The Miami Lakes Town Council may choose its next town manager at Tuesday’s meeting. And Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has his pick.
Gimenez sent an email to Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid and the council members urging them to support veteran firefighter Ed Pidermann, a former city of Miami Deputy Fire Chief and one-time fire union president, for the job.
Not like anyone asked him. Que pinta Gimenez metiendo la cuchara aqui? The self-appointed king is interfering in a process that has been painstakingly transparent, with a selection committee of citizens has had more than a dozen public meetings since they were formed almost nine months ago after Town Manager Alex Rey announced his retirement in 2019. They reviewed almost 60 resumes, interviewed dozens of wannabes and came up with a shortlist of five hopefuls.
There was even a “meet and greet” for those five candidates catered by Anacapri Restaurant at the community center and attended by about 100 residents who were encouraged to give feedback to the mayor and council members, who make the final decision.
Councilman Nelson Rodriguez (photo right) will move at Tuesday’s meeting (6:30 p.m. starting time) that they accept the recommendation from the citizens committee and hire former North Miami Beach city manager Ana Garcia.
“The meet and greet with residents went overwhelmingly in her favor,” Rodriguez said, adding that he has had many residents support Garcia, photographed here, while Pidermann’s support is limited to his neighbors.
“She is a real talent. She’s the most qualified,” Rodriguez said.
Garcia, who recently returned to her native Cuba as one of the passengers on the first cruise ship in 50 years, was city manager in North Miami Beach for five years. She was pressured to leave earlier this year by Commissioner Phyllis Smith, who pushed her out saying the manager wasted city funds, especially with regards to public utilities and the water plan. Others, however, say that it was because the commissioners found out about her application to Miami Lakes.
The other three candidates in the shortlist are California Manager Howard Brown, Bay Harbor Island Assistant Town Manager Juan Jimenez (who withdrew), and Miami Lakes’ Chief Financial Officer Ismael Diaz.
But Ladra has been hearing for weeks that Gimenez, through his lacky Josh Dieguez — who coasted into Frank Mingo‘s seat without anyone noticing — has been pushing for weeks to get his buddy Pidermann the position. On Monday, he sent the email.
“It has come to my attention that the question of who will be your next town manager of Miami Lakes may be debated and voted on at your meeting on Tuesday,” Gimenez wrote. “One of the finalists for this position is somebody I have known for over 30 years… and I wholeheartedly endorse him as the new manager of your great town.”
No me digas.
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Knowing full well that Pidermann lacks the town manager experience that the citizen committee wanted — and Ladra believes the town charter calls for — Gimenez goes on to blow up his colleague’s experience in training, handling 911 calls, as emergency management director and even serving as public information officer, managing the media.
“Mr. Pidermann has also achieved many academic successes,” Gimenez wrote, citing six, count ’em, six degrees.
“I would also like to attest to Eddy’s work ethic and integrity,” Gimenez said, not realizing that this means nada because of his own lack of the aforementioned. “He is known to be ready to respond to the need of our customers, day and night. His integrity is impeccable and without question.
“I believe Eddy will easily and successfully transfer the skill and abilities that he has developed over the past 33 years to the role of town manager of Miami Lakes,” the mayor ended.
Said Rodriguez: “I’ve known Ed Pidermann for 35 years as well. But Ed has never been a manager of a city and I’m concerned about the learning curve.”
In truth, Pidermann wouldn’t even have made it into the top five if the selection committee had averaged out the two scores, one from the paper qualifications and the second from the interview. The only reason he is on the shortlist is because he interviewed so well, but he would have been off the list if they had averaged the score from the other criteria, which he did not meet.
And that’s because Pidermann is a nice guy. Everybody loves him. He is a firefighter, after all.
But what we don’t love is the Gimenez interference and those references to “our customers” he made. One might think he means Miami Lakes residents, but he could also mean the clients of his lobbying relatives, now that it’s not just one son but a family business. Our customers?
Miami Lakes might be where they are ready to expand their influence.
Read related: Add another son to Carlos Gimenez’s lobbying clan
If this were a genuine letter of recommendation, wouldn’t it be in the package that the committee got when they first considered Pidermann rather than a last minute hail Mary political posturing by the county mayor asking for a favor of some municipal electeds who depend on the county for so much? The answer is yes. This is practically extortion.
That’s why Dieguez — good little minion that he is — has introduced a competing item for Tuesday’s meeting — to throw the whole selection committee process out and start over. He wants to ensure that if it’s not Pidermann, his boss (read: Carlos Gimenez) gets to pick someone for that juicy position.
Seems like a real political maneuver if after nine months that the committee has worked on this very openly, spending about $20,000 during the process to vet the candidates and making a choice based on criteria that they determined early on, the whole process is thrown out because Gimenez didn’t get his guy.
