The Florida Bar last week dismissed two complaints filed by former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell — who later announced that he would run for mayor (more on that later) — against former City Attorney Victoria Mendez and Mayor Francis Suarez, who is an attorney, after the latter gave the Miami Freedom Park developers back the $20 million they had promised to provide for “other green space” and parks throughout the city.
But they still make for interesting reading, hinting at a potential Sunshine Law violation and the possibility that nobody ever intended to make good on that promise.
Russell makes the first disclosure of a 2022 meeting at the mayor’s house where the developers were present and where he was urged to go along with a plan that the public benefit be “under the control” of then District 1 commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who was later arrested on bribery and money laundering public corruption charges, which were later dropped.
The mayor, Russell says, threw him out of the house when he would not agree with that. “Get the f— out of my house,” he quotes Suarez as saying.
Read related: Miami Freedom Park gets its full $20 million back for 58-acre public park
Russell has been a loud voice against the switcheroo that passed last month 4-1 on the commission (only Damian Pardo voted no). He has suggested that Suarez be recalled for this, even though the mayor has less than nine months left in office.
He is running for mayor, in part, because he has seen much his work on the city commission undone. This $10 million give away to the developer seems to have been the last straw. Without that promised public benefit, Russell — who was the 2022 swing vote for the Miami Freedom Park lease — has repeatedly said he would have never voted to approve it. He urged commissioners at the Feb. 13 meeting not to approve the Suarez giveaway.

Then, when the commission ignored him and everyone else who spoke against it, he filed the bar complaints.
The incident at Suarez’s $2 million home on Battersea Road takes center stage not just because of the mayor’s foul language, which insiders know he is prone to in private, but because of the sheer blatancy of the Sunshine Law violation. This is the textbook definition of backroom, behind-the-scenes arm twisting. Suarez doesn’t vote so he can talk to all the commissioners about whatever. But here, he was a conduit to a Sunshine violation by communicating that Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla was on board (a yes vote) to try to convince Russell to vote a certain way (to vote yes, too).
Let’s be clear. If what was communicated was open knowledge, something ADLP had said in public or in the media, then there is no violation. But if the conduit is conveying new information in order to cause the crystallization of a vote, behind the scenes, at a secret meeting  in his house with the deal insiders, then that is a violation of the Sunshine Law. He’s creating a predetermined outcome. Handshaking and arm twisting are supposed to be done in public.
“Prior to the vote, Mayor Suarez explicitly expressed his opposition to my amendment,” Russell writes in his complaint. “He invited me to his home, where unbeknownst to me, developers Jorge and Jose Mas were present, and made it clear that his intent was to ensure that all $20 million remained under the control of Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla (in whose district the stadium project would take place) rather than being allocated for the new parks throughout the city. When I refused to change my position, Mayor Suarez abruptly ended the meeting yelling, ‘Get the fuck out of my house.’”
“For years, I never took a meeting with the Mas brothers outside of the office. I wouldn’t even have coffee with them,” Russell told Political Cortadito. “I think it was inappropriate [of the mayor] to even invite me and not tell me they were going to be there.”
He told Ladra he felt the meeting three years ago was irrelevant. It wouldn’t change his vote. “It’s only relevant now because of the new legislation to undo the tenets I fought for,” Russel said.
Read related: Miami Freedom Park developers want their $20 million parks donation back
The other thing that jumped out at Ladra was that it seemed as if there was never an intention to go through with the $20 million part of the deal ($5 million for the Baywalk has, apparently, not been considered for return). Russell’s complaint also says that the the omission of the amendment that he insisted on was deliberate.
“As City Attorney at the time, Ms. Méndez was responsible for ensuring that the final legislation submitted for the Mayor’s signature correctly reflected the Commission’s action,” Russell wrote in the complaint. “However, when Mayor Francis Suarez signed the resolution on May 5, 2022, the key amendment—explicitly included in the Commission’s minutes—was omitted from the final document.”
Thus, “The legislation did not reflect the Commission’s actual vote.”
Ladra is certain that was intentional and not a mistake.
Suarez himself admitted at the meeting last month that the ballot language on the 2018 referendum was intentionally misleading so the city could have legal wiggle room to switch things up later. Was the legislation also written to allow wiggle room. Was that among the things discussed at the mayor’s house meeting with the Mas brothers after Russell left?
In dismissing the bar complaints earlier this month, an attorney for the Florida Bar wrote in letters addressed to Russell that the actions by Suarez and Mendez “do not constitute violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct” and that the issues raised “are political questions beyond The Florida Bar’s jurisdiction and therefore not reviewable by the bar.”
The letter added, however, that it doesn’t have to end here.
“Appropriate remedies, if any, can be sought through the political process and/or the courts.”
The post Complaint vs Miami Mayor Francis Suarez may show Sunshine Law breach appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez made a rare appearance at the city commission meeting last week to push for the return of $20 million to developers of Miami Freedom Park — the boondoggle real estate complex with a soccer stadium in the mix that is being built on the grounds of the old Melreese golf course — even though he tried to make it look like that was always the plan.
Suarez said the $20 million, which the public thought were going to the improvement and acquisition of other parks in the city, were always supposed to go to the maintenance of the 58-acre park, which on the MFP website is called Jorge Mas Canosa Park. He said the “language was very clear” in the 2018 ballot question passed by 60% of the voters in 2018 “that $20 million was going to go to a 58-acre park,” he paused for dramatic effect, “or other green space.”
Key words: Other green space.
But Suarez said that those three little words were only included because it was a constitutional question, which meant that it would dictate what the city could and could not do based on what people voted for. “And you want some legal room in case you want to deviate from what the voters themselves wanted,” the mayor explained.
Did he mean legal wiggle room? So this was intentional? Someone knew all along that the $20 million — sold as a public benefit to sweeten the deal for residents — would never go to “other green space?”
Read related: Miami Freedom Park developers want their $20 million parks donation back
The idea, when the 99-year lease agreement was approved in 2022, was spurred by the “no net loss” policy that meant the loss of green space at Melreese would have to be replaced elsewhere, Suarez said. Because of that policy, the city carved out $7.5 million from the $20 mil to give $2.5 mil to commission districts 2, 3 and 5 for the acquisition and development of new parks, he said. District 4 was punished because Commissioner Manolo Reyes always voted against Miami Freedom Park. District 1 was left out because that’s where Miami Freedom Park is.

