All six candidates in the Miami-Dade District 2 race are experienced public servants or civic leaders and any one of them would make a good county commissioner. But two candidates stood out for the right reasons Thursday in The Miami Foundation’s forum: Wallace Aristide and Joe Celestin. These two — a former principal of Miami […]
Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime dropped out of the county mayoral race two months ago — and now he backs one of three colleagues running for the seat, which is vacated by Mayor Carlos Gimenez due to term limitations. “I have served with Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava for years and she has earned my trust and respect,” Monestime […]
Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime announced Thursday that he was suspending his campaign and blamed the coronavirus spread and COVID19 infections that have hit his community particularly hard. Yeah, okaaaay. That must be the new version of “I want to spend more time with my family.” Monestime, who still has two years left on his term […]
The ride sharing companies who have been operating illegally for two years in Miami-Dade got their first step toward legalization last month when county commissioners gave preliminary approval to an ordinance that would regulate these companies, but barely. But something else happened at that Jan. 20 meeting: A new strategy was born for getting your […]
Two competing ordinances to finally regulate “ride sharing” services or “TNEs” like Uber and Lyft will likely dominate the already full-agenda Miami-Dade County commission meeting Wednesday. We know taxi cab drivers are already a staple in commission chambers whenever this comes up (and sometimes when it doesn’t). And now, Uber has rallied riders to flood […]
For about two years, Uber has been operating its alleged “ride sharing” service illegally throughout Miami-Dade, picking passengers up and taking business from taxis and causing a ruckus at County Hall. And now that there is going to be a serious consideration of rules they might have to adhere to, the company has launched a […]
Thanks, but no thanks. That’s what a smart Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Jean Monestime told a group of Democrats at a fundraiser Thursday night after weeks of pressure to have him run for the mayoral seat against incumbent Mayor Carlos Gimenez. He told them he was “greatly honored” by the consideration and blah blah blah, but […]
Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Jean Monestime isn’t the first Democrat that the local Party leaders have courted for a mayoral run. First it was former Congressman Joe Garcia, who was beaten in 2014 by Carlos Curbelo after his chief of staff and longtime campaign manager was caught requesting mass amounts of absentee ballots without the voters’ […]
The much ballyhooed ghost legislation that Mayor Carlos Gimenez had his staff write to legalize Uber and Lyft is not going anywhere. Not anytime soon, anyway. But it’s not because Commission Chairman Jean Monestime has been stalling, like Gimenez and his people have been saying on TV and radio shows for the past couple of […]
Halfway through his rocky stint as Miami-Dade Commission Chair, Commissioner Jean Monestime abruptly fired his chief of staff this week, with no explanation. Gerard Philippeaux was told to clear out his things and leave the office Monday. Technically, he is on leave and his position is terminated Nov. 20, but sources say he has already […]