On June 30, 2026 the now-former Constituent Aide to North Miami Beach mayor Mike “Michael” Joseph, Carolina Matamoros, was bitch slapped by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust, and it’s a beautiful thing!

First some background.

Carolina Matamoros has been an employee of the City of North Miami since at least 2015 that we are aware of, and possibly even before that.  We will know her exact date of employment as soon as we receive a response to the Public Records Request for her personnel file that we made on July 12, 2026.

On June 3, 2026 of this year she also filed to run for a seat on the North Miami City Council.  We are told that she took a leave of absence in order to run for office in order to comply with Section F(3) of the North Miami Civil Service Rules, which mandates that “No officer or employee in the Classified Service of the City shall continue in such position after election to any public office.”

Furthermore, Article 1. Sec. 15-14(b) of the North Miami Code of Ordinances also states, “No officer or employee in the service of the city shall continue in such position after becoming a candidate for nomination or election to any public office.”

Carolina Matamoros may have covered all her bases by protecting her North Miami job, but what she did not see coming was that her sweet, “off-campus” gig as Michael Joseph’s sidekick at the City of North Miami Beach was about to come to a screeching halt.

For the past few months, several North Miami Beach residents had been wondering whether or not her bosses in North Miami knew that she was moonlighting for Michael Joseph.

Since that was easy enough to find out, on May 16, 2026, we sent an email to the Human Resources Director of North Miami to confirm whether or not Carolina Matamoros had obtained permission from HR and her own department head to accept the outside position at North Miami Beach.  On May 18, 2026 the Department’s Assistant Director responded by attaching a copy of Carolina’s Request to Hold Outside Employment, which we then shared with the residents who were wanting to know.

As far as we were concerned, Carolina Matamoros was in compliance with her North Miami employer, and we had no need to investigate further.

Except that wasn’t the end of the story.

Not by a long shot.

As you all should know by now, Michael Joseph is well known for being an evil, manipulative, Devil on the Dais, who also despises Darvin Williams and Fortuna Smukler with a passion.

On June 8, 2026, Michael’s Constituent Aide, Carolina Matamoros, filed an Ethics Complaint against Commissioner Fortuna Smukler and an identical Ethics Complaint against City Manager Darvin Williams.

According to her complaints, her beef with Mr. Williams were that:

• He told her that she “would be required to report to City offices beginning June 22, 2026;”
• He directed her “to complete an outside employment disclosure form and submit it to Human Resources by June 11, 2026;” and
• He told her that she “was in need of training, and “that it was inappropriate for me to question him regarding conversations with elected officials, and instructed me to ‘govern yourself accordingly,’ after she asked him if Michael Joseph “was aware of the changes to my work arrangement because my duties involved supporting the Mayor’s office.”

What she conveniently left out of the narrative of her complaint, although it was included as an exhibit, was an email from City Manager Darvin Williams to her on June 6, 2026 stating:

“As you are aware, under City policy, the City Manager has sole authority to approve remote work or work-from-home arrangements for City employees.

On February 25, 2026, I provided you with written approval to continue your existing remote work arrangement as an exception to the City’s in-person attendance policy restated in a memo from my office through the Human Resources Department on February 2026. See email string below and memo attached. At that time, the arrangement was approved based on operational considerations and administrative needs.

Since that approval, Administration has undertaken a comprehensive effort to strengthen legislative support operations and enhance coordination among employees assigned to legislative and administrative support functions. As part of this effort, the City is implementing a robust training and professional development program for all legislative support personnel. In order to maximize the effectiveness of this initiative and ensure consistent service delivery, regular in-person participation will be required.

Accordingly, your previously approved remote work arrangement will conclude effective Friday, June 19, 2026. Beginning Monday, June 22, 2026, you will be expected to report to your assigned work location during regular business hours and perform your duties in accordance with the City’s established attendance requirements.”

Although he was not required to, Mr. Williams gave her the courtesy of a detailed explanation.

Obviously unclear on the concept of a Commission-Manager Form of Government, she had the audacity to respond to him:

“Thank you for the information. My schedule is in accordance with the needs of the Mayor and I would not want to create an confusion with the tasks associated with being his community Liason. Have you discussed this with him?”

At this point, City Manager Darvin Williams had just about enough of her apparent insubordination, and wrote back:

“You’re welcome for the information, but please pay close attention to the directive. One of the reasons for this move is to provide to the legislative support for the elected officials appropriate training on public records, legal drafting, and charter compliance, By your response, it certainly appears you are in need of training with regard to the NMB Charter. There, you’ll find in Section 3 that all personnel decisions fall solely under the purview of the City Manager. Accordingly, it would be inappropriate for me to take directives from any elected officials regarding personnel matters. As it is inappropriate for you to question me with regard to any conversation that I may have had with any elected official pertaining to the administration of this City.

I have provided you with a directive to bring you into compliance with our policies and procedures. I recommend that you govern yourself accordingly.”