Ladra hears Dieguez doesn’t have the votes. And that Nelson does have the support of other council members who want to respect the hard work and independent voice of the citizen committee they appointed.
Gimenez will have to stick to Hialeah, for now.

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It is nothing more than political retaliation.
The Miami-Dade County Attorney’s office is trying to remove an outspoken, critical member of the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust who has been a thorn in the mayor’s side, saying that he can’t be on the oversight committee because he is involved in legal action against the county.
Attorney Paul Schwiep was advised via email — actually a copy of an email to CITT Director Javier Betancourt — that he had “relinquished” his seat on the board when he filed a legal action Oct. 26 against the county on behalf of the Friends of the Everglades, seeking to stop construction of the Kendall Parkway extension to the 836 expressway.
Oh no he didn’t, Schwiep shot back.
In a seven-page email with exhibits and legal precedent examples the attorney tells the county attorney, in no uncertain terms, that he has absolutely not relinquished nada and that he will be at the scheduled CITT meeting Thursday, as planned.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez taps commissioner to block return of half penny funds?
“The current county administration did not appoint me to the CITT and is not permitted to remove Trustees with whom they may disagree on particular issues, whether on ending unification or the extension of SR 836,” Schwiep, an appointee of Commissioner Daniela Levine Cava, writes in his response.
Schwiep has also been one of the leading voices on the call to end unification of half-penny surtax funds — which were supposed to be for the extension of metrorail — with operation and maintenance dollars. Something the current administration continues to do. Mayor Carlos Gimenez has even found a way to use the county attorney’s office to thwart a CITT directive that these funds stop being used this way.
And, to boot, Shwiep also sued MDX months ago to get documents related to the PR for the Kendall Parkway, some of which was done by the mayor’s daughter in law, a perk now that he is chairman of the board.
So, as one might imagine, Gimenez doesn’t love Schwiep.
“The mayor is not happy with me because I represent people opposed to the 836 extension and because I am on the transportation trust saying we have to end comingling,” Schwiep said. “He’s told me himself.”
Does he think Gimenez ordered Assistant County Attorney Annery Pulgar Alfonso to get Schwiep off the board? “That would be pure speculation,” he told Ladra.
But what else could it be? How likely is it that this was on Alfonso’s radar all by itself? After all, Schwiep represented another group that sued the county in 2013 — and nobody objected then.
No, more likely this is a move by Gimenez to silence a critic who is in an actual position to derail the mayor’s plans to keep using PTP funds forever to shore up his budget.
Read related: MDX spent $400K on PR, including $60K for mayor’s daughter-in-law
Not that the county has any legal standing, he said, adding that the county code section 2-11.38 cited by Alfonso to make him “relinquish” the seat does not apply. “They’re really out on a limb on this,” Schwiep said.
First off, the legal action is not a lawsuit, per se, which is what the county code speaks to. What Schwiep filed is an “administrative petition” to seek the review of an agency decision, which doesn’t go to court but rather the state’s Division of Administrative Hearings and before an administrative law judge. Sounds like a lawsuit to Ladra, but the legal nuances may have Schwiep technically in the clear.
No matter, though. Because, secondly, this particular part of the county code does not apply to the CITT, which is not a board created by the county commission but rather a trust created by voters who approved the People’s Transportation Plan in 2002. It’s an independent watchdog group separate from the government and as such is not subject to the same government rules.
Schwiep also argues that, thirdly, the county code section only applies to board members who participate as a party to a lawsuit, not who serve as counsel — like he did in 2013 for the Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper in an action against the county.
“No one at that time suggested that my service as counsel for the plaintiffs triggered section 2-11.38,” Schwiep wrote. “This demonstrates that your current opinion is no more than retribution for my work to end comingling of surtax funds and in opposition to the extension of SR 836.”
In addition, Schwiep went to the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and got an opinion from them that he could serve as counsel on the administrative petition because the relief sought by the third parties are not associated with the CITT functions.
Schwiep ends by saying that he will be at the next CITT meeting Thursday afternoon. On the agenda are two $1.1 million contracts for environmental clean-up for the departments of transportation and public works and other departments using the half penny surtax funds.
And the county is requesting surtax funds for this, of course.

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Want to meet with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez? Got $15,000?
Apparently that’s the price for a half-hour meeting with the county’s strong mayor, the one in charge of all the purse strings and who would be instrumental in getting your retail/residential development all the green lights.
According to his calendar, Gimenez met from noon to 12:30 p.m. Thursday with Andy Hellinger, principal of Urban-X, the Coral Gables-based development firm that wants to build the $425-million River Landing Shops and Residences on 8.14 acres at 1500 NW North River Drive.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez nets $70K vs city strong mayor — for what in return?
Currently under construction, the latest version of River Landing Shops — and there have been a few — has 529 residential units and approximately 345,000 square feet of retail space along the Miami River. There will also be 2,200 parking spaces and a riverfront park and promenade.
