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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.
Read related: Emilio Gonzalez Miami mayoral PAC raises almost $700K in three months
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.
Read related: Poll has Eileen Higgins in Miami mayoral runoff with Emilio Gonzalez
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.
Help Ladra cover every inch and corner of the Miami mayoral election this year with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Thank you for supporting independent, grassroots government watchdog journalism.
The post In Miami mayoral bid, Emilio Gonzalez goes for the law and order vote appeared first on Political Cortadito.
Financial finesse? Miami-Dade budget shortfall disappears in final version
Was the county’s $402M budget gap just a drill?
Remember that $402 million budget hole Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said we were staring down back in July? The one that justified chopping arts funding, pulling the plug on charity grants, hiking transit fees and even grounding the county’s rescue helicopters?
Well, guess what. Most of it, somehow, went poof.
On Friday, a week and a day after a 12-hour budget hearing, Levine Cava rolled out a shiny new set of “short-term fixes” and surprise surpluses that let her walk back most of the doomsday cuts. Suddenly, MetroConnect is saved (though now it’ll cost $3.75 a ride, with fewer zones and capped trips), charities get their funding restored, the arts don’t get slashed, and the fire union gets its helicopters back in the countywide budget.
Funny how all that money turned up just days before the final vote, which is Thursday.
Read related: Madness marathon: Observations from the first Miami-Dade budget hearing
Levine Cava, of course, claimed a win. “Through hard work and hard choices, my administration presented a balanced budget that closed a significant gap without cutting core services or raising tax rates,” she wrote in her Sept. 12 memo. “After unprecedented community engagement and negotiations with our Board of County Commissioners, we identified additional savings and recovered unspent funds returned by the constitutional offices.”
Translation: the boogeyman is gone, thanks to some accounting acrobatics and departments freezing vacant jobs longer.
About $4.1 million is saved through attrition — or not filling jobs — at 14 departments (more on that later) and another $467,000 cut from marketing and $1.4 million cut from management consulting.
These savings will help put the $28 million air rescue cost back into the general fund. But that was not Levine Cava’s idea. Fire union president William “Billy” McAllister said at the first budget hearing that the move would go against what voters wanted when they passed the fire rescue taxing district in 1980. Not everybody pays into the Fire District tax because several cities have their own fire departments, including Miami, Coral Gables and Hialeah. They don’t pay into the fire district, but would get air rescue services nonetheless. Meaning that homeowners in Westchester would pay the bill when a Gables High football player is airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
“It’s illegal,” McAllister said. And the union willing to take the county to court for it.
La Alcaldesa and her new BFF, Commissioner Raquel Regaldo, worked hard into the 11th hour to negotiate what they thought was a compromise deal to smooth this out: Half the $28 million helicopter tab would go back to the countywide budget this year, another $7 million mid year and the final $7 million at the end of the fiscal year. So, a payment plan.
Read related: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wants Fire District to pay for air rescue helicopters
The union flat out rejected it. No half measures, gracias. They wanted all of it shifted off the Fire District and back onto the general fund — rápido.
Commissioner Eileen Higgins, at the last minute, told the mayor to come back to them with a new budget that funded the air rescue from the general fund. The majority agreed with herBut that means less money for equipment and staff — things that can bring down the response time from nine minutes, according to to the union leadership.
Nonprofits got a reprieve, too. Jewish Community Services, Farm Share, and dozens of others that provide services — from hot meals and teen jobs to eviction defense — were bracing for slashed grants until charity leaders and activists lined up at the first public hearing Sept. 4 to shame the mayor for targeting them. Levine Cava’s latest memo restores their funding at full 2025 levels.
And the arts? La Alcaldesa first proposed a $13 million hit to cultural programs, restored most of it last month, and on Friday threw the last $1.3 million back in. Crisis averted. Curtain call.
Read related: Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more
So who’s still paying the price? Riders. A 50-cent transit fare hike stays in the budget — the first since 2013 — along with higher shuttle costs for seniors and the disabled. But, hey, MetroMover is still free for the beautiful people.
Commissioners take the final vote this Thursday. Expect more speeches about “shared sacrifice.” Especially since the revised budget takes a whole $500,000 out of the commission’s budget. Because, you know, they can’t afford more than that if they want to keep giving gifts, er, grants to the people and organizations who drive votes on election years.
But Ladra can’t help but ask: if the hole wasn’t really $402 million deep, then what was all this drama about? A scare tactic? A political stress test? Or just the oldest trick in the book: cry crisis, then ride in as the hero when you “save” everyone from it.
Help encourage deeper coverage of the county’s budget process. Make a contribution to Political Cortadito today. Thank you for supporting independent, grassroots watchdog journalism.
The post Financial finesse? Miami-Dade budget shortfall disappears in final version appeared first on Political Cortadito.
Richard Lamondin challenges Maria Elvira Salazar with ‘town hall’ in CD27
Congressional candidate Richard Lamondin must be feeling pretty good this week. His campaign’s first community town hall was drew a nice crowd Tuesday night at St. James Baptist Church in Coconut Grove. That already puts him ahead of Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, who hasn’t faced her constituents without a teleprompter or studio lighting in, well, ever.
The Miami-born entrepreneur and first-time candidate, a Democrat running to replace Republican Salazar, actually sat in front of real, live people — no Fox filter, no pre-recorded video, no carefully cropped backdrop of Little Havana cafecitos. Just him, a microphone, and a group of voters who have been waiting five years for their congresswoman to stop hiding behind a camera.
