The Miami Herald editorial board just posted its recommendation of Ricky Arriola for Miami Beach City Commission Group 5.
In Herald choices for Miami Beach dais, the editorial board compared the qualifications of Mr. Arriola and his opponent, Mark Weithorn. Not surprisingly, there is no comparison.
No matter how hard #DirtyPolitician Mark Weithorn tried to discredit Mr. Arriola with nasty hit pieces, ads and emails generated by the political committees he funded yet claimed he had nothing to do with, the Miami Herald editorial board saw right through his political con game.
There is little doubt that Miami Beach voters will, too.
The main glaring difference in the two candidates, as the Herald so pointedly described, is Ricky Arriola’s positive, can-do attitude as opposed to Weithorn’s surly negativity.
Ricky Arriola “believes the new [flood-prevention pump] system will work well once all pumps are installed. The process, he says, is in the initial phase and should be given time to show it can work.”
Mark Weithorn claims the pumps “are failing.”
Ricky “supports the [proposed] convention center plan because it includes a park as an essential element.”
Mark doesn’t like it because “the hotel planned for the site is too high.”
Ricky claims that “the city is on solid financial footing,” especially since, as the Herald noted, Miami Beach “just approved a lower tax rate.”
Mark says the city is “on an unwarranted spending spree.”
Considering that Mark and his commissioner wife, Deede, have been feeding off the government trough for years, that “spending spree” is about to end.
And finally, the editorial board also recognized the Weithorn #DirtyPolitician Friends & Family Plan by noting, “As the spouse of term-limited Commissioner Deede Weithorn, Mr. Weithorn is part of a troubling trend of “legacy” candidates for public office. That doesn’t aid his candidacy.”
No kidding!
An October 20, 2015 Miami Herald article, Miami Beach Candidates Ricky Arriola and Mark Weithorn face off in Group 5 race, provided even more insight why the editorial board eventually recommended Arriola. Their educational backgrounds and public service accomplishments highlight the stark contrast between them. Ricky Arriola’s record is outstanding, while Weithorn’s is about as lame as it gets.
Mr. Arriola has a “bachelor’s in economics from Boston College; Juris Doctor from St. John’s University and master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School.”
It’s not surprising that Ricky Arriola is a very successful businessman.
Weithorn attended “Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.”
Where he majored in photography.
Which totally qualifies him to be a Miami Beach Commissioner.
As for Ricky Arriola’s public service record, the Herald enumerated, “Worked on President Barack Obama’s national finance committee. Immediate past chairman of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts trust board. Serves on the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel for North Beach in Miami Beach
Weithorn: “Ran unsuccessfully for Florida House in 2012.”
Oh, and he “Serves as chairman of the Miami Beach Transportation & Parking Committee” and is the “treasurer of the North Beach Development Corp.,” which is a two-member non-profit corporation.
His position on the city’s traffic committee enables him to boast on his website that he’s “been studying these issues for many years.”
And yet, somehow, traffic in Miami Beach is still a problem.
This is a committee that Weithorn managed to get himself appointed to, despite 1994 anti-nepotism ordinance, which prohibits the spouse of a sitting commissioner to serve on such boards. #DirtyPolitician Mark Weithorn was able to circumvent this ordinance because, as treasurer of the North Beach Development Corp., a Florida corporation, he conveniently designated himself the “permanent coordinating representative” of the Miami Beach Transportation & Parking Committee.
What a ruse!
As a member of the traffic committee, he also gets free parking.
And, finally, as the Miami Herald previously pointed out, by choosing public service over personal gain, Ricky Arriola has already given up a lucrative $200,000.00 contract with the City of Miami Beach so that he could run for office. That’s a huge sacrifice – and leap of faith – just for the chance to serve his community. Even if he were to lose the election (which is highly unlikely at this point), Mr. Arriola may no longer have a city contract, but his company will continue to be a successful venture.
#DirtyPolitician Mark Weithorn, on the other hand, is in debt up to his eyeballs and has already proven that he’s a complete failure, both as a businessman and as a candidate for elected office. He certainly does not deserve a seat on the dais.
The Miami Herald editorial board recommends Ricky Arriola for Miami Beach commissioner, Group 5.
And so does VotersOpinion!
On November 3, 2015, please vote responsibly!
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
The Miami Herald endorsements do not mean a thing look at who they are endorsing for Miami District 2 commissioner. Ken Russell do some background work on him and see what you find. He is supposed to be an outsider but when you follow the money you know who is behind him. Most of the people that socialist rag recommends are dirty. So this guy Weithorn must be horrible or his masters are very upset with him because the miami herald is nothing more than a rag.
For one thing, I don’t care about the other races. For another, I don’t always agree with the Herald, but every once it a while they get it right. And finally, Mark Weithorn is nothing but a good for nothing, opportunist, riding in his wife’s coat tails in an attempt to get a government job because he has failed at every job he’s ever had. Plus, he needs the money. That’s a dangerous combination when it comes to politics.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
I agree with you Weithorn is no good. However, the city of Miami is becoming a total mess. Traffic sucks and talk about nepotism I have relatives who live in the city and there are no jobs. The useless retreads are trying to control the transportation because that is where the money is and the traffic in District 2 is five times worse than Miami Beach. So I guess we can agree to disagree on the Miami situation.
It is sad Miami is one of the major ports in the United States and people who have lived their for many years cannot find work and are moving out and renting their properties. Miami should be hosting huge events. Now they want to get rid of the boat show. The are no jobs and most but not all of their leaders are stuck in the 20th century. Miami should be hosting all of the huge events that Orlando is now hosting and they keep building condo’s that the citizens cannot offered. The current termed out commissioner is running his wife who has no political experience. Sound familiar this is becoming an all over the Miami Dade County epidemic except in North Miami Beach. Their are a couple of people that both you and I know must go but I cannot believe that North Miami Beach has become a better place to live than Miami or Hialeah. Which as a resident of the city makes me happy but the whole county needs to be cleaned up.
I care about Miami because my family members live their and other people that I know do not have the money they used to are struggling. Meanwhile these politicians come in from other States and mess up the city. Did you know that if you have a garage sale on your own private property the city code enforcement will fine you? I just asked you to follow the money but If you do not care than that’s okay. All the area’s in greater Miami Dade County matter.
All of Miami-Dade County matters. But, I don’t have the knowledge, the desire, or the time to cover every city in the county. There are plenty of other bloggers who write about other areas of the county.
As you know, my main area of “coverage” is northeast Miami-Dade County, and specifically North Miami and North Miami Beach. I occasionally write about other cities, but only when a story is tied to someone or some topic relevant to NM and NMB.
If you want the real dirt about the City of Miami, read The Crespogram Report. If you’re interested in Miami Beach, Hialeah, other cities, and most of Miami-Dade County, for that matter, read Political Cortadito. These two bloggers are great at researching and finding out the truth about what government officials try to keep the public from knowing.
Also keep in mind that, unlike unbiased reporters, bloggers usually have an agenda, present company included! We have opinions that don’t necessarily agree with each other or even with some of our readers. My own opinions are sometimes unpopular, but I do my best to explain how I formed my opinion, back it up with links to public records, etc., and try to get you to see things my way.
Because, like almost everyone else on the planet, I think I’m right.
“All areas in greater Miami Dade County matter”? Sure and all areas in Florida matter, and the US, and the entire continent, the world, and let’s not forget the universe matter.
None of which changes the fact that Votersopinion isn’t a blog about them.