The Miami-Dade Commission voted 10-1 Wednesday to approve the annexation of two square miles into the city of Sweetwater, practically doubling the municipal’s geographic footprint and adding millions to its tax rolls with the mostly commercial area just to the west.

And the timing couldn’t be better: Commission Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz, who is termed out after this year, is widely rumored to be eyeing a return to the mayoral seat in Sweetwater, which is going to have a fatter budget now.

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Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo has named his new committee members, chairs and vice chairs and there are definitely signs that some of his colleagues are buds and some are, well, not.

It’s natural to give chairmanships to those commissioners who voted for you as chairman of the board. That’s a longtime tradition and no surprise here. These are rewards, plain and simple. If you think, gentle reader, that our electeds want to put people in committees that make sense because of their experience or expertise, you would only be half right. Because appointments are also opportunities to help allies and hand out payback to those who aren’t. And this is all real insider baseball, but it can help us understand how things play out in the next two years. 

And it is obvious that Vice Chair Audrey Edmonson is the big winner while newly re-elected Commissioner Joe Martinez is the big loser.

Edmonson is sitting pretty, which lends more strength to the widespread belief that she struck a deal with Bovo and switched her original vote for chairman from Commissioner Xavier Suarez and steered others to do the same. Edmonson is the only commissioner who got two committees instead of three — she gets a little break — and they are two of the good ones. She is chair of the housing and social services, most likely she wanted that because of the Liberty Square Rising project — and vice chair of transportation and public works, which is probably the most imporant committee (read: most coveted) in the next two years. She also chairs her own Building Safer Neighborhoods committee and is vice chair of Bovo’s Policy Council, that means that there is not a single committee that she sits on that she is not chairing or vice chair.

Read related story: Tight race for commission chair — Xavier Suarez vs Stevie Bovo

She’s also got the most and some of the juicier appointments to various boards and councils, like the International Trade Consortium, which was taken away from Jose “Pepe” Diaz, who voted for X in the chair vote (loser). Edmonson also got appointed to the Public Health Trust Nominating Council and the Jackson Health Systesm GOB Advisory Board, which will oversee spending of the $830 million general obligation bond funds that were approved by 65% of the voters in 2013. She was also appointed to the Youth Crime Task Force with Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who also voted for X and was not appointed to any other board or council (loser).

But at least she got one. And Jordan was also named vice chair of the public safety and health committee. And Diaz gets to be vice chair of infrastructure and utilities as well as the appointment to the Military Affairs Board, which is a nice consolation prize for him in exchange for the trade consortium.

Joe Martinez is the big loser because he is the only commissioner who didn’t get named either chair or vice chair of any committee and he got snubbed out of any boards and councils. It’s not like there weren’t enough spots to go around. Edmonson and Commissioners Rebeca Sosa and Javier Souto — both of whom also supported Bovo — have both a chair and vice chair position (winners). Sosa will chair the economic development and tourism committee and serve as vice chair of the government operations. And Souto chairs his beloved Parks and Cultural Affairs committee — arguably the least important of them — and is vice chair of the economic development and tourism committee with Sosa. Say what? Well, the chairman, whose father served in Brigade 2506 with Souto, likes him. And several of the commissioners who voted for Bovo as chair have multiple board appointments.

If Edmonson is the queen of the new court, Martinez is the jester. To add insult to injury, he also gets what everyone considers the “punishment” chair in the seatig arrangement at the county clerk end of the dais, furthest from the door and the coveted county attorney side.

So, it’s more than just about his vote for Suarez. This is probably about Martinez talking smack since he’s come back.

Ladra loves it. Comeback Joe is schooling the other commissioners, asking bothersome questions, making procurement officers squirm. But that means he’s ruffling feathers at County Hall and making some people unhappy. And he must pay Piper Bovo.

Read related story: Carlos Gimenez, er, Stevie Bovo wins commission chair

Also, the chairman admitted that he consulted with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez — who also worked behind the scenes to help Bovo become chairman — before making his appointments and its no secret, despite Martinez claiming a buried hatchet, that the mayor is still peeved at Joe for having the audacity to run against him in 2012. The nerve!

Ladra doesn’t think the chairman considers Martinez a threat to his own rumored interest in the open mayor’s seat in 2020. But we suspect that’s why X was also put in a box. It’s no secret that Suarez is also seriously considering a run for mayor. And there was no other reason for Bovo to rub his victory in Suarez’s face by giving the Children’s Trust appointment to Commissioner Sally Heyman (winner) after X told him it’s all he wanted.  But Suarez did get appointed to housing and social services committee that has organizational jurisdiction over the Children’s Trust. He also got on the government operations, which oversees budget and finance, and infrastructure and utilities committees.