Read related: Democrat candidate Richard Lamondin steps up for absent Maria Elvira Salazar
Lamondin took questions from an audience of about 50 people on everything from housing costs to health care to small business survival, answering directly from the pews where voters packed in. It was the kind of event people in District 27 haven’t seen from their actual congresswoman in her five years of duck-and-cover representation.
“I would not be here if we had proper leadership,” Lamondin told the group. “We are a time right now where we have a congresswoman, Maria Elvira Salazar, who is viewed as elitist, because she is. She does not come into the community.
“She is viewed as out of touch, because she is. She only speaks to us through a camera,” Lamondin continued. “And when I knock on doors she is viewed as scared, because she is. She is scared of looking us in the eye and explaining to us, why some of us do not have healthcare… why, during hurricane season, she is supporting cuts to FEMA and to the flood mitigation that will lower our property insurance.
“She is afraid to look us in the eye and explain, especially to our seniors, why there are cuts to food assistance, housing assistance, the type of lifelines that this community needs… to pay the tax cuts for billionaires who don’t need the money.”
He also mentioned the cruel immigration policies that Salazar has supported with her silence — the ripping apart of families, sending teenagers into ill-prepared detention centers. “This is not the country I want my son to grow up in,” Lamondin said.
Read related: Maria Elvira Salazar’s ‘Dignity Act’ is about zero dignity and all a big act
The candidate told the crowd what they wanted to hear: that he’ll show up, that he’ll listen, and that he won’t disappear when the community needs him. But the biggest applause line wasn’t his. It came when someone pointed out the empty chair that would have been Salazar’s if she ever bothered to come.
In fact, dozens of attendees filled out question cards addressed to their absent congresswoman. Lamondin says he will personally take them to Salazar’s Miami office himself. Ladra can already see the campaign video.
Of course, this isn’t just about the Q&A. It’s about optics. And the optics were clear: Lamondin looked like the candidate who actually wants the job, while Salazar looked like she couldn’t be bothered. He looked like someone running toward the community, while Salazar continues to run away from it. And the optics of a packed Grove church versus a green screen studio are not good for a so-called “voice of the district.”
That could be a problem for the incumbent, especially since the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already put her on their target list. While Salazar enjoys incumbency in a GOP stronghold district that has about 30,000 more Republican voters than Democrats, her constant taking credit for things she didn’t do and the lack of spine on the immigration policy issue in a community full of immigrants, has made her increasingly unpopular within her own base.
Salazar beat former Miami-Dade School Board Member Lucia Baez-Geller last year by more than 20 points. But she won’t have Donald Trump’s coattails in 2026.
The Grove church crowd wasn’t just polite applause, either. They were fired up, laughing at the empty chair where Salazar would have sat if she had the guts. And if Lamondin can keep filling rooms like this, María Elvira may have to start doing more than reading carefully-crafted scripts in her journalist voice and recording dramatic kitchen-table monologues for Twitter.
Because the one thing voters in Miami hate more than corruption is being ignored.
The 2026 midterms are almost upon us. Help Ladra keep the coverage tight by making a contribution to Political Cortadito today. Thank you for supporting independent, grassroots watchdog journalism.
The post Richard Lamondin challenges Maria Elvira Salazar with ‘town hall’ in CD27 appeared first on Political Cortadito.
Hialeah budget impasse: 1% vs 10% and the ghost of Mayor Carlos Hernández
Hialeah’s first budget hearing for 2025-26 last week turned into another political telenovela, with interim Mayor Jacqueline Garcia-Roves and Councilman Jesús Tundidor digging into their rival tax-cut proposals like two kids fighting over the last croqueta. And since the council is still missing a seventh member to break ties, nothing got done Thursday. Nada.
The meeting will be reconvened Monday evening to continue. Maybe this time they can vote on something.
Read related: Dueling tax cut proposals in Hialeah means campaign season is in full gear
Garcia-Roves, who wants to keep the mayor’s chair in November, floated a 1% cut to the millage rate. That would save the average homeowner about $11 a year and businesses about $248. Ladra has seen bigger discounts in a clearance bin at Sedano’s. Still, the city’s first female mayor — although interim — is also promising more: she wants the city to eat the $12.5 million in water and sewer fee hikes from the county, drop the $3.7 million franchise fee for electrical service, and cover an $852,000 bump in garbage fees.
Add it up, and the average homeowner could save about $306 a year under the interim alcaldesa‘s plan.
Tundidor — who just so happens to also be running for mayor — thinks that’s crumbs. He wants a 10% cut in the millage rate, which would mean $200 or more in savings.
But his plan would blow a $13 million hole in the budget. Hialeah’s finance director called it unaffordable, warning it could mean pink slips for 88 firefighters or 63 cops. Tundidor waved that away, insisting the money could come from Public Works reserves, which city officials say can’t legally be used. But hey, what’s a law or two in Hialeah?
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is.
The last time Hialeah played tax-cut roulette was under Mayor Carlos Hernández in 2013. He handed residents a 1% break and left the city $3.2 million short. The fallout? Furloughs, pay cuts, padlocked parks, shuttered pools, pension hits, and the exodus of more than a hundred cops and firefighters. A decade later, the City of Progress is still fixing roofs and relighting parks from that mess.
Hernandez is reportedly backing Garcia-Roves (so are former mayors Esteban “Steve” Bovo and Julio Robaina)
Read related: Three former Hialeah mayors ‘host’ quiet fundraiser for Jackie Garcia-Roves
Firefighters Union President Eric Johnson wanted the council that this is déjà vu. “We are here today because of bad governance in the past,” said Johnson, who later told Political Cortadito he had no intention of speaking, but couldn’t help himself.
