(Originally published 6/11/11)

As I reported to you last week in “Phyllis Smith, Her Majesty the Baby” (https://votersopinion.com/archives/2847), North Miami Beach councilwoman Phyllis Smith is in the process of lobbying for council votes AGAINST the brand new Mayor, George Vallejo.  Right out of the box!  If this is any indication of how much a thorn in George’s side she’s going to be for the next four years, the Mayor should probably consider buying a really good set of ear plugs.  May I suggest 3M Combat Arms Ear Plugs (http://www.ustacticaloutpost.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=46024)?  If they’re good enough for the gun range or the battlefield, they should do a serviceable job of blocking out Phyllis’ incessant squawking.

As you can see by this photo I dug up, The Great Phyllis Suck Up has already begun.

I happen to know this was shot BEFORE she found out that George wasn’t going to let her sit next to him on the dais.  Once she did hear the bad news (bad for her, that is, good for George), she went from ass kisser to adversary in less than sixty seconds.  Honestly, I don’t know which is more gross – having someone like Phyllis fawn and drool all over you or nag you to death.  Considering that Phyllis is nothing but a calculating, conniving wench, those are her only two methods of trying to get her way.  It would never occur to Phyllis to simply shut up and behave with some class.  Even if it did occur to her, I doubt she’d be capable of doing so.

In any event, this is how I see this whole distasteful episode.  Like the whiny, spoiled brat that she is, Phyllis is blowing what little political capital she’s mustered up to battle a Mayor who nicely beat his opponent, the much despised EX-mayor Myron Rosner.  She still hasn’t figured out that she’s nearly as despised as Myron is.  Her opponent in the run off, Hillel Hellinger, took 42% of the vote from her.  This time.  In 2009, he only garnered about 30% of that vote, but that’s because he was completely unknown and practically unseen during the campaign.  I don’t know if you realize that’s it’s almost unheard of for a nearly invisible opponent to take 30% of the vote from a sitting council person, but that’s what happened.  I can almost guarantee you that a great many, if not most, of the votes for Mr. Hellinger in the 2009 election was pretty much a vote against Phyllis.  This time around, the fact that Mr. Hellinger grabbed 42% of the vote, with no money and few, if any, campaign signs, was a major statement in and of itself.  Mr. Hellinger was unable to show up for some of the candidate forums due to Jewish holidays, he refused to take even one penny in donations, and he certainly was no match for Phyllis’ mouth.  The only thing Mr. Hellinger did was walk door to door in every neighborhood in North Miami Beach to try to get votes.  Somehow, it worked.  This quiet, unassuming man, managed to give Phyllis a run for her money.  Forty two percent of the vote is hardly chopped liver!

And yet, Phyllis still has the chutzpah not to see how much people dislike her.  She also has the chutzpah to try to tell our new beloved Mayor, one who had a clear mandate by the voters of North Miami Beach against someone even more despicable than Phyllis (if you can believe that), that he doesn’t have the right to seat the council where he wants them to sit.  The absolute nerve of her!

As the Mayor of North Miami Beach, it is my opinion that one of the few “perks” George Vallejo has is to appoint the seats on the dais.  Despite Phyllis’ claim that there is a protocol of seniority, back in November of 2010 George’s predecessor kept appointed-not-elected McKenzie Fleurimond next to him on the dais after Councilman John Patrick Julien vacated the seat for the Florida House of Representatives.  Myron could have changed the arrangement right then and there to move a more senior member of the council “toward the center.”  I didn’t hear Phyllis yapping about that!  Did you?  Strangely, and almost miraculously, Phyllis was silent.  About that anyway.

Now all of a sudden it matters to her where she sits?  PUH-LEEZE!  This is just a power play by a councilwoman who supported the Mayor’s opponent, who picked McKenzie over George for Mr. Julien’s seat, and who has made it clear that she is not above throwing a Myron-like temper tantrum to get her way.  She obviously learned from the best.  If she can get the Mayor to back down over this ridiculous, childish issue, I’m sure this will just be the first of many obnoxious outbursts we will all be subjected to for the next four years.

Folks, I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to call the Mayor and Council starting this Monday, and every day if you can, and urge them to STAND WITH MAYOR VALLEJO! Despite Phyllis trying to make this about her, THIS IS ABOUT GEORGE!  We the People elected him to lead our city, and he cannot do so if Phyllis is blocking his path and running interference.  We need to let the Mayor know that we are behind him 100%!  We will not stand for his first official decision to be contested, especially one so trivial.  ESPECIALLY by Phyllis!

Then PLEASE attend the pre-council meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 so that the Mayor and Council know we want to nip this nonsense in the bud so the city can move on to the REALLY important issues that need addressing.  I would also urge you to post comments on this blog and let me know what you think of this mess.  Thanks!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”