Republicans have shot themselves in the foot.
In just a few days, GOP legislators in Tallahassee. by forcing a program that puts guns in public schools, have done more for the Florida Democratic Party than anyone since Al Gore.
When the Florida Senate voted Monday 20-18 to pass the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Student Safety Act, which should have been a seamless and beautiful piece of legislation, they closed one of the most disgusting political deals Ladra has ever seen. Not only did they fail repeatedly to support even a partial ban or moratorium on the sale of assault weapons, the only thing that will really make us safer, the GOP majority basically held four badly needed measures — mental health funding, school infrastructure hardening, a ban on bump stocks and raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21 — hostage to putting guns in schools.
You want those four things? Plus better background checks for all? And we’ll throw in a mechanism for law enforcement to take firearms away from people who may be a threat to themselves or others. You like that? Well, then, you gotta swallow guns in schools.
It’s extortion, at worst.  Disingenuous at best.
If our Republican legislators were sincere about making these changes, they would separate the items into independent bills. They would let the mental health funding and the hardening of schools stand on its own. The bump stocks ban and age limit could be paired in a separate bill. And the marshal program, cynically renamed the “Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program” after one of the victims — because that makes it prettier and sound safer, right? — would fly solo.
Related: Lawmakers vote to leave assault rifles on the street and arm teachers instead
Instead we get a law named for the school where 17 were killed by one gunman with an AR 15 that puts more guns in schools.
Because these Republican lawmakers are not sincere. They have been trying to get guns in schools for years. This is not an organic, reactive response to the tragedy in Parkland on Feb. 14. This is a big break for them in a long and seemingly futile effort that has been shot down every year because it’s absolutely crazy. And it would not gain traction on its own this year either. They needed the political cover so that anyone voting against the guns in schools could be cast as voting against mental health funding.
¡Qué descarados!
And a few Dems fell for it. Most notably Sen. Lauren Book of Plantation, who choked up repeatedly, broke into tears and was handed tissue as she talked about touring MSD High the day after the massacre to justify her compromise vote.
“My community was rocked. School children were murdered in their classroom,” Book (photographed right) said. “I could not live with the choice to put party politics above an opportunity to get something done that inches us closer to the place I believe we should be as a state.”
But we were all rocked, Sen. Book, and it’s not about party politics. It’s about insane measures that do nothing to keep our kids and our communities safe.
Also voting with the bill Monday were the well-intentioned but misguided Democrat Sens. Kevin Rader of Delray Beach and Bill Montford of Tallahassee.
If just one of these three Dems had voted no, the bill would have failed and, Ladra is certain, a special session would have been scheduled to debate just how to respond to the school shooting in an appropriate way, at an appropriate pace. The busloads of students and teachers and parents would demand that they address it. The television cameras and pundits hammering on it 24/7 would pressure them to address it — the right way, without holding any part of the bill hostage.
Maybe they don’t want to have to go back to Tallahassee?
Sens. Bill Galvano and Rene Garcia hug and celebrate after they pass a bill to arm educators.
Now, the bill moves to the House where it is almost certain to pass. Then to Gov. Rick Scott, who has said he is against arming teachers and could exercise his veto power. But Ladra doubts he would veto the whole bill and piss off the powerful Sen. Bill Galvano, who sponsored the act, just as he is running for Senate. Especially now that our own Sen. Rene Garcia of Hialeah passed a feel-good amendment that makes it look like classroom teachers won’t have guns, giving Scott the political power to sign off on it.
Because Garcia’s last minute tweak doesn’t really keep the guns out of the hands of all teachers. Any teacher who is former military, or reserve law enforcement, or also a coach or has some auxiliary position like activities or athletic director may be able to participate in the gun-toting program. Up to 10 employees in each school — coaches, janitors, librarians, principals, APs, security monitors, counselors, support staff and lunch ladies — can still be armed on campus after passing background and psychological tests and 132 hours of training.
Which raises a question: If psychological tests are a good idea for teachers with guns, why aren’t they a good idea for everybody else?
