North Bay Village Commissioner At Large Candidate

I'm excited that I qualified as a candidate on the November ballot for the position of Commissioner-At-Large in North Bay Village.   There are many reasons why I have entered the race.  The primary reason is that I see a village commission content to react to circumstances rather than proactively address the needs and concerns of the residents while increasing taxes.  Our taxes went up 22% last year and are going up 13.5% this year. 

·       Our streets are dirty even though we already pay for the sidewalks to be cleaned twice a year. The sidewalks have only been cleaned once in two years. 

·       Our crime rate is increasing while our police are less visible than ever on the streets. 

·       Our sewers have not been maintained and we are paying the price with major leaks on both the east and west force mains.

·       Our businesses are struggling from lack of planning and arbitrary coding. 

·       Our two parks are in complete disrepair but the commission spent all the recreation funds on a study to create a so called park under the Miami Beach Bridge. 

·       Our Youth Services programs have been eliminated and we have help for the elderly.

It's time to change that picture. 

As your commissioner,

·       I will fight to enforce our contracts with the street maintenance company which requires them to clean our sidewalks twice per year. 

·       I will fight to fully fund Community Policing and to keep cops on our streets. 

·       I will lead the effort to fix the broken sewers and address our infrastructure issues as a community. 

·       I will hold regular meetings with the business owners of North Bay Village to involve them in the community decisions and create a healthy economy for all.

·       I will insist that our parks impact fund be used to fix the parks so they are safe and pleasant to use.

·       I will champion the restoration of youth and elderly services and find the money to create a green space recreation plan. 

·       I will hold community meetings regularly to focus on the topics the residents care about and give priority to resident services. 

There's a lot to do and as long as we just keep reacting instead of acting, it won't get done.  That's why I'm running.  It's time for the residents to lead the village again and I ask your support in making that happen. 

 Mario Garcia

September 4, 2014

www.MarioGarcia.org