Whenever a top municipal government position opens up, the vultures swarm in.  At last count, sources told me there were 43 applicants to fill North Miami’s Assistant Manager position vacated by Lumene Claude, one of which is none other than the recently “re-elected” City Clerk Michael Etienne.

Michael is now poised to vacate the position he automatically “won” by unethically (and possibly illegally) disqualifying his opponent.  Now he’s ready to ditch that gig and vie to be second in command of the entire city.  That North Miami taxpayers will have to foot the bill for another special election is of no consequence in Michael’s thirst for power.

Fortunately for North Miami, and unfortunately for Michael, when he was first elected as City Clerk he immediately made sure he was on equal footing with councilmembers by insisting that his pay be the same theirs.  He may not even qualify for the Assistant Manager position.

Article V. City Departments and Offices, Division 2. City Clerk, Sec. 2-283. Salary, of the City’s Code states, “During the term of office, the salary of the city clerk shall be fixed in advance by the city council, pursuant to Section 58 of the City Charter. The monthly salary shall be the same as the monthly salary which the City Charter provides for a councilmember, exclusive of the mayor, so that if the salary of a councilmember is changed, the city clerk’s salary shall likewise be increased or reduced. The salary provided for by this division shall be included in the annual city budget.”

Article VI. Code of Ethics, Division 1. Conflict of Interest, Sec. 2-316. Legislative Intent, Paragraph (b)(1) of the City’s Code reads, “(b) Definitions.  For the purposes of this article the following definitions shall be effective: (1) Councilmembers  shall refer to the mayor and the members of the city council and city clerk as duly constituted from time to time.”

Because Michael made damn sure the city clerk position was included in the definition of “councilmember,” he now also has to comply with Article IV. The City Manager, Sec. 17. Appointment of City Manager of the City’s Code, which states, “The council shall appoint an officer of the city who shall have the title of city manager and who shall have the powers and perform the duties in this charter provided. No councilmember or member of the charter board shall receive such appointment during the term which he shall have been elected nor within two (2) years after the expiration of his term of office.“

Since an Assistant City Manager will necessarily act as an acting City Manager from time to time when the City Manager is unavailable (due to vacations, travel, etc.), this position may not be filled by any councilmember (which, by definition, includes the city clerk) “within two (2) years after the expiration of his term of office.”

Too bad The Hon. Michael A. Etienne, Esquire didn’t read the City Code before he insisted that the position of City Clerk receive the same status (and pay) as councilmembers, or he wouldn’t have screwed himself out of qualifying for the Assistant City Manager position.

I guess he’s not such a great lawyer after all, huh?

Speaking of lawyers, however, now that former City Attorney Regine Monestime also screwed herself out of a job by getting too political, the usual suspects are jockeying for the position.  In fact, lawyers are crawling all over each other to grab the coveted spot as North Miami’s top legal beagle.

Here’s where it gets fun.

There’s a small handful of attorneys who play musical chairs with city attorney positions in municipalities throughout Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

Former North Miami City Attorney V. Lynn Whitfield, is one of them.  She resigned after accusations of racial discrimination, then was hired by the City of Hallandale Beach on December 5, 2011.  She is now suing the City of Hallandale Beach for – SURPRISE! – racial discrimination because a Commissioner “had the audacity to discuss the termination of her contract at the February 18, 2015 meeting.”

Joseph S. Geller, Esq. is another one of those traveling suits.  In 2011, his firm was the top contender among twelve applicants for the City Attorney position in Sunrise.  Interestingly, while BrowardBeat.com columnist Buddy Nevins pointed out, “What makes Greenspoon Marder different is the Geller brothers’ political clout.  They can raise campaign cash and have a large network of friends,” Sunrise residents were not so keen on this pick.

One posted, “Choosing the Geller firm would be a disaster. That’s all a politically charged city needs, a politically charged city attorney. Sunrise needs a good, non-political in house city attorney. Period. Stop the shennigans [sic] commissioners and do what’s right for the city, not your political careers. How hard is that to figure out?”

DUH!

Another said, “City attorneys should never have political aspirations or work as lobbyists. This is not a good combination and the leadership in Sunrise should know better. The Gellers need to learn how to make a living outside the government.”

OUCH!

Apparently, the Sunrise Commission agreed because they ultimately appointed Kim Kisslan to be the in-house City Attorney.

Joe Geller went on to become the City Attorney for Opa-locka and was nearly fired.  Twice.  Both times he kept his job because, well, it’s almost impossible to get fired in Opa-locka.  (See: Kelvin Baker).