Republican lawmakers were sure to repeat over and over again how this is voluntary. School districts and county police agencies have to opt in. But both of those bodies are impacted by political pressure. While Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent has strongly rejected the idea of guns in our schools, he is not going to be there forever. This opens the door to a slippery slope.
Students from MSD High who want an assault weapons ban and are opposed to guns in schools watch silently from the gallery above the Senate floor as our elected officials betray us.
And what matters also is the message that the Senate is sending. That despite the pleas of the public, the survivors and victims’ families from Parkland and school officials and the PTAs and parents and teachers across the state, despite a poll that shows that a majority of Floridians support an assault weapons ban and oppose guns in schools, they’re going to push their agenda.
Republicans, and specifically Galvano State Reps. Jose Oliva and Carlos Trujillo — who have pushed it in the House — have sent a message to us. They have told us that they don’t listen to their constituency.  They don’t represent us. They represent the gun industry and the National Rifle Association. They represent their pockets and their political action committees.
Related: Florida State Rep. Jose Oliva must go — before he becomes House speaker
But, albeit unknown to them, they also sent another message: Elect Democrats.
Let’s take them up on it. Now is the time for us to send a message right back — that we are not going to tolerate electeds who serve some special interest instead of their constituents. That we are not going to allow them to push their upside down agenda on us. That we are going to make them irrelevant.
This has become a wedge issue like no other Ladra has ever seen. Several voters have told me that they are going to base their votes in November on what happens in Tallahasee this week. One Homestead woman told me at the town hall held by Sen. Annette Taddeo and School Board Member Lubby Navarro — both against arming teachers — that she has voted for both Republican and Democrat candidates, but that she was going to vote straight down the D line if this passes.
While alt right lunatics on Facebook are boycotting the companies that have severed ties with the NRA, all over Florida, voters of all walks of life and all party affiliations are starting another boycott: Republican candidates.
Ladra is in that group. I’m a self-confessed deep purple, card-carrying NPA with Hillary issues — but not only am I voting Democrat just because of this, I pledge right here and now to help other good Democrats across the state get elected. Ladra has always been bipartisan — meaning that I distrust and disdain both parties equally — but we need to send a message back to these people:
If you won’t represent us, we will elect someone who will.

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For the past three years, select electeds in Miami Beach have used a city non-profit to “provide assistance to worthy and qualified community needs and projects.”
But it looks like a slush fund of special interest money to dole out for political favors and even votes.
One Miami Beach, Inc., a 501c3 formed by resolution in 2014 at former Mayor Philip Levine‘s request, has raised almost half a million dollars through last year — much of it from vendors and contractors and lobbyists with business before the city — and it has used the funds to buy computers at Nautilus Middle School, team uniforms at Miami Beach High, movie tickets and art classes and paella parties for seniors and more than 1,500 frozen turkeys for the holidays.
Many of these bribes, er, gifts to the community were right before the elections in 2015 and 2017. What a coincidence!
It’s not like Levine hasn’t done this kind of thing before. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate was caught red-handed, while in office in 2014, directing funds from city vendors and contractors to a shady political action committee. Relentless for Progress was even mocked for its initials, RFP, the same initials used in procurement to solicit “requests for proposals” on government projects. Levine had to hastily distance himself from and eventually dissolve the PAC.
Then, when nobody was watching, he turned around and formed this slush fund, er, non-profit — giving donors another outlet.
The resolution says the mayor is the chairman and appoints two other commissioners as members. Levine appointed former Commissioners Joy Malakoff and Jonah Wolfson, who was his partner on the shady Relentless PAC (photographed right). When Wolfson’s term was up, Levine replaced him with his new BFF, Commissioner Ricky Arriola.
After newly-elected Mayor Dan Gelber was sworn in, he became the chairman and he appointed Commisssioner Micky Steinberg to replace Malakoff, who did not seek re-election but was offered a $50,000 “community outreach” contract with the city last week that she turned down days later after it raised a bunch of eyebrows. Gelber also wants the funds to be used primarily for “educational enhancements” and not “willy nilly.”
