In Miami mayoral bid, Emilio Gonzalez goes for the law and order vote

It looks like former Miami City Manager Emilio González has found his campaign sweet spot: the law-and-order vote. Six former police chiefs — count ’em, six — have lined up to bless the retired Army colonel’s run for Miami mayor.
This not the endorsement from the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, who have not yet made a determination. …
So, perhaps this announcement Monday about the blue backing is an effort to pre-empt that endorsement. Not that it matters. Two years ago, the Miami FOP endorsed former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla just weeks after he was arrested on public corruption charges. Commissioner Miguel Gabela won.
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Former Miami top cops Jorge Colina, Manuel Orosa and Rodolfo Llanes were joined by ex-Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Pérez, El Portal’s former chief, David Magnusson, and David Rivero, who ran the University of Miami police force after years in MPD,  to back Gonzalez. Together, they put their names on a press release Monday calling the former manager the only candidate with the “vision, integrity and courage” to lead Miami out of its mess.
That’s the polite way of saying they don’t trust anyone else in the race. For Oroza, Gonzalez is “the only candidate.”
The quotes read like copy-and-paste campaign fodder. All of them used the word integrity.
“It is not a matter of who we want, it is a matter who we need,” Colina said. “Only Emilio has the vision, integrity and courage to lead Miami forward.”
Pérez warns that the “city is in crisis.” Magnusson says that he “demands no less” than the same level of honesty, humility and integrity he demanded from his officers.
Nobody mentioned the corruption scandals that have plagued City Hall for years — including the years Gonzalez was there — or how many electeds in the 305 often end up in court — or handcuffs. But that was implied.
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Either way, González is clearly leaning into the badge. He’s got the endorsements from the guys who used to run the force, even if none of them could fix Miami’s policing or political problems when they were in charge. And it’s not lost on Ladra that these are all former chiefs. The current brass is staying out of it — at least for now.
This is a good look for El Colonel, who’s trying to sell himself as the “integrity” candidate in a field full of insiders, wannabes, and yes-men. Whether voters buy it is another story. Miamians love cops in theory, but they love deals and padrinos more.
And let’s be real: in a city where every other week someone is led out in handcuffs, promising “honesty and integrity” almost sounds like a punchline.

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The post In Miami mayoral bid, Emilio Gonzalez goes for the law and order vote appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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