“Continuing to do the same things and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity.”
Meanwhile, council members bickered like it was a campaign debate. With five council seats and the mayor’s race all on the ballot this year, nobody wants to be the bad guy raising taxes — or the fool cutting too deep. And with Hialeah still basking in its Trump-Ave. glow, the pressure is on to prove Republican leaders can hand out relief like Democrats promise freebies.
The first budget hearing will continue at 5:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 501 Palm Ave., and can also be seen on the city’s YouTube page.
A second public budge hearing is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 25. The city has until Sept. 30 to pass something or it reverts to last year’s budget. Which, knowing Hialeah, might be exactly what happens.
Help encourage deeper coverage of your municipal government. Make a contribution to Political Cortadito today. Thank you for supporting independent, grassroots watchdog journalism.
The post Hialeah budget impasse: 1% vs 10% and the ghost of Mayor Carlos Hernández appeared first on Political Cortadito.
Three former Hialeah mayors ‘host’ quiet fundraiser for Jackie Garcia-Roves
It was like a shadow government meet-and-greet
Just when you thought that the old Hialeah politics mix of evil alliances and public distrust were behind us, along comes a secret society supper vibe from former mayor Esteban “Steve” Bovo, joined by ex-mayors Julio Robaina and Carlos Hernández.
The bad boys of the City of Progress rolled out the proverbial red carpet Wednesday night for about 30 lobbyists, consultants, developers and real estate interests at a Hialeah Park fundraiser for interim Mayor Jacqueline Garcia-Roves — even if the hosts weren’t all physically there.
The invite — which arrived via whisper network, email or text — paints dog-and-pony sincerity: Garcia-Roves is not one of those power-hungry types, Bovo assures.
“Jacqueline is not a politician looking for a stepping stone or chasing a hidden agenda,” Bovo wrote in the message that came with the fundraiser invite. Because he would be able to recognize one of those. “She is a servant leader whose heart and focus are-and always have been-our community. I know her well, and I know her intentions: Hialeah comes first, always.
“That is why I want her to carry forward the work we began together, because I trust her with the future of the city we all love,” Bovo wrote.
But this is the same guy who recently bolted to become a D.C. lobbyist, while pocketing a hefty pension boost on his way — hardly the image of a selfless patron.
Read related: Steve Bovo’s parting gift: Retirement benefits for himself, Hialeah electeds
Then there’s the support from Carlos “Castro” Hernández, who famously tried to settle an ethics fine with buckets of nickels and pennies. Not exactly someone you’d invite to add credibility to a “servant-leader” brand. And don’t forget Julio Robaina, who was accused of being a loanshark and was involved in a number of absentee ballot investigations. Robaina reportedly didn’t go to the event, but has been calling people to show his support for Garcia-Roves.
Their quiet favor screams insider horse-trading.
Las malas lenguas say Bovo held court at the Hialeah Park event like he was still the mayor, which is the idea behind electing Garcia-Roves. The former state rep and county commissioner wrote in his invitation that he was “reaching out directly to you, because you have stood with me in the past and because you understand what is at stake.” Then Bovo asked them to make a contribution.
And there are several suggestions: $150,000 will get you in the Founders Circle of the host committee, $50,000 gets you in the Leadership Circle, $25,000 gets you in the Champion’s Circle, $10,000 gets you in the Advocate’s Circle and $5,000 gets you in the Friends of Hialeah.
They missed an opportunity to charge $2,500 for Distant Acquaintances of Hialeah. Or even $25 for Frenemies. Ladra can’t wait to see the next campaign reports next month.
Read related: Dueling tax cut proposals in Hialeah means campaign season is in full gear
Though historic as Hialeah’s first woman mayor (even as interim since April), Garcia-Roves is still on probation in voters’ eyes. She stepped up following Bovo’s resignation, pledging to lower water bills, fight for infrastructure, and shepherd the city until the November election. Miami-Dade Commissioner René Garcia first threatened to run for the seat and then threw his support behind her, stinging Hialeah Councilman Jesus Tundidor, a Garcia ally who thought he’d get the endorsement.
Sources say that there have been three polls taken of likely voters and that Garcia-Roves comes in a distant third in every one. The polls indicate a runoff between Tundidor and former Councilman Bryan Calvo, who is also running after resigning last year to run for Miami-Dade tax collector (he lost in the Republican primary to Dariel Fernandez).
So, this secretive, shadow-government meet-and-greet not only reeks of old-guard fealty rather than fresh ideas, it also looks like a complete waste of time.
If Garcia-Roves wants to cast off the old boys’ club image, this fundraiser/conspiracy meeting was not the way to do it.
The post Three former Hialeah mayors ‘host’ quiet fundraiser for Jackie Garcia-Roves appeared first on Political Cortadito.
How much longer will Miami taxpayers pay for Crazy Joe Carollo’s lawyers?
Fellow commissioner estimates tab is $30 million
Remember when Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo got slapped with a $63.5 million jury verdict for abusing his office by “weaponizing” city departments to go after someone who had supported his opponent? Well it’s still costing taxpayers every day — and Commissioner Miguel Gabela estimates it at between $27 and $30 million, so far.
“Let’s stop the bleeding now,” Gabela said Thursday, introducing an item that would cease payments to Carollo’s legal dream team and also seek reimbursement for millions in fees that have been paid already. After some back and forth, the commission deferred any decision to the first meeting in October. Again.
Because this is not the first time they find themselves debating whether the city should keep paying the sky-high legal bills for Crazy Joe. Have the city attorneys heard him on the radio weekday mornings? He’s not making his case any stronger.
