Love Letters
& Local Lies
Commissioner
Jorge Gonzalez recently posted an “Open Letter” on his personal Facebook
account. It's not open in any real way since it is only available to those
people he wants to see it and he has blocked most people who have ever
questioned him on anything. But I want to reply here in a truly open
space since a concerned resident brought this letter to my attention.
In his
letter he accuses unnamed opponents and supporters of posting “attacks and
false accusations” on blogs and social media. He doesn't name anyone or
give any examples but I'm going to guess he means me (his only opponent) and
others who have questioned his record.
So
here's my response with specifics...
Dear
North Bay Village Voters,
It’s election
time in North Bay Village, which means our current Commission jumps to action
for a couple of weeks so they have “something” to claim to have
accomplished. It’s the time you receive letters saying how they’ve done so much
and just want our confidence to do more. Apparently it’s the time where they
elevate their dismissal of residents to written letters where they claim to be
victims of the very practices they glorify. Bluntly, it’s the only time in the last 2 years that Commissioner
Gonzalez or Mayor Kreps have demonstrated that they care at all about what our
residents think.
My
opponent claims, “I will not sit
idly by and watch NBV voters and residents be misinformed and even misled with
false accusations and empty political rhetoric”, it sure would be
the first time he sat out an opportunity to make false accusations, mislead
residents or pass up a chance to fill our ears with empty political rhetoric.
In fact over the last 2 years it’s pretty much all my opponent has been good
for.
If you
can find Commissioner Gonzalez, he will tell you that he’s just done a
fantastic job and is entitled to our praise. But unlike him, I live here
and walk in all of North Bay Village and talk to residents, most just don’t
agree. When was the last time you saw Commissioner Gonzalez on the street?
I’m a Father of 3 and a proud grandparent…I
know a good bedtime story when I hear one and it sure seems like we’ll be getting our
fill of sweet lullabies and amazing fairy tales as our current Mayor and
Commissioner At-Large seek re-election.
·
My opponent says “he led the effort to settle long-standing
legal cases … which were costing us thousands in attorney's fees and litigation
expenses”. The case was settled when the courts ruled against us and we
paid out nearly $500,000 from our reserves in compensation. He followed
the court's decision.
·
My opponent led the negotiation of the Weiss-Serota legal
contract terms that he disparages. Then he said he didn't remember the
terms less than a year later.
·
My opponent supported the hiring of our current village manager,
and also supported paying $80,000 to the previous village manager as severance
after he served 13 months. Fun fact, Jorge Gonzalez was on the team for
the negotiations of that contract which cost our Village $80,000 in parting
severance.
·
My opponent proudly points to his travels to Washington and
Tallahassee to get $600,000 of grant money to fix our rotted sewers, a project
that will cost at least $20,000,000.
·
My opponent says he stays engaged with police officers and is
proud to receive their union's endorsement as a result. He never asks
where are the patrols, where are the crime statistics and has stood firmly
against funding the Crime Watch. But he was endorsed by a union that
never even met with any other candidates.
·
My opponent proudly points to his support of funding the IB
program at Treasure Island but he also refused to allow the village to put
performance measures on the program or ask for progress reports. The
results show and in one year, Treasure Island Elementary fell 60 points to a D
school.
·
My opponent claims it is a fiction that the streets are
dirty. That there are just some isolated problems with residents dumping
trash but for two years, the village has been paying our street maintenance
crew to pressure clean the sidewalks and the walls twice per year and it has
only been done once in the last 2 years.
·
My opponent goes on to say the village finances are transparent
because you can request the reports. But can you read the reports and do
they tell you the truth? Do the reports tell you that the commission paid
a huge fee to break a lease at the Lexi when the environment was causing
illness among our employees? It cost our Village almost
$100,000. And that the move to the 1666 JFK Causeway building
passed after the commission was told it would cost $9,000 but instead it cost
$49,000? Do the reports tell you about the SFM street cleaning contract
that is paid monthly which requires street cleaning twice per year that but has
only been done once? Commissioner Gonzalez is mistaking availability for
transparency.