“Sounds like I get to do some work on the budget,” Suarez told Ladra. “I’m happy with all of them.

“Not being on transportation could be seen as negative but I don’t take it like that. I’m not able to move a transportation agenda without outside influences,” Suarez said, adding that he was talking to the CITT  about reclaiming People’s Transportation Plan funds and talking to legislators about tag renewal fee monies.

His son, Miami City Commissioner Francis Suarez, is vice chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Suarez has also been trying to get more MDX dollars for mass transit rather than highways.

“I don’t need to be on the committee to move things forward,” he said.

Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, who also supported Suarez, got put on the Parks and Cultural committee and the Public Safety and Health committees and is vice chair of the Housing and Social Services committee. She did get one appointment to the Public Health Trust Compensation and Evaluation Committee, whatever that is. Obscure. Suarez got it appointed to just that also (losers).

Other winners include Bruno Barreiro, who gets to chair the transportation committee and is the commission appointment to the Beacon Council, former Chairman Jean Monestime, who gets chair of the infrastructure and utilities committee and is the county’s representative at the Miami-Dade League of Cities and Dennis Moss, who got chair of government operations and appointed to the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens Oversight Board and Neat Streets Miami.

Newly elected Commissioner Joe Martinez is sort of on a war path. And there is no bigger casualty than former Commissioner Juan Zapata. Martinez has several items on Tuesday’s agenda to start to undo some of the things that Zapata is most proud of from the last four years.

Martinez will ask his colleauges to strip the “West End” name from county facilities — basically erase it from the map. He also wants to stop the North end Municipal Advisory Committee, which has been meeting to move forward on the incorporation process.

“It was my platform. It’s why I ran,” Martinez said though we know that he ran because he can’t stand not being in office. After all, he ran for mayor in 2012 and for Congress in 2014 but couldn’t get elected outside his district.

Read related story: ‘West End’ Kendall city would operate with $40 million

He says that the West End name was thrust upon the public without their consent or input. “People didn’t have a say. A lot of people didn’t like the way the name was just given to them.”

If approved, the West End Regional Library will go back to being the West Kendall Regional Library, the Miami-Dade Police Department’s West District Station will go back to being the Hammocks District Station and the West jEnd District Park will go back to being the West Kendall District Park.

“That’s fine,” Zapata told Ladra on Sunday, explaining that the West End moniker was intended to be a regional brand to bring together the communities of West Kendall, Bird Road, Country Walk, Kendale Lakes, Calusa and Hammocks, among others.

“You can self identify whatever you want, but you need a regional brand,” Zapata said, adding that he had sought the advice of marketing experts and had three town hall meetings about it. “They couldn’t market West Kendall. Everyone just thinks of it being ‘so far’ and ‘the traffic.’ I wanted to change that narrative. I couldn’t change the narrative without that name. I wanted people to look at this area differently. I wanted to change the vibe.”

Counters Martinez: “I’m not doing it to undo what he did. In the 12 years that I was commissioner, not once did anybody say let’s change the name.”

Read related story: Juan Zapata’s ‘West End’ is criticized — with poetry

But while he says Martinez is doing the same thing that he accuses Zapata of — making the name change arbitrarily without input from the community, the former commissioner and state rep is more concerned with the rescinding of the MAC, which has met for about two years to put together its incorporation application.

“All I did was allow a process, start a conversation,” Zapata said. “I can’t understand why anybody would be against neighbors getting together to discuss the future of this community.”

Zapata and incorporation supporters say that the district provides $16 million in revenue to the county through property taxes but does not get it’s fair share of unicorporated municipal services.

“We’ve actually been waiting fo the county to do a public hearing” said Joe Rodriguez, a member of the North side MAC. “It’s very feasible to do a city out here. The county’s own consultant told us we’re getting raped out here by the county. We give millions in taxes but you never see a cop out here, or very rarely.

“We’re almost at the end of the process. We’re not finished because the county has been dragging their feet,” Rodriguez said, adding that Martinez never even went to the group to tell them what he was doing.

Read related story: ‘West End’ has fewer cops per capita, needs more

“We’re at the end of the process,” he told Ladra last week. “All we’re asking is to let this go to a vote of the people If it passes, it’s the will of the people. If it fails, it fails.”

Martinez counters that very few people attend the MAC meetings. “If there were 200 people who show up, or 150. But I don’t remember many people being in favor of it.” He says he campaigned against the incorporation because voters told him they were against it.

“They do not want another layer of government,” he told Ladra, “and the people who show up to vote are just the eople in favor.”