“The ground floor of the project will have a variety of restaurants—from casual and fine dining to chef-driven concepts—with indoor and outdoor seating, opening to a landscaped linear park inspired by Manhattan’s High Line,” Hellinger told Multi-Housing News last month.
“We seek to offer retail options that our shoppers care about, including retailers that cater to Millennials that are health-conscious, tech-savvy, foodies and more.”
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But if they already started construction, then what would Hellinger need from the mayor? Funding? Now that Gimenez is raising funds for so many political action committees, maybe he has a future as a rainmaker. And as of last month, Hellinger said, roughly $117.4 million had been invested in the project, out of the total estimated cost of $424.8 million.
Or maybe Hellinger wants to make sure that other riverfront developments are not too competitive? Who knows?
What can’t be denied is that Urban-X made a $15,000 contribution to Miami Dade Residents First on Oct. 8 — the single largest donation made to finance the opposition to the Miami strong mayor initiative — and the company’s principal got an audience with Gimenez exactly one month later.
Now that’s a quick return on an investment.

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In a resounding defeat to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, voters solidly rejected the strong mayor initiative by 65% of the vote Tuesday — a signal that the new mayor doesn’t exactly have the mandate he thought he had.
Is Francis the Future suddenly the Prince of the Past?
Maybe it wasn’t a complete loss. Voters did approved the Miami Freedom Park retail complex with a soccer stadium that he lobbied so hard for. But they approved that and the lease and development of the Miami Riverfront Center property by 60 percent — and then shut Suarez down.
It was like, yeah this, sure that, and then nananina to the Suarez power grab, which he has spent several years and millions of dollars on.
It’s not just a huge blow to Baby X — whose allies on the dais just got targets on their backs — it hurts his papa, Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who has had thoughts of running for county mayor in 2020.
It’s bittersweet for Ladra. Because while we did not support the strong arm mayor move, we certainly don’t enjoy how smug Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and his cohorts are feeling right about now. Both raised money for campaigns against the measure. We won’t know how much they spent for weeks.
And Ladra is pretty sure this sets the stage for a Gimenez run for Miami mayor in 2021. Then he will try to push forward a different strong mayor referendum that he will call strong mayor lite.
Suarez is likely going to lie low for a few days, but he already told the Miami Herald that he wanted to try again with a different, probably also “lite” version.
Ladra thinks he should try to score a few victories first and concentrate on making the voters who elected him — and who have been shaking their heads for the last few months — remember why he was once Francis the Future.

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It looks like Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo loves a good spanking.
After getting smacked down by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge who said his lawsuit to block the strong mayor referendum on the city ballot had absolutely no merit whatsoever, Carollo filed an appeal late Thursday — an 11th hour hail Mary to deny voters the chance to weigh in on this controversial charter change.
Carollo, who asked for an expedited hearing because the election is Tuesday, must think the strong mayor measure is passing. Why else appeal the decision this far in?
But, more importantly, who is paying for these frivolous lawsuits? What is this costing taxpayers? It’s costing them something. More than half of the eight (!) attorneys involved — including two former federal prosecutors — represent city or county employees or entities.
Read related: Judge calls Joe Carollo sore loser, rips apart strong mayor lawsuit
City Attorney Victoria Mendez represents the city, Mayor Francis Suarez and City Clerk Todd Hannon in the matter. Every hour that Mendez works on the case is paid by city taxpayers. Deputy Miami-Dade Attorney Oren Rosenthal, who makes $298,000 a year, represents Supervisor of Elections Christina White. Every hour Rosenthal works on the case is paid by county taxpayers (including city taxpayers).
But there is also outside counsel: Raquel Rodriguez, of McDonalds Hopkins, for the city and the city clerk, and Robert Martinez, of Colson, Hicks Eidson, for the mayor. Every billable hour of theirs for this case is on taxpayer’s back and on Carollo. That’s already a hefty bill for the city. Ladra made a public records request Friday for the payments or invoices so far but had not received a response as of the evening.
And we still don’t know whether the city will end up paying Carollo’s attorney, too. Mendez told Ladra on Friday that the city had made no payments to either Jesus Suarez, who filed the lawsuit, or Genovese Joblove Batista, his law firm.
But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be payments made later. Both the original motion and the appeal repeat that the plaintiff is Carollo, “individually and as commissioner of the city of Miami.”
Read related: Miami taxpayers could be on hook for Joe Carollo’s frivolous lawsuit
It’s those last six words that could leave the city on the hook.
Carollo won’t talk about it. He did not return multiple calls and text messages. But the attorneys aren’t doing this for free.
There are no legal expenditures reflected in either Carollo’s PAC or the Miami Dade Residents First, the PAC belonging to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who is using it to push a no vote.