Background: Carollo and the city were sued in 2021 by the Little Havana businessmen who own Ball and Chain on Calle Ocho — and who had the audacity to support another opponent in the 2017 District 3 race — after they were hit with a series of code enforcement violations that forced them to shut down. In 2023, a Broward jury sided with them — saying that Carollo retaliated against them for political reasons and violated their First Amendment rights — and handed them a jackpot judgement. In July, he lost an appeal before a three-judge pane at the Third District Court of Appeals.
Las malas lenguas say his attorneys will ask for a rehearing in front of the full DCA. And why not? Appeals aren’t free, but Carollo isn’t paying for it.
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo loses appeal on $63.5 million jury award
Gabela is clearly fed up and said what everybody else has been thinking: Carollo is costing the city a fortune.
“I’m tired personally of paying on behalf of the taxpayer,” Gabela said. “Since I’ve been here this has been an issue, and I’ve been here almost more than a year and a half.”
Still, others weren’t ready to cut Carollo loose.
Commission Chairwoman Christine King, possibly the only ally he has left, warned that pulling city coverage now would “set a dangerous precedent” and make elected officials think twice before taking action if they aren’t sure the city will back them up.
Translation: If we let Carollo drown, who’s going to save us when we’re in hot water?
Said City Attorney George Wysong: “Anyone with $410 can file a lawsuit.”
Currently, the city policy is to represent any elected official, appointed official or employee. “We need to represent them until the case is disposed of,” Wysong explained to commissioners, adding that there was plenty of precedent showing that the city “may pay” for Carollo’s appeals. Did you all notice the word “may?” Because Ladra did. Apparently, state law is wishy-washy.
“I don’t know if there is any case law saying we can stop the payments.”
Wysong also told the commission that if they change the policy, Carollo or his attorneys could sue the city.
“It’s there to prevent you all from being sued and fearing being sued, gives you the confidence to make decisions without the threat of lawsuit by a disgruntled citizen,” Wysong said.
If anyone is still confused, you’re not alone. King asked Assistant City Attorney Kevin Jones to clear that up. “Can you give this to us in plain language? Because George, respectfully, you said “Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. Maybe.”
Jones said that the case is not over and that Carollo’s team may be asking the Third District Court for an appeal hearing before all the judges. “We have a history of defending politicians who are sued,” Jones said. “We have never in the past, in the middle of litigation, before its concluded, have we decided to abandon the client.”
King said she didn’t want to be caught in another legal fiasco like the city did with the election year change after commissioners cancelled this year’s election without going to a public vote. Judges have ruled three times already, twice on appeal, that it was a violation of the city charter and county Home Rule charter and said they can’t do it. The city dropped it, but not before they spent a boatload of taxpayer money on outside attorneys trying to steal their vote.
Gabela suggested that Carollo — who left the dais during this discussion — pay for his own attorneys from his political action committee, Miami First, which currently has more than $1.8 million parked in a bank account, according to the most recent campaign finance report.
Read related: Jury says Miami’s Joe Carollo abused power to violate 1st Amendment rights
“It’s very difficult he’s going to win this time. The odds are stacked against him,” Gabela told his colleagues. “Let him have his day in court, but let him pay for it. Then, if he prevails we reimburse him.”
He reminded them that a judge had already ruled that Carollo did not have qualified immunity as a commissioner. “He was acting in his personal capacity,” Gabela said.
And he is relying on a state law that says legal fees for a municipal employee or official paid by public tax dollars may be recovered if that person is found to be personally liable by virtue of acting outside the scope of his or her employment, or was acting in bad faith, with malicious purpose.”
Yep, that pretty much describes the situation.
“Enough is enough,” Gabela said. “He should have his day in court. This is not what it’s about. But we’re already tired of paying
“We have a fiduciary duty to take care of the city’s money,” the commissioner said, adding that between legal fees and settlements the tab has run up to almost $30 million. The city’s insurance company disclosed last year that the legal fees had exceeded $10 million and the city settled last year on another lawsuit from the same Little Havana business group — for $12.5 million.
Commissioner Damian Pardo agreed. “I don’t think taxpayers should continue this fight,” he said.
In the end, the decision was punted — again. Commissioners kicked the can to October 9, meaning that for now, Miami taxpayers are still stuck paying for Crazy Joe’s army of lawyers. And Ladra is sure they are doing as much work as possible to get as many billable hours on the clock while the meter keeps running.
Ladra can’t help but wonder: How much longer before the legal tab for one commissioner starts rivaling the city’s police budget?
The post How much longer will Miami taxpayers pay for Crazy Joe Carollo’s lawyers? appeared first on Political Cortadito.
Palmetto Bay councilman is asked to resign after ‘vile’ Charlie Kirk post
Steve Cody thought it would be clever to call the murder of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk a “fitting sacrifice.” It sounded to some like the Palmetto Bay councilman literally cheered a political assassination.
But it might have been political suicide. Because now, some residents and other elected, including Village Mayor Karyn Cunningham and Vice Mayor Mark Merwitzer, are calling for him to resign.
“As a mother and as your mayor, I am both saddened and disturbed,” Cunningham said in statement emailed Thursday afternoon about the “deeply troubling” social media post. This was after a crowd of protesters showed up at Village Hall to demand he resign.
“Violence has no place in our community or in our nation, and words that seek to diminish or make light of such tragedy are equally harmful,” Cunningham said. “With this in mind, I must call for Councilman Cody to step down,” she said.
