It’s not scientific, or anything. But the results of a paper ballot survey of the Kendall and West Kendall residents who went to a town hall meeting Tuesday hosted by the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations was interesting nonetheless.
Not everybody answered every question, but the questions did get between 127 and 138 answers, that were later tallied up by KFHA President Michael Rosenberg.
Read related: Kendall residents take fight against 5G towers to Miami-Dade commissioners
Among the more interesting answers was whether or not Miami-Dade County should keep the fluoride in the water. The commission voted April 1 to stop adding fluoride to the water, but Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoed it. Contrary to the much more scientific poll done by La Alcadesa‘s political team — where more residents support keeping it the additive in the tap water 
than not — more people at the KFHA meeting said no, don’t keep it in the water. Not by much. They were pretty evenly split.
Still, this will likely be used as ammunition by Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, who sponsored the measure and is likely to lead an override attempt against the mayor’s veto May 6. He had a staffer in the audience.
Predictably, an overwhelming majority of those who filled out the ballot survey also felt that Miami-Dade should stop charging property taxes and that the county should find another way to dispose of trash without having to build an incinerator, which commissioners have stalled on but will discuss again in June. Or is it July?
And because the room was full of Kendall people, they were overwhelmingly in favor of having a park in the place of the closed and abandoned Calusa Golf Course instead of something like 540 homes. Yeah, ’cause that’s still going on (more on that later).
What Ladra did not expect was the result to the question, “Would you like to have a town hall meeting with Congressman Carlos Gimenez?” It got the second largest yes response, after the Calusa question, with 101 in favor.
Hear that Gimenez? They want to have a word. Time to connect with your constituents.
Ladra doubts the former county mayor is going to go anywhere near a town hall these days, judging how those are going for 
Republicans across the country in the wake of what many see as a constitutional crisis happening in real time. Two words: Not well.
Read related: Video blasts U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez for silence on ending TPS, deportations
People also seem in favor of getting some sort of property tax discount if they have 5G towers abutting their property, and bringing the value of it down. But they weren’t big on incorporating Kendall and West Kendall. They like their UMSA there.
The saddest answer was the one about whether or not people think that their county government listens to them. Almost 4 to 1, they said no. Ladra wants to talk to the 21 people who said yes and ask what their secret is.
Well, maybe 20, if one of the ballots was filled out by the District 11 employee.
Survey of Kendall residents shows they agree on Calusa, split on fluoride added by Ladra on
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The “Truth” comments are not at all truthful. While many voters supported Trump’s agenda, just as many now realize that his methods are illegal and in essence, cruel. I personally have called to request Congressman Gimenez to have a Town Hall I have been met with non committal responses. IMO, we should have a strong new generation Democrat – like Congressman Maxwell Frost – come visit since Gimenez has decided to ignore the people that voted him onto office.
I didn’t attend the meeting but I agree with the majority of the residents on most issues in the survey. The results of the poll at the meeting about fluoride are far more legitimate than the political poll by La Alcadesa. Hispanics are extremely overrepresented in La Alcadesa’s poll with White non-Hispanics and Blacks being underrepresented. Non-Partisan voters were also underrepresented and third party voters such as Greens, Libertarians and Socialists weren’t represented at all.
The property tax question shouldn’t have been asked because a simple yes or no is not an accurate answer because the question itself doesn’t provide enough information. Everyone would love not to pay property taxes but they can’t be eliminated unless they are replaced by an alternate funding source. The government must have revenue to pay for countywide services and municipal services for unincorporated Miami-Dade.
If people ACTUALLY cared about our water, they would work to remove PFAS. This is a known dangerous carcinogen, and our water has the third highest level in the nation!
The fluoride issue should be determined by a poll of dentists, not homeowners.
Calusa should be protected. Miami-Dade needs more parks. Elected officials lead by scammer Francis Suarez just killed 100+ acres of Melreese Park. Speculator Jorge Mas killed 1,200 trees and every blade of grass. Save Calusa.
Ladra,
What are you talking about? You need to be in touch and connect with reality. Democrats are leaving the party in droves. Republicans are doing exactly what voters voted for. Just because Democrats are filing frivolous lawsuits does not mean there a constitutional crisis.
And where is Maria Elvira Salazar? Like Gimenez, a cowardly Republican representative who refuses to give town halls. The artful dodger. Completely useless.
Fluoridation began 80 years ago with the mistaken belief that fluoride was an essential nutrient; but it’s neither. If one consumes a fluoride free diet, it won’t cause cavities. Rotten diets make rotten teeth no matter how much fluoride is consumed or applied. Like all drugs, fluoride has adverse side effects and shouldn’t be a political football; but an individual’s choice to consume fluoride http://fluoridealert.org/issues/health My neighbors shouldn’t be allowed to force me to consume a drug without my consent and because they didn’t study the issue.