In other words …

By now, you’re probably wondering what all of this has to do with Commissioner Fortuna Smukler, and how she got sucked into this weird, but typical Michael Joseph-like drama.  Well, Carolina Matamoros’ grievance against Fortuna is even more ridiculous than her frivolous one against Mr. Williams.

According to the narrative in her Ethics Complaint:

“On May 27, 2026, Commissioner Fortuna Smukler emailed me regarding the Miami-Dade County League of Cities Gala and requested information concerning the Mayor’s attendance.

After receiving direction from the Mayor, I relayed information regarding the disposition of his ticket. Following that communication, Commissioner Smukler removed the outside recipient from the email chain and copied City Manager Williams. Less than one hour later, City Manager Williams sent me a separate email directing that I copy him on all correspondence and referencing prior discussions regarding that requirement. Prior to that communication, I had not received a written directive requiring that I copy the City Manager on all correspondence.”

By now you’re probably scratching your heads wondering what any of this has to do with Commissioner Fortuna Smukler.  Near the very end of her complaint narrative, Carolina Matamoros finally revealed the reason.  She wrote:

“I subsequently learned that Commissioner Fortuna Smukler serves as a director of The Estime-Irvin Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization associated with Mary Estime-Irvin, who is my opponent in the election for North Miami City Council District 3. I provide this information because Commissioner Smukler was involved in communications that preceded some of the events described above. I do not have personal knowledge that this relationship influenced any personnel decisions, but I believe the relationship may be relevant to the Commission’s review.”

In other words …

“I don’t have any idea if Fortuna Smukler has anything to do with anything, but what the heck, investigate her anyway!”

Seems legit.

Even more “legit” is an email that Carolina sent to the Ethics Commission on June 24, 2026 (more than two weeks after her initial complaints), supplying “Additional Information,” as follows:

“I would like to supplement my existing ethics complaint with a recent event that I believe is further evidence of retaliation.

On June 24, 2026, at approximately 11:00 a.m., I received a seven-page Notice of Pre-Determination Hearing advising that the City is considering disciplinary action against me, up to and including termination. The hearing was scheduled for the following day, June 25, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., giving me less than 24 hours to respond.

The short notice did not provide a reasonable opportunity to obtain representation, review the allegations, gather records, or prepare a response. I find the timing concerning given my prior complaints and disclosures regarding workplace and ethics-related issues.

For these reasons, I am asking that this matter be added to my existing complaint and reviewed as part of the pattern of conduct I have previously reported. I have attached the email as a screenshot for reference.”

Interestingly, on June 29, 2026 the Ethics Commission issued a Notice of Hearing for both complaints to be held on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

However, we assume the hearing never took place because on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust dismissed both complaints as “Not Legally Sufficient.”

The Memorandum issued in Fortuna Smukler’s case was short, sweet, and to the point.

“The complaint fails to allege a violation of the County Ethics Code or any matter within the jurisdiction of the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.

Conclusion:

The factual allegations raised by the Complainant do not rise to a violation of the County Ethics Code, ECPO, or any ordinance within the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission. Consequently, there is No Legal Sufficiency for an investigation to be conducted into this matter and the complaint should be Dismissed.”

The Memorandum issued in the case against Darvin Williams was a bit longer, since Carolina needed to be reminded of the basic hierarchy of municipal government and exactly who was the boss of her.

“Complainant provided information regarding an email exchange between herself and Commissioner Fortuna Smuckler regarding the Mayor’s attendance to the Miami-Dade County League of Cities gala. Subsequently, Respondent directed Complainant to copy him on all correspondence.

[Missing text] with a City Charter officer’s performance is not a matter within the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission).

Moreover, this complaint does not allege a violation of Section (g) of the County Ethics Code or other ordinances within the jurisdiction of this Commission. Section (g) of the County Ethics Code prohibits County employees and officials from using their official positions to secure a special benefit for themselves or others. See Miami-Dade County Code at Sec. 2-11.1 (g).

Additionally, Section 3.1.1 of the North Miami Beach Code states that the City Manager is “responsible for the appointing, hiring, promoting, supervising, disciplining and removing of all City employees, except the City Attorney, the City Clerk, and all employees of the Office of the City Attorney.”

Respondent’s alleged conduct regarding Complainant’s work arrangement, work schedule, and work requirements fit squarely within his duties as the North Miami Beach City Manager. There are no allegations within the complaint to demonstrate that Mr. Williams was seeking a special benefit outside his role as a city manager.”

And as it did in Fortuna’s case, the Commission ended its Memorandum with:

“Conclusion:

The factual allegations raised by the Complainant do not rise to a violation of the County Ethics Code, ECPO, or any ordinance within the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission. Consequently, there is No Legal Sufficiency for an investigation to be conducted into this matter and the complaint should be Dismissed.”

At this point, we don’t know if we are more shocked that an allegedly intelligent government employee would file such featherbrained complaints against two public officials, or that Fortuna Smukler would even consider sitting on the on the board of a scam artist/grifter like Mary Estimé-Irvin.

What’s not shocking is that someone like Carolina Matamoros would work for the Demonic Michael Joseph.

Water truly seeks its own level.

Stephanie