Related: Ex Miami Beach Commissioner Joy Malakoff gets, then drops juicy $50K city job
But we wouldn’t even know about this shady non profit if it weren’t for Commissioner Michael Góngora, who had asked about it at last week’s meeting. He said that since the non-profit was operating as a fundraising arm of the city’s, that expenditures ought to be brought to the commission for approval.
“Only three of the seven members ever control the use of those funds. I’m concerned about raising money as a commission but I never have a say in how those monies are dispersed,” Góngora said. “If it’s going to be the official 501c3 for Miami Beach, we should at least know what the organization is doing.”
Gelber, who doesn’t seem the most transparent anymore, tried to shut him down. “It’s not quite public money… it’s not any public money at all,” he said.
Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman said she agreed with Góngora. “I don’t question the expenditures. They were noble and worthwhile. But it was not transparent to me,” she said. And then she basically admits that the whole idea was to shake down city bidders and vendors.
“We thought there were city of Miami Beach procurement contracts that could have an element, a good will in them, to benefit the community, the schools,” Aleman said, adding that, sure, alumni and others could also donate. “But we were looking for something more consistent that could be counted on at a certain level each year.”
Oh really?
Arriola got defensive, which made him look guilty right away.
“I just take exception because I know what’s going on here. There’s a hint of something nefarious. Phil, Ricky, Joy using this… all the money came from Philip and I,” Arriola said.  “I’m not stupid. There’s a nefarious inference when comments have been made in the past about One Miami Beach and Mayor Levine and I just take exception when it’s us donating our salaries to it. Pretty much 100 percent of the funds came from us, even though it’s your pet projects that we’re donating our salaries to.”
But Ricky is either really bad at math or a liar. Because while he may have felt generous in 2016, giving his $34,750 salary and benefits package to One Miami Beach, Inc., that was not where all the non-profit’s money came from. And he didn’t do it any other year. It appears that Levine did give two years worth of salary and benefits for a total of $97,275.
Arriola lied to everybody at that commission meeting Feb. 14 and everybody watching it on TV or online. That’s a violation of a county ethics ordinance.
Related: Levine and Wolfson on defense for shady PAC
But the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust ought to look into more than just that. Because the reason Arriola lied was the donations that are there from many contractors and vendors who are prohibited from giving campaign contributions precisely because they have dealings with the city. Was this a legal loophole around that? This sure looks like another pay-for-play scheme, just like the shady PAC.
Among the contributors:

$40,000 from four development companies at One Fisher Island
$17.500 from David Mancini and Sons, real estate developers and pipeline specialists
$10,000 from Terranova Corporation
$10,000 from Lanzo Construction
$6,300 from Boucher Brothers, who run most if not all the city’s beach concessions
$5,000 from Beach Towing
$5,000 from Treemont Towing
$5,000 from Laz Parking
$5,000 from lobbyist and Levine pal Alex Heckler

There are some questionable disbursements, too. Who got the 100 tickets for the Florida Grand Opera? More than $6,000 of computer equipment for we-don’t-know-who and one hell of a TV for $1,000 for North Beach Elementary, both at Best Buy. A $5,000 donation (?) to the Miami Beach Housing Authority, it says for “housing,” and $106 worth of racing gloves, purportedly, for a turkey giveaway.
Then there is the thousands that went to different animal hospitals, from Doral to South Miami, for “animal welfare,” Levine’s latest fetish, including $10,000 to the Alton Road Animal Clinic for “kitten medical treatment.” Is that one really sick kitten or many kittens?
But maybe the most glaring issue is at least seven different paella and centennial parties at senior centers that are absentee ballot hubs conveniently right before the elections in 2015.
Investigators can start by talking to Gloria Campos, who was paid or reimbursed at least a couple of thousands from One Miami Beach and apparently helped with the paella parties.

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Miami-Dade Public Schools’ wildly popular Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said on Thursday, in a very dramatic fashion, that he turned down a job leading New York City’s public school system to stay with the district where he began his career as a physics teacher at Jackson High.