He says he’s open to getting it started again — “if that’s what the people want.”

Asked how he would pay for the changing of the signs — which Zapata paid for out of his office funds — Martinez said he had not thought about that yet. He wanted to see if the old signs were still around somewhere. But he might seek private sponsors to make donations.

But won’t he owe someone a favor then?

This is a new feature that debuts today on Political Cortadito.

The Cortadito Calendar: A weekly calendar of political powwows, events with electeds and meaningful or not so meaningful meetings.

Now you know what’s going on. You have no excuses.

MONDAY — Dec. 5

7 p.m. — The New Administration and Prospects For Peace present New York Times columnist Roger Cohen and a discussion about what the elections results will mean for efforts to reach peace in the Middle East. Cohen, a staple at the NYT for 25 years is also the author of four books. The latest, published last year, is a family memoir entitled “The Girl from Human Street: Ghosts of Memory in a Jewish Family” that has received wide acclaim. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Hibiscus Room at Pinecrest Gardens, 11000 Red Road.

TUESDAY — Dec. 6

9 a.m. — Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez is back Tuesday for his first county commission meeting — in four years. Martinez was termed out in 2012 and ran for mayor against Carlos Gimenez, but lost. He then ran for Congress, but lost again. He only won in August because Commissioner Juan Zapata dropped out of the race. It should be interesting to watch how he is welcomed. Or not. Folks at County Hall tell me that there are some people who are bristling. Martinez is former cop with an anger management issue who can hold a grudge with the best of ’em and it is no secret he feels slighted by folks at the 111 building. But he is also smarter than he looks and experienced with the county budget and processes. It will be hard for “Cry Wolf” Gimenez to pull th wool over Joe’s eyes. But it could be fun to watch him try. Sit in the audience at commission chambers at County Hall, 111 NW 1st Street. Or watch live: Channel 76 on Comcast or on the county website.

7 p.m. — Newly elected Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid will have his first meeting as mayor, having been sworn in last week after he beat former Mayor Michaeld “Muscles” Pizzi in a runoff, 77 to 23 percent. The meeting will also be graced by new council member Luis Collazo (it’s still an all boys club). And they have a pretty big agenda. They will review site plans for approval (inluding one for the Graham Companies), an amendment to their development code, several contracts with city vendors and the hiring of a lobbyist. They will talk about MDX, special taxing districts, modifying the budget (already?), requiring fences around construction areas, a toy drive and venomous snakes. Sounds like fun. The council chambers are at Town Hall, 6601 Main Street.

WEDNESDAY — Dec. 7

9 a.m. — Pinecrest Council Workshop at the Pinecrest Municipal Center, 12645 Pinecrest Parkway, in council chambers.

THURSDAY — Dec. 8

6-8 p.m. — Miami-Dade County’s Department of Cultural Affairs will have a town hall meeting to unveil preliminary site plans for the renovation of the Coconut Grove Playhouse and get community input. The plans to be presented have been developed by a design team led by Arquitectonica per their contract with Miami-Dade County and not the Coconut Grove Playhouse Foundation. The town hall begins at 6 p.m. at Ransom Everglades School, 3575 Main Highway. Expect Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who has long championed the renovation of the cultural landmark, to be front and center and Miami Commissioner Ken Russell to attend.

If you know of any political happening that should be included in the Cortadito Calendar, please email the information to edevalle@gmail.com and thank you.

A zoning amendment that holds down development in suburban West Kendall neighborhoods could be the swan song for Miami-Dade Commissioner Juan Zapata at Tuesday’s county commission meeting — his last, unless they don’t get through the agenda and meet again Thursday (but they should). 

Zapata, who withdrew his candidacy for re-election after his name was already on the August ballot, is also sponsoring a measure to increase lighting along Southwest 157th Avenue and urge the legislature to allow the county to regulate and enforce rules on all-terrain vehicles, which, ironically, you can find on 157th on the weekends.

The mostly three-wheeled vehicles are used often in the District 11 reaches of West Kendall and South Dade, which is why Commissioner Daniella Levine-Cava is co-sponsor of that item.

“ATVs are often driven recklessly and are especially adept at evading an eluding law enforcement vehicles,” the resolution states. “Reckless and dangerous ATV use is negatively affecting multiple areas of Miami-Dade County.”

Zapata will also be asking Mayor Carlos Gimenez to negotiate double lighting along parts of Southwest 157th Avenue, but his swan song is probably the zoning amendment. The commissioner, who in May called for a moratorium on development until traffic woes were addressed, wants to encourage better aesthetics and “smart growth” through varied lot sizes, increased buffers between residential and commercial zoning and maximum landscape coverage in what amounts to a majority of the district.