Read related: Palmetto Bay budget hearing Monday could focus on “The Woods” property
Cody, a loudmouth attorney first elected in 2020, is in the middle of a political dumpster fire after posting on his Facebook page that Kirk — the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder, shot and killed at a rally in Utah this week — was a “fitting sacrifice to our Lords: Smith and Wesson. Hallowed be their names.”
He followed it with a quote from Kirk in 2023 about gun violence: “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
Too soon, Steve.
The backlash was immediate. Conservative activist Ryan Fournier, chairman of the national Students for Trump (and Kirk’s heir apparent), quickly circulated a screenshot of Cody’s post, urging his followers to “expose” the Florida Democrat. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power called the remark “vile and hateful,” accusing Cody not just of mocking a murdered “patriot,” but of “ridiculing his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Yeah, because we need to bring that into it.
Power painted Cody as a “bully drunk on power” who has a history of harassing neighbors and shutting down dissent. And he dared other Florida Democrats to condemn their boy, warning that silence would make them “complicit in the behavior that is at the root of political violence.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, State Rep. Juan Porras and Congressman Carlos Gimenez piled on because, well Cody is a Democrat even though it’s a nonpartisan seat. Ladra doubts that a Republican council member in Hialeah would have gotten the same lashing.
“Absolutely mortified by Palmetto Bay councilman Steve Cody’s mocking of Charlie Kirk’s death in real time,” Gimenez posted on Instagram. “This is unbecoming of any elected official. Steve Cody must resign.”
That’s a lot of pearl-clutching, but Cody gave them the ammo.
And he’s not the only casualty of the Charlie Kirk murder aftermath. A reporter at MSNBC was fired and another journalist at Politico was suspended after asking a question some thought was insensitive. A member of the staff at Miami Country Day School resigned after his social media post, calling Kirk’s death “karma,” sparked outrage.
Read related: Ex Palmetto Bay councilman compares controversial duck removal to Holocaust
Cody’s troubles also seem to be karma, in a way. The councilman got a former in hot water after he compared the Village’s eradication of “aggressive” ducks to the Holocaust. If Ladra remembers correctly, David Singer was fired after that.
Late Thursday afternoon, Cody tried damage control, deleting the post and offering the most half-hearted mea culpa possible: “I screwed up.” No kidding, Sherlock. He called the post a “serious error in judgment,” that did not reflect his values or beliefs.
“The language I shared could easily be read as trivializing the very real and painful toll of gun violence in our communities. That was never my intent, but intent does not erase impact,” Cody said in a statement a few hours after he removed the post. “I deeply regret posting it, and I take full responsibility for my lapse in judgment.
“I do not endorse the sentiment expressed in that quotation,” Cody said, and Ladra believes that was clear. The point of the post was to bring to light the irony, and the double standard in some circles, of Kirk’s own words in light of this heinous crime against him. But, as an elected, Cody might have crossed the line. Even he realized that.
“I believe public officials have a duty to engage thoughtfully, to show respect for differing views, and to never make light of issues that affect lives and families. To those who were offended or hurt by my post, especially the friends and family of Charlie Kirk, I sincerely apologize. I am committed to learning from this mistake, to exercising greater care in what I share, and to focusing my energy on the issues that matter most to the residents of Palmetto Bay.”
He did not indicate, however, that he would resign. In an interview with CBS Miami, he said he had no plans to.
“It was not the most well thought out thing I’ve ever done,” Cody said. “If I had thought about it longer I probably would have just kept that thought to myself.
In a short telephone interview with Political Cortadito, Cody said his remarks, while unfortunate and wrong, were being seized by his political enemies to hang him. Even though he knows he gave them the rope.
“I opened the door and waved them through,” Cody told Ladra. “This was an unforced error.”
Read related: Palmetto Bay Village Council elections could get interesting this November
Merwitzer, Cody’s nemesis on the dais, did not think Cody’s apology was authentic.
“He got caught and now he’s pretending he’s sorry,” Merwitzer told Political Cortadito. “He cannot unring that bell with this community.
“It’s highly unbecoming of an elected official to mock the assignation of a political activist no matter what side he was on. An attack on any one political activist is an attack on every political activist,” Merwitzer added.
The mayor, who has been an ally of Cody’s since he first ran, is also a Democrat and told Political Cortadito that this “goes way beyond partisan politics,” and a public official is held to a higher standard.
“Political ally Steve is still a friend,” Cunningham told Ladra. “I represent 25,000 residents, And what he did was condone the assassination, condone killing!”
Well, not really. He just wanted to point out the irony in what happened against what Kirk has said in the past. Again, it was too soon.
And Cunningham may have had to say something. She said she and the municipality got “hundreds” of phone calls. And a group of about 40 residents marched on Village Hall Thursday afternoon to express their outrage and demand that Cody resign.
“When you represent 25,000 residents in Palmetto Bay and you put something out there that not just a majority of Palmetto Bay residents but most American disagree with, it’s a betrayal of public trust,” said Chad Heffernen who organized the protest. But he’s been complaining about Cody and his “anti-conservative” social media posts for months.
“He’s using it as a platform for his ideology,” said Heffernen, who voted for Cody in 2020, but not last year. “”He has been an embarrassment to the community for the last few years.”
The residents were joined at Village Hall by State Rep. Omar Blanco, who posted on his Instagram page that “Celebrating something this horrific has no place in public service.”
Read related: Mass shooting at FSU elicits ‘thoughts and prayers’ but no real gun solution
Ladra doesn’t condone what Cody posted nor, of course, any of the political violence that has scarred our nation for years — and picked up recently. But as disgusting, tone-deaf, and flat-out cruel as Cody’s comment was, isn’t calling for his resignation over a Facebook post a little… unconstitutional? Cody didn’t order a hit. He didn’t plan an insurrection. He didn’t even yell fire in a crowded theater. He just showed the world that he’s a bit of a jerk with very little impulse control. Some people are not the least little bit surprised.