Wide speculation Wednesday that Carvalho was taking the School Chancellor position offered by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio prompted a special emergency meeting Thursday of the School Board to discuss  “the stability of the executive management leadership.” After pleas from board members, students, teachers, parents and people from the community, Carvalho took a short break, purportedly, to think about it.
When he came back, he announced that “the decision that I have made about that position is, however, a decision I can no longer sustain.” Yeah, that’s how he talks.
“I am breaking an agreement between adults to honor an agreement and a pact I have with the children of Miami. I just don’t know how to break a promise to a child, how to break a promise to a community,” Carvalho said, adding that the decision weighed heavily on him “over the last 24 hours like nothing has weighed on me before.”
Related: Alberto Carvalho to leave Miami-Dade Schools for NYC — at the worst time
Um, 24 hours? He’s purportedly known about this for days, weeks even. He was gonna break the “promise” yesterday. The announcement had been reportedly delayed because of the Parkland shooting and the resulting political fallout. So he decided right there? On the spot? Were the hugs that convincing?
Here’s another scenario:
Carvalho — who is known for his fiery speeches, staunch defense of immigrants and public dollars for public schools and opposition to guns in the classroom — has been under fire in recent months, mostly for the management of the $1.2 billion general obligation bond that voters passed to modernize schools and bring in new technology. He’s got Board Member Steve Gallon beating him up on the regular and enlisting cohorts, principally Maria Teresa Rojas, to question and dog him. The board recently asked for an outside audit of GOB monies spent so far and Gallon — who notably skipped the emergency love fest meeting — has questioned whether the bond program has included a sufficient representation of minority contractors.
So, Carvalho pretends to take the New York job offer more seriously. He never really wanted it. Think about it. Even though the New York Times reported that de Blasio promised to match his $352,874-a-year salary (the current chancellor makes $234,569) the job was still a bear. New York City has a $30 billion budget and 1.1 million students, compared to Miami-Dade’s $4.3 billion budget and 365,000 students. It’s daunting, even for a superstar like Carvalho. Which, by the way, he wouldn’t be in NYC. The 2014 national Superintendent of the Year is a big fish in a small pond here but there? He’d be, like, a guppy. Fishbait. De Blasio would not let him just have press conferences on his own agenda whenever he wanted.
Frankly, he’d be de Blasio’s bitch. And Ladra doesn’t think Carvalho relished that thought.
He also wouldn’t have an entire squad of media professionals dedicated entirely to positioning him and creating that darling image of the man so many love. He wouldn’t have his dream team of administrators who actually do all the work — he is a man of vision — behind him. As chancellor, Carvalho would be executing someone else’s vision, with people he doesn’t know or trust. And he would not be able to just flash that smile and talk his way out of anything in New York. Fuggedaboudit.
In this scenario, Carvalho turned the job down almost instantly — only he didn’t tell anyone. He let everybody believe that he had one foot out the door. He went to New York City to meet with de Blasio twice. He met with other city leaders. You know, just to make it stick. Plus Manhattan is an awesome place to spend a few days. Which means he also fooled de Blasio. And that’s the gist you get from the NYC mayor’s press conference Thursday afternoon, where he said he was “very surprised” by the news.
Related: Alberto Carvalho drops mayoral hopes for UM dreams
De Blasio told reporters that Carvalho had taken the job and then “changed his mind,” quoted the Village Voice. We know that he spoke to the Sup during that half hour or so break because the visibly pissed off de Blasio said Carvalho called him with “second thoughts.” But, again, Carvalho is someone who likes theatrics. To pull it off, he would have had to fool de Blasio and his people, too. He may have planned it like this all along. And just look at the number of impressions he’s gotten: It’s been in all the major networks. Not just Channel 7 locally, but CNN and Fox News and every single media outlet in New York has been on it all day (not favorably).
Even his Wikipedia page was already edited to include today’s news. Like his team was ready to do it.
In this scenario, dangling this job before the community and the School Board was a trick, a ruse to get his nine bosses to (1) change the narrative and bring back the love fest (2) offer him a 3-5 year extension on his contract, which expires in 2020.