Read related story: Chased out: Juan Zapata leaves hostile work environment

It’s also interesting to note that he is not co-sponsoring any of several other resolutions urging the congress or the state legislature to do this or that — from funding for fertility services for wounded veterans, restricting terrorists from getting firearms or opposing revisions to the state retirement system — which have a clusterbunch of commissioners sponsoring each.

Zap will also be making the final allocations from his district account in what does not, surprisingly — or unsurprisingly, because it is “El Zoro” Zapata after all — look like a fire sale. Live Like Bella gets $2,500, Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe gets $2,000, Baptist Health Foundation gets $1,000 and another $1,100 in district expenses from movie night to a police station fundraiser to events at area elementary schools.

Despite all the hand-wringing about the Harvard class that Zapata eventually paid for himself, Ladra will bet that a final accounting of his district funds finds savings and a surplus left over.

We will miss him. 

Former commissioner Joe Martinez, who was elected after Zapata dropped out, will be sworn in Nov. 22.

Everybody knows already that I am voting for Raquel Regalado for mayor of Miami-Dade. I’ve listed my reasons for years, because it’s really a referendum on Carlos Gimenez and the lousy job he has been doing and the climate of pay-to-play politics he has created, all documented here. Just do a search on Carlos Gimenez. Go back to 2012.

But Raquel is a good candidate in her own right. In six years on the school board, she has helped turn what was once a chaotic laughing stock — the fourth largest district in the country — into a national model. She has reformed the way they do business, from an overhaul of their bus maintenance to pioneering social media and tech policies. From construction to facilities to special education — where she has helped bring education into the 21st century — Raquel has had a hands on approach to her job as one of nine school board members in charge of a $3.2 billion budget and overseeing about 50,000 employees, twice as much as the county.

She has a lot of good ideas. Just check them out on her very well written website (ahem).

And we’ve never had a woman as Miami-Dade mayor and I’m excited about that.

But there are a lot of other important races on Tuesday’s ballot, too. And because people are constantly asking me who or how I’m voting, I decided to post my recommendations for this Aug. 30th. As a proud, card-carrying NPA, this at least gives me the chance to cast a ballot, however straw it may be, in races where I otherwise have no say.

I’m not weighing in on every race, just the ones where I feel I can. And where I care. And I may not always have such an articulate and/or valid reason as I do with the mayoral race. But here goes:

FOR U.S. SENATE

Republican Marco Rubio because I don’t have to have a valid reason. See? I told you. I may not agree with a lot of his positions on issues like climate change and gay marriage, but I like him. A lot. I think he’s real and authentic and he isn’t just telling me what I want to hear. I like his story. I like his family. I like his boots. I like the way he talks. His words move me and I’m jaded AF. Ask anyone. It helps that he grew up down the street — who doesn’t want to root for the home team — and that his mom and I worked at the same K-Mart in Westchester (but I don’t know if it was at the same time). Plus I think that he cannot negatively impact gay marriage, which is legal now, or sea level rise response, which is inevitable.

Democrat Pam Keith because Ladra is half rabblerouser, like her. And because everything she says makes sense. And because the other two guys get on my nerves. Someone please tell Congressman Patrick Murphy that he shouldn’t email me more than once a day.

FOR U.S. HOUSE

DISTRICT 26: Democrat Joe Garcia, because no matter how hard she tries people just don’t like Annette Taddeo — or maybe it’s that they don’t trust her — and I still think Garcia has a better chance of beating Carlos Curbelo in November. And if Carlos Curbelo, a liar and lobbyist with a secret client list, isn’t upset this year he’ll be there forever, like Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. And we can’t have that. Garcia isn’t always right. But, like Rubio, he’s a true believer. He really thinks he’s right. He’s not doing it for a proxy. And I’ll take a true believer who just happens to be wrong sometimes to a sinister liar trying to game the system any day. The former congressman might have been beaten two years ago by Curbelo, but that was in an off year.

Read related story: Awkward! Annette Taddeo, Joe Garcia face off with polite jabs

DISTRICT 27:

Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen because none of the others can hit the ground running. IRL is a legend who still has a little pull in D.C. With Republicans. With Democrats. She is a popular senior in high school. She is not a Freshman transplant. She will be able to do more.

Democrat Scott Fuhrman because it doesn’t really matter since nobody can beat Ileana, not even a Democrat in a Hillary year. Her gay cred with a transgeder son and her pro-Dreamer immigration stance makes her a crossover darling. But Fuhrman is fun to watch and might make a good elected — one day. So let’s give him the practice.

There’s more. Please press this “continue reading” button to “turn the page.”