But that’s not a crime — it’s protected speech. The First Amendment covers ugly, offensive, vile opinions, too. And voters, not mayors, are supposed to decide when a politician goes too far.
Make no mistake: Cody’s words were beneath the office. He has embarrassed Palmetto Bay, Miami-Dade, and Democrats everywhere. But if we start booting electeds for distasteful speech, where do we stop? There are plenty of people in local government and even Washington, D.C., who have used painfully hateful, even inciting, rhetoric.
Maybe Cody will resign. Or maybe he’ll double down and dare his critics to try to force him out. Either way, the story is no longer just about one reckless councilman — it’s also about whether Palmetto Bay will trample the Constitution to save face.
Statement from Palmetto Bay Mayor Karyn Cunningham:
“Earlier today, I became aware of a deeply troubling social media post made by one of my colleagues on the Village Council in response to the tragic assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. As a mother and as your Mayor, I am both saddened and disturbed. Violence has no place in our community or in our nation, and words that seek to diminish or make light of such tragedy are equally harmful.
Regardless of political affiliation or public profile, acts of violence are never acceptable in a civil society. We must hold firm to the values that unite us: respect, compassion, and the unwavering belief that disagreements must be addressed through dialogue, not destruction.
“As public officials, we are entrusted to lead by example and to uphold the values of respect, empathy, and civility that form the foundation of our democracy. We must model the kind of peaceful discourse that we want to see reflected in our society.
“With this in mind, and with great respect for the office I hold, I must call for Councilman Cody to step down. The people of Palmetto Bay deserve leadership that reflects compassion, responsibility, and dignity in moments of crisis.
“My deepest sympathies go out to Charlie Kirk’s family and to the families and loved ones of anyone affected by a horrific act. In moments like these, we must come together, not as partisans, but as people committed to peace, understanding, and the shared dignity of every human life.
“Thank you to those that have reached out including our State Senator Alexis Calatayud. Thank you for your support.”
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Miami-Dade Fire’
Air Rescue Drama at 2 a.m.: Union Wants Millions, Mayor Says “No Emergency”
It was way past cafecito time — about 2:20 in the morning — when the real fireworks started at Miami-Dade’s first budget hearing. After hours of testimony from nonprofits and residents, the firefighters’ union came in hot, demanding millions more to cover the countywide air rescue service.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and her ally, Commissioner Raquel Regalado, thought they had smoothed this out already with a compromise deal. Half the $28 million helicopter tab would go back to the countywide budget this year, and the rest in 2026. The union flat out rejected it. No half measures, gracias. They wanted all of it shifted off the Fire District and onto the general fund — now.
By then, even Oliver Gilbert was rolling his eyes. “We’re going to change everything because they’re essentially throwing a fit,” he said.
The mayor, for her part, was clearly done. “I think we’ve all established there really isn’t an emergency here,” Levine Cava said, reminding commissioners that the only pot of money left is the county’s emergency reserves. “And if there is a real emergency, there will be less there for an emergency.”
But at 3 a.m. politics has a way of bending. Commissioner Eileen Higgins made a surprise motion to have the mayor go find the rest of the helicopter money in the general fund anyway — essentially siding with the union and against Levine Cava. The mayor was not pleased. Her body language said it all: this was not the olive branch she wanted handed back to her as a club.
Residents who stuck it out to that ungodly hour warned against raiding the hurricane stash. Lanette Jones from Miami Gardens reminded everyone that emergency funds saved her after Irma when her insurance wouldn’t cover roof repairs. Another resident, Kerri Sauer, skipped the niceties: “We’re screwed! … Shame on them.”
Levine Cava later doubled down, calling it “irresponsible” to gut the reserves at a time when FEMA has become stingier about reimbursements.
Still, commissioners voted to tell her to cough up the rest of the $14 million from somewhere — anywhere — before the final hearing Sept. 18. Which means this isn’t over. Expect another round of air rescue drama in two weeks, maybe not at 2 a.m. this time. But then again, this is Miami-Dade. Ladra wouldn’t bet on it.
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Madness marathon: Observations from the first Miami-Dade budget hearing
Part 1 in a series of county budget coverage stories
By the time Miami-Dade commissioners wrapped up their first budget hearing at 4:33 a.m. Friday, the only people left in the chambers were the diehards. And a very tired staff who must have had a lot of cafecito.
But most of the 240 speakers during a five-hour public comment marathon had already made their point loud and clear: stop cutting the groups that hold this community together and the services that help the most vulnerable survive.
It was a chorus. From arts advocates to eviction defense lawyers, from domestic violence shelters to drug treatment programs, speaker after speaker begged the county to restore the dollars slashed from the hundreds of nonprofit Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) that teach kids to read, help the disabled get to the doctor, or give families one last chance before losing their homes.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who had been walking back parts of her proposal since July, tried to sweeten the bitter pill early in the night, announcing that she had closed the $402 million gap with some “carryover funds” and reserves and walking back some of her more unpopular proposals. No more parking fees at county parks. No increase in the gas tax. The county would keep paying for air rescue services so it doesn’t come out of the fire district’s budget. This year, anyway (more on that later).
Read related: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wants Fire District to pay for air rescue helicopters
“The voices of our residents shaped this process, and you guided us to where we are today,” Levine Cava said, trying her best to sound like everybody’s abuela. Sweet, but stern at the same time. “We heard you loud and clear.”