Ladra doesn’t think they’ll offer him a raise. Carvalho already makes more than any Superintendent in the world. And it won’t be “politically correct” while teacher pay is still an issue. But look for an item at the next school board meeting or two where he gets an extension on his contract and maybe something else. Like more staff to make him look good.
Or was it all a ruse to raise his profile another notch for a mayoral run in 2020 or a bid for Congress, after all?
One thing is for sure: He’s not gonna tell us right away.

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Say it ain’t so, Alberto!
Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, the charismatic populist leader of the 4th largest school district in the U.S., has been tapped to lead the largest school district in New York City, several news sources reported Wednesday afternoon.
Perhaps New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, right, who was expected to make the official announcement Thursday — it had been postponed because of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas — isn’t used to las malas lenguas in Miami taking the wind out of his sails. Because it seems de Blasio had to make a hasty reveal Wednesday afternoon after word got out.
“Alberto Carvalho is a world-class educator with an unmatched track record of success,” de Blasio said in a statement published on Chalkbeat. “I am very confident that our extensive, national search has found New York City the best person to lead the nation’s largest school system into the future.”
Extensive? Extensive?
Carvalho had been floated as a name for the post since December, immediately after Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced she would be stepping down. He’s just the flashy type that de Blasio and NYC love: a longtime educator from a scrappy, immigrant background who rose through the ranks to become a leading voice on education at the national level. Plus he’s boss on twitter. If Ladra were a betting dog, and she is, she would wager that de Blasio wanted Carvalho all along.
Related: Alberto Carvalho drops mayoral hopes for UM dream
But weeks ago, the Sup told reporters he was committed to Miami-Dade, where he championed a $1.2 billion referendum for modernization and technology upgrades that are just getting started, which is likely one of the reasons de Blasio wants him.
“My commitment to Miami is so strong and I have demonstrated it in the face of political opportunities,” Carvalho told Chalkbeat back then, referring to encouragement he has gotten to run for posts from Miami-Dade mayor to Congress to University of Miami president.  “It’s really hard for me to imagine a set of circumstances that would lead to a different decision on my part,” he added.
Oh what a difference a month or two makes? Or was it an offer he couldn’t refuse? The New York Times reported that Carvalho — who makes $352,874 a year in Miami-Dade — could take a sizable pay cut because Fariña’s salary is $234,569.
But this is Carvalho we’re talking about. The king of gab. He can convince anybody of practically anything. He convinced property owners in Miami to tax themselves additionally to soup up public schools, didn’t he?
But this is New York City we’re talking about. Is Carvalho, who rose early through the government affairs branch of administration, a parrot or an empty suit propped up by boatloads of charisma and well-crafted tweets? Or does he have the substance to make it in The Big Apple, which arguably has better public schools than we do? This could be a make or break moment. Some folks think that he has that twinkle in his eye that the city needs and that his initiatives can turn the private school drain around. Others think Carvalho’s gonna get eaten alive in New York City, where charisma only gets you so far and you can’t just tell the same story 25 times.
He certainly is going to have to lower his profile a little. De Blasio runs the show over there. He won’t be able to usurp his boss like he does here with the board. There will be fewer press conferences.
Related: Lawmakers vote to leave assault rifles on the street and arm teachers instead
And while Ladra is not the hugest fan — he is an egomaniac with a history of, er, potentially compromising extracurricular activities — Carvalho has good instincts, thinks out of the box, knows a bad idea when he sees one and is truly committed to public dollars for public schools. Many teachers love him because he is accessible and responsive and he has defended them, blasting the latest evaluation process, for example, as inadequate.
“Miami Dade County Public Schools has been fortunate to have the leadership of Superintendent Carvalho for the past decade. His dedication and passion for education, coupled with our phenomenal workforce, has made MDCPS a leader in public education nationwide,” said United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez Mats in a statement late Wednesday.