“Four months later, the property was rezoned, the no net loss issue was resolved,” Suarez said. “That money should be restored based on what the voters want, or the will of the voters.
“This is a city park that the residents voted in favor of allocating $20 millions to,” he said, forgetting the words “other green space,” this time, and reminding everyone that $20 million today are not the same as 2018 dollars.
“It’s like giving The Underline a haircut.”
To sell it (this time) to commissioners, Suarez sweetened the soured deal with an amendment that would allocate $2.5 million to districts 2, 3 and 5 and basically instructed the city manager to find the funds by April. “So that no resident in the city can say that they, in any way, feel disenfranchised.” It was expanded to $10 million — with another $2.5 mil for District 4 — after Commissioner Joe Carollo volunteered to help the manager find the funds.
“I believe I can find the funds for the three districts, because one was getting more, and find sufficient funds to give commissioner Reyes his $2.5 million also for his district,” said Carollo, who should be investigated for how he spent the millions in funds budgeted by the Bayfront Park Management Trust when he was chair for eight years.
“I will work with the manager and I will show him fairly quickly where the money can be found.”
Shudder.
Carollo blasted the media for “so much disinformation out there” and said the city would have had to spend the money to maintain the 58-acre park anyway.
“At no time have we been speaking about the Mas brothers not going to pay us the $20 million, that they are going to somehow do a switch and bait and use the dollars for their park,” Carollo said, referring to Jorge and Jose Mas, who own the Inter Miami team with David Beckham and are developing the property. Well, that’s kind of what happened.

