NOTE:  Since I published this blog, I received an email from Rhonda Sibilia of the Ethics Commission.  This issue IS confusing, and she wanted me to clarify exactly what Mr. Centorino’s position is.  Here is what Ms. Sibilia stated:

Stephanie,

We are very grateful for your support on this issue.  The way it’s being presented is VERY confusing — especially if you read the legal wording going before the County Commission next week (item 10 A 4).  Just to clarify, we DON’T want the Commission to approve the proposed change to the Citizen’s Bill of Rights as it’s being presented.  Rather, we hope the County Commission will amend it to how it originally passed the task force in May and include ALL of the cities (Option ‘B’ in Joe’s e-mail).

Thanks, Rhonda

If any of you have ever tried to file a complaint against an unethical elected official, you already know how difficult it is to bring the perpetrator to justice.  The worst that usually happens, assuming anything at all happens, is that the dirtbag gets a slap on the wrist and a token fine.  Usually, however, cases are dismissed almost as fast as they’re filed.  The complete and utter lack of meaningful consequences sends a huge message to the politicians of Miami-Dade County that they can do whatever they want and get away with it.  Ethics be damned!

Well, it’s about to get even worse.

In case you missed today’s Miami Herald letters section, Joseph M. Centorino, the Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (stop laughing!), published  Citizens’ Bill of Rights should be enforced.  The letter begins:

“The members of the Charter Review Task Force, working with limited time and resources, have produced some worthy proposals for Miami-Dade voters to consider at the polls this year. Unfortunately, one of the more promising measures — to permit the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust to enforce the Citizens’ Bill of Rights with real penalties — was gutted by an amendment inserted in the waning minutes of its final meeting without prior notice and with a bare quorum present.

The amendment creates a gaping loophole exempting municipal officials from the penalties if their cities happen to have existing charter provisions that provide for the filing of a civil lawsuit as the sole remedy for such violations.

Instead of gaining the benefit of ready access to the county Ethics Commission for relief, people residing in those municipalities will be forced to incur the expense and inconvenience of hiring an attorney and litigating the issue in circuit court. This will, in effect, deny a remedy for a violation of the Citizens’ Bill of Rights to a citizen unable to afford the expense of litigation.

The residents of Miami, Miami Beach, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Pinecrest, South Miami and Sunny Isles Beach stand to lose if the amended version of the proposal appears on the ballot.”

Needless to say, because of our cities’ existing charter provisions, those of us who live in North Miami, North Miami Beach, and five other municipalities, are about to get royally screwed.  And, trust me.  We are not getting kissed.

According to Mr. Centorino’s letter, the Task Force initially wanted to strengthen the county’s Citizens’ Bill of Rights, but in the final analysis, a “weakened and flawed version passed” where those living in unincorporated Miami-Dade County “and those municipalities where the enhanced penalties would apply” are basically left out in the cold.

An activist in North Miami sent an email to Joe Centorino, stating:

Your letter to the Editor in today’s paper was very informative and distressing.

1. Can our commissioners reverse this before it is too late?

2. Can the City’s Bill of Rights make a provision to be able to go to the County Ethics Commission or a court of law.  (We have just started a complete review and restructure of the City Charter.)

Mr. Centorino wrote back:

In answer to your questions:

1.      The County Commission will be taking up this matter at its July 17 meeting next week.  Because this matter did not receive an affirmative vote of ¾ of the task force (15 members), it cannot go automatically on the ballot.  It must be endorsed by the County Commission which can a) accept the measure in the form recommended by the task force b) amend it to include all municipalities c) kill the whole idea completely.   I am hopeful that the Commissioners will get the message and restore the prior version.

2.      North  Miami, or any city, can always change its charter to provide for enforcement by the Ethics Commission, but, as we all know, that is not always an easy process and is  subject to possible political manipulation.  The best course is to get the county to do it since it comes from the county charter and should, in theory, be applicable to all municipalities.  However, in the event that the limited version is the one that gets passed, residents of the uncovered municipalities can certainly begin the process of changing their respective charters to opt in.

Joe Centorino

Folks, we are left with only one remedy and that’s to start WRITING AND CALLING THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY MAYOR AND ALL THE COMMISSIONERS and tell them to ACCEPT THE MEASURE IN THE FORM RECOMMENDED BY THE TASK FORCE!

I even made it easy for you with this handy-dandy email/phone number list.

You can contact the Mayor at:

Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, mayor@miamidade.gov, 305-375-5071

You can contact the Commission as follows:

Chairman Joe A. Martinez, officeofthechair@miamidade.gov 305-375-5511

District 1: Barbara J. Jordan, district1@miamidade.gov, 305-375-5694

District 2: Jean Monestime, district2@miamidade.gov, 305-375-4833

District 3: Audrey Edmonson, district3@miamidade.gov, 305-375-5393

District 4: Sally A. Heyman, district4@miamidade.gov, 305-375-5128

District 5: Bruno A. Barreiro, district5@miamidade.gov, 305-643-8525

District 6: Rebeca Sosa, district6@miamidade.gov, 305-375-5696

District 7: Xavier L. Suarez, district7@miamidade.gov, 305-375-5680

District 8: Lynda Bell, district8@miamidade.gov, 305-375-5218

District 9: Dennis C. Moss, DennisMoss@miamidade.gov, 305-375-4832

District 10: Javier D. Souto, district10@miamidade.gov, 305-375-4835

District 11: Joe A. Martinez, district11@miamidade.gov, 305-552-1155

District 12: Jose “Pepe” Diaz, district12@miamidade.gov, 305-375-4343

District 13: Esteban Bovo, Jr., district13@miamidade.gov, 305-375-4831

I cannot stress to you the importance of taking action on this issue IMMEDIATELY!  If you think it’s hard enough now to hold unethical elected officials accountable for their actions, just wait until the citizens of our city have even less power.

This should not be acceptable to you and I strongly urge you to make those calls and send those letters NOW!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”