“As a colleague, he has always been responsive and respectful, even when we disagreed or I thought his actions weren’t in the best interest of our bargaining unit,” the union leader said. “I believe the Superintendent could have been even more effective for MDCPS if the Florida State Legislature was more focused on supporting our children, its education workforce, and schools, rather than its maniacal obsession with defunding our school system and decertifying the unions. Now more than ever, it is important to have a strong and vibrant voice in Miami Dade County to deflect the destructive education proposals that are being considered in Tallahassee. New York City should be pleased to have Sup. Carvalho lead their public schools and we wish him well in this new chapter of his career.”
School Board members might not be as sad to see him go. There have been some tensions for about a year. Carvalho doesn’t have the same love fest as before. There’s been confrontation, antagonism. One of the board members preempted one of his initiatives at a recent meeting. And they are calling for an audit of the expenditures made so far with the $1.2 billion in bond monies. Could Carvalho be making the move now to avoid any questions about that spending later?
Most recently, Carvalho’s strong stance against arming teachers in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting was a downright relief because it was taken seriously by both sides of the aisle.
What are we going to do now? This community is still reeling from the Valentine’s Day massacre of 14 students and three educators at the Broward high school. Parents and teachers and students are in Tallahassee as you read this, trying to sway legislators to amend the current school safety bills by taking out the marshal program that would arm teachers and putting in a ban on some assault rifles. Will we be vulnerable to a Republican majority School Board and a new Sup that could come specifically to advance an NRA and/or (more likely) a charter school agenda? Will there be a national search? Or does the board already have someone in mind from inside? Ladra would imagine that there are already at least 100 resumes submitted. It’s scary.
The Miami-Dade School Board has called an emergency meeting for Thursday to discuss “the stability of the executive management leadership.”
This appointment is one of the most important in our community, and it is made by a majority of the nine-member School Board. So, basically, five people could choose the next person to hold our children’s future educational experience in his or her hands.
Let’s pay close attention.

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If there is one local state elected we need to replace this coming November, please let it be State Rep. Jose Oliva, the Miami Lakes Republican who sponsored the odious school “safety bill” (pffft) that doesn’t ban assault rifles but arms teachers in schools, instead.
This is the man who will direct the House agenda next year as Speaker. We can’t let that happen.
Oliva is the man who would put guns in the hands of the teachers who guide our children every day. He had already raised eyebrows with his speaker nomination, since he’s done so very little to deserve it, mostly sponsoring laws that benefit his cigar business and the industry and toeing the party line. This is the first major thing he does. This.
Related: Lawmakers vote to leave assault rifles on the street and arm teachers instead
Democcrats are actively looking for someone to run against Oliva, who should be beatable on this issue. Just let me write the robocalls.
“Our number one priority this year is to send a message to the Florida House that we will defeat your incoming speaker on this issue,” said Juan Cuba, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party.
He said the party has opened a political action committee called Defeat the NRA and will be using it to push alternatives to the gun-loving incumbents — starting with Oliva.
“We can’t let these politicians who get an A from the NRA run unopposed,” Cuba told Ladra late Tuesday after the House bill that would arm teachers but not ban assault weapons was passed.  “We have to force them to explain to voters why protecting semi automatic rifles is more important than protecting our kids and loved ones.”
Ladra hopes that Cuba and the Democratic Party doesn’t pluck some Venezuelan woman who lives in Broward and was a Republican ten minutes ago to run against him. Or a lobbyist that will be easily attacked. And let’s pray they don’t just prop someone up and then abandon the campaign, like they did with the full House challenge “Fat Chance” candidates that they put up against Republican incumbents in 2014. They all lost.
Related: ‘Fat Chance’ Dems in full House challenge doing next to nada
Because this seat is definitely flippable. Last year, Carlos Puentes, Sr., a military veteran who loaned himself $2,400 for filing expenses, got 45% of the vote without a single advertisement and practically no campaign, against Oliva’s $314,320. Imgaine what a well-funded, credible and viable candidate, who can get her or his message out, can do.
Or let’s not just imagine it. Let’s make it happen. This would send a message that us voters are more important than the NRA.

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