·
My opponent voted last year to raise our taxes 22%, the highest
raise in Miami-Dade County and when presented with a 13.5% increase for next
year, denied that it was a raise. Maybe it's not a question of
transparency but of ignorance.
·
My opponent, speaking of transparency, vigorously supported and
voted to pass an ordinance to allow him to receive gifts up to $100 without
reporting them? How many $100 gifts does he receive and who paid for his
recent junket to Isparta, Turkey? He says the Village didn't pay for the
trip and so far won't reveal who did. Ethics reports and investigations do show
that my opponent previously failed to report gifts from Turkish developers.
So, why
talk about this? Nobody (besides some in the current administration) celebrates
watching our Village struggle to make minimal commitments (see their campaign
literature). The issues listed above along with the obvious satisfaction of
some with failing to maintain the status quo, are a large part of why I made
the decision to run for office. Unlike my opponent it’s not to inflate my ego,
for gifts or in search of a title.
So now let's talk positive. As your
commissioner, I will commit:
·
To make the village administration fix the underlying personnel
problems that have cost us hundreds of thousands in lawsuits and payouts.
·
To never negotiate or agree to a contract that pays $80,000 or
any illegal severance amount to an employee after a year's service.
·
Instead of flying around the country and indeed the world on
other people's money, I will support professional grant writing and use our
lobbying funds to get our Village the funds we need to fix our rotting
sewers. Emergency repair money is not enough and 2% of our
anticipated costs is nothing.
·
I will sponsor legislation to create a Public Safety
Committee. I will be relentless in my efforts to ensure that we have
regular street patrols. I will demand and publish monthly crime
statistics. I will not politic with the police or the unions to receive their
“endorsement.” I will sponsor funding for the Crime Watch and a Village
wide effort to recruit members.
·
I will continue to support the IB program at TIES, as I
have since the program was proposed in 2012 and rejected by Mayor Kreps.
I will demand regular progress reports and accountability on the school's
progress and will not accept a “D” as a passing grade. Our kids
have to explain their school performance, why is the school exempt?
·
I will demand enforcement of the contract we have been paying
for since 2012 to have our streets cleaned and will personally walk the streets
monthly to see that it is happening. Our streets are dirty and it is not
the residents who are dirtying them.
·
I will not vote for a single penny to be spent without a clear
goal, a way of measuring how well or badly that goal was accomplished and I
will hold the village administration accountable for achieving their
goals.
·
I will sponsor a strong Business Development Board to replace
the one Commissioner Gonzalez dismantled so that North Bay Village Businesses
other than developers will finally have a voice in our economic development.
·
Finally, I will at long last sponsor legislation to restore the
PAL and other Youth Services Programs for all our youth.
Bold leadership requires taking action and unfulfilled
campaign promises won’t make up for the incompetence and inaction my opponent
is so satisfied with. Slogans don’t make up for the failures of my opponent
over the last 2 years or excuse his sincere disconnect and sense of entitlement
to praise or privilege. Let’s
set the record straight, in North Bay Village, politics as usual is not doing
anything until re-election time. Politics as usual in North
Bay Village is unfulfilled campaign promises and shady backroom deals. Politics
as usual is continued poor judgment and ignoring residents.
Let’s
be clear: dirty, pesky facts will be presented and I openly state that my
opponent’s performance has been negative. I remain positive and inspired by the
support of my neighbors across North Bay Village. Residents stating facts,
dissatisfaction and pointing out my opponent’s record I believe is fair and
representative of reality.
I say to my opponent, we the people of North Bay
Village are tired of politics as usual, it’s why I’m running for office and
it’s why so many frustrated residents are supporting my campaign. As you turn a
blind eye to raw sewage running the streets, as businesses continue to
shut their doors (and as you litter their abandoned properties with
your photo and campaign literature), as you cut services and raise taxes and as
you attempt to mislead rather than represent our residents. You sir are not moving North Bay Village
forward, you are moving and holding us backwards.
We simply cannot afford 4 more years of
Commissioner Gonzalez. That’s not an attack, it’s a fact.
Mario Garcia
September 27, 2014
www.mariogarcia.org