Actually, she counted votes, not voices. La Alcaldesa didn’t have the votes to pass the budget without removing the hike to the gas tax and restoring some of the non-profit monies to the CBOs. Not that it would be enough. Representatives from some organizations said that only 100% restoration of their grants would be acceptable. They sounded a little entitled. But you might be pissed too, if you took the time to go downtown, paid $20 for parking, and waited to speak for a whole 60 seconds just to see distracted commissioners on their phones and whispering to each other.
It was a 12-hour meeting so the snacks are expected. But some of the audience said later they felt invisible.
Levine Cava sounded very defensive throughout the meeting. Maybe she is sick of being attacked over a budget that is just as much the commission’s fault as her own. There is enough blame to go around. At one point Levine Cava even suggested that the commissioners give their discretionary funds — which total in the millions and usually go to pet projects and payback gifts — to the general fund to plug the rest of the holes.
Like that’s gonna happen. Commissioner Eileen Higgins was repeatedly very vocal about how gracious and generous she was for giving her district’s school red light camera money back to the general fund. All $17,000 of it! She dared her colleagues to do the same. Some of those districts have more schools so they have millions. But nobody took her up on it.
Read related: Miami-Dade County commission set for budget showdown, hearing Thursday
Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez ate up an hour and 10 minutes grilling practically every department director on very specific details about line items. Some of the questions were valid — How many positions do we need for “public engagment” and PR? How many functions overlap? But they also seem to be things he should have asked before the public hearing. Oh, wait… but then he couldn’t use it for an Instagram reel. Or maybe he was showing off for his brother in the audience.
Ditto for the surprise twist near the end when Commissioner Oliver Gilbert — who misses the protagonist role of chair — went on and on about how the county shouldn’t be paying for The Underline (more on that later).
Transit was a big issue, drawing several speakers to blast the commission for proposing increased rates for buses and Metrorail, increasing fees for specialized transportation services to the disabled and cancelling Metro Connect, which would save $11 million (more on all that later). A few speakers also urged the county to divest from Israel bonds (more on that later).
And trash fees were increased by a little less than 1%. That almost failed, with commissioners Danielle Cohen Higgins, René “Call Me Senator” Garcia, Gonzalez, Natalie Milian Orbis and chairman Anthony Rodriguez voting no. (A lot more on trash and garbage later).
Rodriguez said the budget had “come a long way” and patted himself on the back for keeping taxes low. Easy to say when you don’t need MetroConnect to get to your third job, or the grocery store.
But plenty of pain remains in the $12.9 billion budget.
Commissioner Marleine Bastien said it had not come far enough for the people of District 2, which she said has been neglected for too long. “Every year, the budget provides the opportunity to correct those wrongs. Every year, I see that we do not,” Bastien said, citing specifically road resurfacing and storm water drainage improvements that are needed, but not funded.
“You have chosen for decades to underfund communities like mine, and I see that this budget continues this trend,” Bastien told her colleagues. “Enough is enough.”
Read related: Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more
Commissioner Milian Orbis, who was appointed to replace Kevin Cabrera — who must be thrilled to have missed this meeting as the new ambassador to Panama — was also upset about cuts in her district, saying that the Ludlam Trail funding had not been restored and asked for it to be put back in time for the second hearing Sept. 18.
Taking notes the whole time, Commissioner Raquel Regalado — who made it very clear she is ready to be the next county mayor — will have had another appropriations committee meeting to tackle more line items. Regalado, who forced a budget workshop at her committee meeting last month, worked hand in hand with Levine Cava to present the new “change memo” budget with the reduced reductions.
“None of it was done lightly and none of it was easy,” Regalado said, speaking around 1 a.m. like an accountant wired on Pilón. She promised to keep hunting for loose change in the couch cushions.
“I’m going to keep looking for more,” she said, referring to efficiencies to find — or projects and expenses to put off for another year. And she agreed with Gilbert about the budget being an every day thing. “We literally change our budget every time we sit on this dais.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a ledger. It’s not magic. It’s math,” she said.
Commission Vice Chair Kionne McGhee, the champion of the non-profits, held the gavel for a while, and offered a kinder, gentler and more encouraging master of ceremonies than King Rodriguez.
“I’m proud of you,” he told more than one speaker, thanking them. At one point, he told the crowd to hush because a woman was speaking. “Beth is about to land this plane. However… Beth needs respects.” He later asked a guy named Samuel if he was nervous. “Don’t be. Ready? Let’s do it.”
Was he pandering a little bit? Yeah. Does it still feel good after the chancletazos we get from A-Rod? Right again.
At some point in the meeting, both McGhee and Gilbert recused themselves because of their association with non-profits. But if everyone who served on a non-profit recused themselves, there’d never be a quorum for the budget vote. And maybe that’s why the CBO grants should not be handled like gifts in what’s become a cottage industry (more on that later).
Read related: Shady charity with political ties gets $450K from Miami-Dade Commission
There was also a little spat between Levine Cava and Commissioner Rene “Call Me Senator” Garcia. , who said she was “a little misleading the way you’re crafting this budget.” He said the public trust had been eroded by the consent change of numbers and the lack of direct answers on figures like the ones he asked for on budgeted unfilled positions. If the positions are unfilled for six months or longer, he reasoned, why can’t those salaries be put back into the general fund pot?
“It’s not an increase here. It’s not an increase there,” Garcia said. “It’s aggregate. And people are hurting.
“We need to shrink the size of government. We don’t have a revenue problem. We have an expenditure problem.”