Also, while she is not on the list of attorneys who got a copy of the notice, Gimenez daughter-in-law Tania Cruz is involved in some way. She got a text message from Jesus Suarez two minutes and three seconds after the lawsuit was first filed. “FILED,” it said, all in caps. Like he was reporting to a supervisor?
Then there are also Jennifer Blohm, Ben Keuhne and Marcos Daniel Jimenez representing the Miamians for an Independent and Accountable Mayors Initiative PAC, which gathered the petitions to put the question on the ballot. Strangely enough, Keuhne was on Carollo’s team just recently when the commissioner won a challenge to his residency.
Read related: Mayor Carlos Gimenez clan involved in Joe Carollo lawsuit vs strong mayor
One of the arguments made in the lawsuit is that the petition did not meet requirements — which Circuit Court Judge Miguel de la O ruled did not matter since it was the city commission that voted to put the measure on the ballot.
The main argument is exactly the same, which the judge categorized as tears over spilled milk: Carollo didn’t get his way on the dais and the question moved forward to the ballot. So he took his gripe to court.
Does this mean that he’s going to legally challenge other decisions that go against him on the dais?
Because that can get expensive.

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As the war of words between Carlos Gimenez and his family and Xavier Suarez and his family continues to heat up, a new radio spot paid by the Suarez PAC began to air Tuesday — calling Gimenez a fraud.
Suarez narrates the Spanish language, 60-second spot and makes comparisons between Gimenez and his son, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, asking voters to reject all the county questions on the ballot and vote yes on the three charter amendment questions in the city.
“Democracy gives us the opportunity to reward politicians who represent us well and punish those who defraud us,” Suarez starts, after introducing himself.
“In the city of Miami, Mayor Francis Suarez has worked like a champion for the people. He kept his promise and immediately took out the red light cameras. He goes to the comedores and community meetings day after day. He added free trolleys all over the city. And he connected us by rail to Broward and Palm Beach.
“He asks us to vote yes to the three questions on the ballot,” Suarez says.
Read related: Hypocrite Carlos Gimenez knocks strong mayor, petition pay
“Meanwhile, the county mayor has misspent the half penny tax, to the tune of $100 million a year, and he’s taken control of MDX with its tolls and unnecessary construction,” Suarez said.
“Say no to Gimenez. Vote against the referendums for the county. Vote yes for our Mayor Francis Suarez. Vote yes to the questions in the city of Miami.”
The spot is paid for by Imagine Miami, the senior Suarez’s PAC, which, according the the latest campaign finance reports available, hasn’t raised any money since July and has only spent $20,000 since September, mostly on donations to other candidates and PACs. There is still more than half a million available there to be used through Nov. 6. We’ll find out how much Suarez spent on producing and airing the ad in the next report. Ladra expects it to be on the radio a lot.
In comparison, Gimenez, who is indeed chair of the MDX board, has raised $70,000 for his PAC just in the last two months, using it to send at least four or five mailers urging Miami voters to reject the strong mayor referendum. He’s used the opportunity to attack both Papa X — his nemesis, as his strongest critic on the commission — and Baby X, who las malas lenguas say he will challenge in 2021.
Last month, after Suarez tweeted about $100 million in MDX monies that seemed missing from the budget, but were added later under capital improvements, Gimenez got personal, taking a swipe at X’s time as Miami Mayor and saying he left the city in better shape when he left as city manager, presenting budget figures that sources say his staff got through a public records request at the city.
Read related: Mayor Carlos Gimenez clan involved in Joe Carollo lawsuit vs strong mayor
That would be a second time Gimenez uses county staff or officials for his family feud. The first was when he got Commissioner Rebeca Sosa to tie up the CITT request to disentangle the half-penny tax funds from the operational budget. That vote by the board that voters created to oversee the tax they voted for in 2002 has still not been presented to commissioners (more on that later).
“I have dealt with him politely, almost obsequiously,” said Suarez, who did dial his criticism down last year before ratcheting it up again this summer.
“He has promised me he was going to do it [detangle the half-penny tax funds from the general budget] three or four times — in my house, with his son present — and then went back on all those promises that he made not only to me personally but to the electorate, which is more important.”
Then he went after Baby X, which is unforgivable.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez nets $70K vs city strong mayor — for what in return?
“Without any particular reason, without any consultation, without any discussion, he went after the strong mayor in the city,” Suarez the senior said. “He is already the strong mayor in the county. He has the airport, the seaport, water and sewer and plus now he has MDX. What more do you want?”
He wants to land as mayor in the city of Miami, unseating your boy. That’s what.
“That’s laughable,” Suarez said.
Ouch. Strong words again. Ladra fears that Gimenez will strike back.
“How can he hurt me? Gimenez is termed out,” Suarez said. “I don’t see a political future for him.”

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