The bottom line is that the commission voted 4-1 to return the full $20 million into a fund to maintain the park at the soccer stadium complex — which will also have offices, restaurants, stores and a 700-room hotel. Only Commissioner Damian Pardo voted against it, but he told Political Cortadito after the meeting that the did so because he did not have enough time to digest what was being proposed.
Reyes voted in favor because he said the resolution was “respecting the will of the people.” But he voted against another resolution that supported the establishment of a Community Development District, which is an  instrument to collect maintenance fees. Basically, the developers are going to tax themselves — as the only “property owners” — to create an avenue for $500,000 to be earmarked for maintenance of the park for the next 100 years.
Read related: Miami Freedom Park scores yes vote for massive stadium real estate complex
CDDs are typically formed where there are residential owners who can leverage the future tax dollars to borrow on a tax-exempt basis. But because this is a wholly commercial development, with no resident board (at least for now), the developers of Miami Freedom Park won’t be able to do that, Suarez explained. “In this case there is no allowance for housing, because it’s next to the airport, so they can’t borrow on a tax-free basis.”
But, apparently, they can still borrow funds, because the mayor said there was another safety net.
“If they defaulted if they did borrow funds, CDDs do not impact the city in terms of, its not a lien against the city property,” Suarez said. “It would be a lien against the lease hold interest.” He said the tenants requested that the city support their application to become a CDD, which is through the county, because “they want to contribute to the operation and maintenance of the park.”
Okay. But why do they need a CDD to do that? Are they really just trying to borrow money with the lease as collateral?
Suarez stressed all the positives, calling it the best “stadium deal in the world.” He reminded the commission about the $5 million the developers are giving to the Baywalk along Biscayne Bay and the Miami River. Though Ladra thinks they would take that back if there was waterfront at the development site.
He said the $20 million are to shore up the fund because the $500,000 produced by the CDD won’t be enough.
“They want to make sure the the park, which is adjacent to their property, is kept up and maintained,” Suarez said. They didn’t want to leave it up to the city, he said, which “could have years when it maintains it well and years when it maintains it poorly.”
“They want to be able to control that outcome… have the park up to the billion dollar standard that is going up next door.”
“So, this is found money,” Suarez said. “This is money they didn’t have to pay so it’s just going to make the deal better than what it was.”
But what is $20 million in a $1 billion project? Is someone going to argue that the developers — who obviously need better public relations representation — don’t have another $20 million somewhere that they could have used for that? They had to take what amounts to $7.5 million from the city’s taxpayers — because the city manager is going to find that somewhere to fill the hole made by this resolution — to make themselves feel better?
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The post Miami Freedom Park gets its full $20 million back for 58-acre public park appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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The developers of Miami Freedom Park, that real estate complex that comes with a soccer stadium on the grounds of what once was the Melreese Golf Course, want to get out of the $20 million they once promised to spend upgrading and enhancing city parks as part of its sweet deal approved in 2022.
And they got Mayor Francis Suarez to do their dirty work.
Suarez has proposed the establishment of a new special revenue account titled “Park Fund for Miami Freedom Park,” that would use allocated funds exclusively for improvements and maintenance of the 58 acre pubic park” that is part of the complex to be developed by Miami Freedom Park, LLC, which is basically David Beckham and brothers Jorge and Jose Mas, who also own the Inter Miami team. The city said that MFP has already made the first of two $10 million payments for this new special account.
Oh, so special.
Suarez is going to ask Miami Commissioners to let MFP off the hook at Thursday’s meeting. This comes about month after the city put the developers on notice for not paying the second half of their promised park funding and withheld the master permit for the site of the $1 billion development, a retail and office park with restaurants, a 750-room hotel and, oh yeah, a 25,000-seat stadium that will host games for the Inter Miami team.
Read related: Miami Freedom Park scores yes vote for massive stadium real estate complex
This is a bait and switch. Because the development agreement reached in April 2022 in a historic vote for a 99-year lease stipulated that the developers would donate $20 million to be used “for improvements to public parks or acquisition of public parks within the city of Miami.” Not for Miami Freedom Park, but other parks citywide. Commissioner Joe Carollo asked for that. Of the $25 million given to the city in exchange for the pleasure of developing the property and making millions of dollars, $20 million would go to city parks and $5 million would go to the Baywalk on the Miami River and Biscayne Bay.
At least that is what everybody thought. These were even campaign promises made for the referendum vote in 2018 where voters gave the city the green light to begin negotiations. These park improvement funds were one of the alleged public benefits.
Now the $20 million is going to their own project?

What’s next? Maybe they don’t want to make the park 58 acres. Maybe it’s good enough at 35 acres.
Maybe they won’t create 15,000 “direct or indirect jobs” (minus the dozen lobbyists) or the 2,000 permanent jobs that were promised. That was just a ballpark figure.
Maybe they won’t be able to pay the $4.3 million in annual guaranteed rent. I mean, the economy, right?
Read related: Marlins Park’s David Samson: Miami Freedom Park is a ‘billion dollar heist’
These were some of the other things that were promised when the Miami Freedom Park developers were trying to get the deal. They even said they would bear all the costs of maintaining the roads, lights, sidewalks and benches at the new 58-acre park it would pay to build. Now they want their $20 million back to do it.
Back then, Jorge Mas said there was  “no public subsidy” — even though developers did get an $8 million state grant for infrastructure last year.
“There is significant economic benefit from tax revenue and new jobs,” Mas said at the April 2022 meeting “And I have to deliver the public benefits first.”
Before or after he takes back the $20 million he promised?
The post Miami Freedom Park developers want their $20 million parks donation back appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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This is Round 2 on who controls development

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A mobile text poll of likely voters in the city of Miami Monday not only gauged the appetite for having another ballot question on a strong mayor form of government, which failed miserably in 2018, but also for a charter change to increase the number of commissioners on the dais from five to seven.

It also tested the favorability of Gloria Suarez, wife to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

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It’s good to be the king.

That’s what Miami Mayor Francis Suarez looks like as he jet sets to Egypt for a star-studded billionaire’s wedding and takes in the Miami Grand Prix F1 races, all just days after he testifies in a Securities Exchange Commission investigation into developer Rishi Kapoor, who paid the mayor more than $10K a month as he pushed projects in the city.

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