Which brings me to the top opportunist in municipal lawyers/political operatives, John C. Dellagloria.  The one time North Miami City Attorney is now vying for another bite of the apple.

After being fired from his post, in 2007 Dellagloria represented North Miami former Mayor Kevin Burns in his dealings with the shady “sweetheart deal” regarding Bel House.

Also after leaving North Miami, Dellagloria teamed up with Oleta Partners, LLC’s Michael Swerdlow of Biscayne Landing infamy.  In 2012, Eye On Miami’s Geniusofdespair wrote of the then proposed lease between Oleta Partners and the City of North Miami, “The most current draft of the lease is 86 pages with other pages not included in the numbering.  John Dellagloria is Michael Swerdlow’s attorney, he was a former attorney for the City of North Miami.  Brett Dill is Swerdlow’s partner.  I think the City of North Miami will get screwed again, they always get screwed on Munisport.  I have watched this property as part of a half dozen schemes that never panned out in the last 20 years — and Swerdlow was part of one of those: The failed Biscayne Landing.”

In 2014, after being denied by the City of Palmetto Bay, rumor had it that John C. Dellagloria angled for the City Attorney position in North Miami Beach to replace Darcee Siegal.  That idea was quickly nipped in the bud for several reasons, not the least of which was his alignment with Councilcritter Frantz Pierre.  ‘Nuff said about that.

Dellagloria also insinuated himself in the 2014 North Miami special mayoral election when he leapt to the defense of his former client, Kevin Burns in a letter to the editor after a scathing Herald article criticizing Burns was published.

And now Dellagloria wants his North Miami gig back.

Here’s the thing.  As one reader of the BrowardBeat.org column said, “City Attorneys that become involved in their city elections supporting a particular candidate should be fired and a bar complaint filed against them.  It creates a conflict of interest.”

Ya think?

At the last City Council meeting on July 14, 2015, one of the Agenda items [Tab R] up for discussion was the replacement of Regine Monestime as City Attorney.  Joe Geller lobbied for his firm, Greenspoon Marder, to be the city’s interim City Attorney.  Fortunately, this idea was shot down.

Aside from Joe Geller, one guess who also works at Greenspoon Marder.

Yep, you guessed it.  John C. Dellagloria!

Between his gig as a State Representative and his private law practice defending fellow politicians, Joe Geller already has too much on his plate to give North Miami the time and attention required from a city attorney.  In fact, one of the reasons he was almost fired by Opa-locka in December of 2013 was because “he wasn’t providing services to the city in a timely manner,” according to then Commissioner Timothy Holmes.

Considering that Geller wasn’t even an elected official yet at the time, I imagine he’d have even less time to devote to North Miami now that he lives in Tallahassee 60 days of the year, not counting special sessions.  As it is, he barely has time to defend lawsuits against his own “celebrity” clients.

Most likely the real reason Geller was pushing his firm, as opposed to lobbying for the position as the in-house City Attorney, is so that his Greenspoon Marder colleague John C. Dellagloria can get his foot back in the North Miami door.

North Miami would do well to avoid hiring a “firm” instead of a permanent in-house lawyer in general, and John C. Dellagloria in particular, who brings more than enough baggage to the table.

In addition to all his shadowy dealings and blurring of the lines between politics and municipal government, even more recently Dellagloria got into a tiff with none other than former/then reinstated Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi during his hiatus from the dais.

While waiting for a court decision to get his job back, Pizzi served as a representative of his employer, Vincent Brown, the newly hired City Attorney of … Opa-locka!

Although there was concern that Michael Pizzi’s private legal representation of some city vendors and Commissioner Thomas K. Pinder (of RICO fame) might present a conflict of interest, he got the gig anyway.

Pizzi then promptly got into a dispute with Dellagloria, who, “at the time was working for Opa-locka through law firm Greenspoon Marder,” according to the Miami Herald.

The article noted, “Dellagloria told the Miami Herald that after the dispute arose, Pinder demanded that he draft paperwork terminating the city’s contract with the law firm. Weeks later, the city officially cut ties with the firm.  Pinder himself sponsored the resolution hiring Brown” (the City Attorney employer of Michael Pizzi).

Oh, what a tangled web indeed.

In any event, North Miami has two coveted positions available, possibly three if, as rumored, City Manager Aleem Ghany gets canned.

The City Council would do well to hire an in-house attorney, one with no ties to city vendors, lobbyists or councilmembers past and present.

Ditto for the City Manager and Assistant City Manager positions.

In the meantime, though, it sure is entertaining watching the vultures swarm.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”