La Alcaldesa was not shy about pushing back and said it was “not accurate” to say there were not cuts being made. More than 375 positions — including some lifeguards — had been eliminated or disappeared through attrition. The remaining open funded positions — which change on a regular basis as employees in a 31,000-person organization come and go — are needed to keep services at current levels and to keep overtime costs down.
“There are also positions in the commission budget that are vacant and you should look at those as well,” DLC told the chair.
Boom!
At one point it seemed like she almost got up from her seat to confront him. But the daggers her eyes were enough to make Garcia, realizing he sorta looked like a bully, apologize.
Read related: Buyer’s remorse: Kionne McGhee wants refund on $46M to FIFA World Cup
Meanwhile, what is there still money for? Miami-Dade is handing out $46 million in services and subsidies to FIFA for the World Cup parties. Gilbert said this was an “obligation” the county entered into when we lured the games here. But that does not seem as important an obligation as air rescue services, or feeding abuelitos, or providing more domestic violence beds (more on that later). And the Sheriff’s Office is being made whole to the tune of more than $1 billion while slicing eviction defense funds from $2 million to $1 million. This after the mayor herself promised back in April to increase the eviction project to $3 million. Oops.
By the end of the night, Levine Cava admitted many of her fixes were “unsustainable” — and projected shortfalls don’t get prettier.
Round Two is set for next Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First Street. It can also be seen online at the city’s website and on YouTube. If last week’s first hearing was any indication, y’all better pack a pillow.
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Dueling tax cut proposals in Hialeah means campaign season is in full gear
It must be election season in Hialeah because, suddenly, everybody wants to give away tax cuts like they’re pastelitos.
Interim Mayor Jacqueline “Jackie” Garcia-Roves — who is running to keep the job she was handed when former Mayor Esteban Bovo went to D.C. to lobby and be with his wifey — called a press conference at a Hialeah housing complex last month to promise abuelitos a 1% cut in the city’s property tax rate.
It amounts to about $25 a year back in taxpayers’ pockets, just in time for them to maybe remember her fondly at the ballot box in November.
But here’s the kicker: that “gift” to residents would blow a $1.3 million hole in the city’s budget. And if history is any guide, Hialeah doesn’t exactly recover gracefully from these kinds of political sugar highs. Remember Carlos Hernandez’s tax cut in 2013? That one cost $3.2 million, gutted pensions, shut down pools and libraries, forced furloughs, and sent first responders packing. The city is still patching the potholes from that financial disaster.
Read related: René García ditches Hialeah mayoral race — after stirring the political pot
Garcia-Roves insists this time is different. Sure. She’s also promising to absorb Miami-Dade’s water and sewer hikes (to the tune of $12.5 million), scrap the water franchise fee ($3.7 million in lost revenue), and cover rising trash collection costs. In all, her plan would strip $18.3 million from city revenues. She says there’s a $61 million surplus, but the numbers in her own budget only show $49.3 million. Math is apparently as flexible as politics in Hialeah.
The Interim Alcaldesa said at the press conference that she asked all the department directors to slash and burn and bring her a 5% reduction in their budgets. “To show me where they’re going to save, how they can save, and that’s how the money will be replenished.”
Uh-huh.
And just to make sure nobody gets left out of the political piñata, Councilman Jesús Tundidor — who is also running for mayor against Garcia-Roves — has scheduled his own press conference Tuesday to roll out his tax cut plan. Of course he has. Because in Hialeah, no one can resist playing “who can give away more for less?” during campaign season.
Read related: Bryan Calvo becomes first candidate to file for November Hialeah mayor’s race
Tundidor promises nothing less than “the largest property tax reduction in Hialeah’s history,” which sounds more like a campaign slogan than a budget plan. The release says it will deliver “immediate and meaningful relief to residents’ wallets” while still keeping the city’s finances solid. Ladra can’t wait to hear the details of how he squares that circle.
“One percent is enough to buy a cafecito,” Tundidor told Political Cortadito Monday. He said his plan is going to more than double that — and without raiding the reserves — because he has identified “millions and millions” of dollars parked in capital improvement projects that can wait.
“I found some projects that aren’t really that urgent,” Tundidor said. “Cuando las cosas están dura, you kind of put things on hold.”
Tundidor is bringing Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado along for the show, er, press conference in the lobby at City Hall, 501 Palm Ave., at 1 p.m. Tuesday, like some kind of fiscal padrino to bless the move.
Read related: Hialeah mayor, councilman clash over tax collector election endorsement
Let’s not forget, however, that former councilman and mayoral candidate Bryan Calvo — who bailed last year to run (and lose) in the Republican primary for Miami-Dade tax collector — actually pitched a tax cut of his own at last year’s budget hearing. But Bovo shut him down hard, calling the idea “irresponsible” and nothing more than a politically expedient stunt.
Calvo had tried to sell it as giving residents “a little money back” to offset rising costs. Same as Garcia Roves wants to do this year. Of course, back then, he was running for tax collector.
But hey, election season means short memories and big promises, right?
Meanwhile, the city is still being sued by Miami-Dade over $18 million in unpaid water and sewer bills. But hey, let’s not let lawsuits or fiscal reality get in the way of an election-year gimmick.
As firefighter union president Eric Johnson reminded commissioners (again), it all sounds great in political soundbites, but we’ve been down this road before: cuts now, chaos later. “Is it worth closing parks for our children? Is it worth reducing public safety, where mere seconds could affect the outcome of lives?” he asked.
Good questions. But in Hialeah, politicians are too busy trying to outdo each other’s campaign giveaways to stop and answer.
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