote in historic U.S. and Miami-Dade election

The day has come. Tuesday will be a historic day in Miami-Dade for two reasons. Not only are we electing our first female president. We will also be electing local constitutional officers, some for the very first time ever.

It will be the first time we vote for sheriff since the office was eliminated in the 1960s for rampant corruption. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.

In that race, we have the choice between current Chief of Public Safety James Reyes, who arguably got the position — anointed so by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava — so he could run for office as an incumbent, against Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz, a 29-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department who has risen through the ranks to become the No. 2, but has the political machinery of Congressman Carlos Gimenez, not to mention a nod from former President (and fascist) Donald Trump.

Shudder.

It’s not an easy choice. And Ladra fears that we will get someone who has puppet strings either way.

The Supervisor of Elections contest is much easier. Former State Rep. JC Planas, who made a career for himself as an elections attorney and teaches election law and ethics at St. Thomas University, is the only choice. State Rep. Alina Garcia is too partisan and doesn’t believe the 2020 election was valid. ‘Nuff said.

The tax collector contest is also a no brainer. Former State Rep. David Richardson, who also served as a commissioner in Miami Beach, is an accountant and is known as the budget guy. DarielFernandez is a marketing professional whose hobby is GOP politics. The only problem is, let’s face it, that in a countywide race, Fernandez is a stronger name. He’s going to win all of Hialeah and most of Miami. It’s a scary but very real possibility that our first elected tax collector is completely unqualified for the job.

Is that a Miami thing?

In the race for Miami-Dade Clerk and Comptroller, is between a former Senator and perennial candidate who once led the local Democratic Party and a Republican former state rep who was appointed to the job 15 months ago by Gov. Ron DeSantis. A third write-in candidate doesn’t count.

Incumbent Juan Fernandez-Barquin has a financial advantage over former Sen. Annette Taddeo and by most measures, he has been a good steward of the office. He initiated an audit after auditors found that employees were being overpaid in 2023. But he also has a few marks on him, like hiring the daughter-in-law of Congressman Gimenez (he’s everywhere and Phil Ehr is not going to get close to unseating him) for what amounts to a cushy job as his chief of staff for $184,000 a year.

And the recent advertising of Operation Green Light, for drivers to more easily regain their suspended licenses, is another one. The Taddeo campaign has accused Fernandez-Barquin of using public dollars to benefit his campaign with radio ads in Spanish for the program, which is usually only offered once a year but was offered twice this year. It’s clear that’s what Fernandez-Barquin did. Because the ad did not have to have his name on it if it was just a public service announcement.

And he was also awful in Tallahassee, where he was one of the sponsors of the 2022 “Stop Wrongs To Our Kids and Employees Act,” or “Stop WOKE Act,” which sought to restrict how race-related issues can be addressed in higher education and in workplace training.

The property appraiser’s job is the fifth of the constitutional offices. Voters have been electing that person for decades. It seems that Pedro Garcia has been there for decades. But now, voters have a choice between former Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Marisol Zenteno, who has been an appraiser and works in the office and lost to Garcia four years ago. This could be a tight race, but a homestead exemption violation on Zenteno’s record — when she should know better — gives Regalado a boost.

Then again, voters are tired of seeing career politicians move from seat to seat. Tomas Regalado had supposedly retired to spend time with his wife and grand children. Now he misses public service?

The Democrat candidates are all on a slate and four of them (sans Zenteno) are represented by the same political consultant who also represents Levine Cava. They are also all having their “victory party” at the same place, Bay 13 Brewery and Kitchen in Coral Gables.

How awkward will that be if one or more of the four loses?

In reality, voters are faced with a slew of bad choices. One puppet or another. One career politician or another. The real question we have to ask ourselves is why there weren’t better candidates for these very important positions? Why do we keep seeing the same names over and over again?

This is it: Last chance to vote in historic U.S. and Miami-Dade election added by Ladra on November 4, 2024
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