Recall Fever?

88% of the people who voted in Miami-Dade's recall election voted to remove Carlos Alvarez from office. The polls had indicated that the recall was popular but I saw nothing that showed it would be this big a Yes vote. It's surprising and a bit worrisome about what happens next. The recall was expensive and if the county commissioners do not choose a replacement for mayor and commissioner, the special election will cost even more at a time when the county is broke.

I get the reasons for the recall. Alvarez raised salaries and certainly appeared to benefit personally from the mayoral perks. He's tone deaf politically and had alienated much of his potential base early on. The stadium is a boondoggle. The budget is a disaster.

As Fred Grimm in the Herald pointed out today, waiting until the next election might have been the responsible thing to do.

It's done, though, and that's that. What happens next is going to be a little scary. How does an inexperienced mayor, a new city manager, and a new commissioner step up and take the reins at a critical time like this? Will they actually do better?

Time for a confession. I spaced the election. My official excuse is that I was out of town until Tuesday night, which was true, but I could have voted early and I forgot. I am so ambivalent on the subject of recalls that maybe we don't have to get Dr. Freud out of his comfortable grave to explain why, but I am feeling bad about missing the election. And I'm still not sure how I would have voted.

Very close to home, in North Bay Village, yesterday an emailing went out from "Jose Viernes" clearly a pseudonym, with a form attached about recalling Dr. Vogel. Since there is no citizen-sponsor, as required by law, I think this is an opening shot and an attempt to get that conversation started. Anonymity diminishes seriousness of purpose.

I respect Dr. Vogel. He's served us for many years and while I disagree with probably most of his votes, his experience is valuable. He should vote his own mind more often and pay less attention to the twins, Vice Commissioner Lim-Kreps, and the CFD cabal. I don't see how a recall would do anyone any good. I think it would be much better to concentrate on fixing the many problems facing North Bay Village.

To repeat an offer that has been open since I started, I will gladly publish any opinions from whomever might want to comment. The rules are the same:

• You need to provide a real name and real way to contact you.
• What you write cannot contain libels, that is false damaging information that cannot be proven. It can be negative but you have to back it up.
• I reserve the right to edit for clarity but won't publish without your agreement

Oh, and Beannachtai na Feile Padraig ("Happy St. Patrick's Day". It's the only Gaelic I know.)

Kevin Vericker
March 17, 2011

And Now, The Down Side of the Commission Meeting

While the commission did a stand up job on Tuesday night, the old guard from North Bay Island did their best to drag it back into the mud.

Commissioner Frank Rodriguez told me about an extortion threat two of these old timers made to force him to do their bidding.

According to Rodriguez, before the meeting started, Al Blake and Richard Chervony approached Rodriguez and asked to speak to him. They proceeded to tell Rodriguez that they were aware of an effort to recall Dr. Vogel. They warned Rodriguez that they had embarrassing personal information about Rodriguez and his family that they would reveal if Rodriguez did not stand against this recall.

Rodriguez then asked the two, "Are you threatening me?"

The conversation ended there but not the incident. Later Tuesday night, Rodriguez called the chief of police and laid out the situation. There is a criminal investigation going on now, much larger than the North Bay Village Police Department as this extortion is illegal under Florida and Federal statutes.

This type of clumsy extortion is the usual operating mode for the CFD. I've written before about the libels I've received from Richard Chervony. We've all seen the emails from this group. I hope this is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

One truly twisted turn in this clumsy melodrama is that Frank Rodriguez admires Dr. Vogel, was surprised and annoyed by the rumor mongering and doesn't believe in recalls for anything less than an a criminal action. Way to go, CFD'ers.

A word about the Paul Vogel "recall". This is a rumor started by Rey Trujillo from the dais following Trujillo's defeat in the mayoral election and it struck me then as mean spirited. Dr. Vogel consistently stood with Trujillo on his votes, much to my dismay. I suspect, but don't know, that it was one last attempt by Trujillo to pressure Dr. Vogel by creating a false recall rumor in hopes that Dr. Vogel would believe it and align himself against the new mayor. Since Trujillo provided no information about his source for this rumor, your guess is as good as mine.

This election was about retaking the city by the sane citizens. It's more important than ever for us to engage rationally and without the baggage of the past. These ugly old ways need to die.

When we do the things the right way, we do the right things.

Kevin Vericker
December 2, 2010