They Don't Get It: Reforming the County Commission. By Albert Harum-Alvarez

Monday, March 28 · 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Location,880 AM Radio, 880TheBiz.com, Listen305.com

"There are none so blind as those who will not see." —Jonathan Swift

Mr. Swift must have met the Miami-Dade County Commission. Never to be outdone, the Commission was even more tone-deaf, more arrogant and more childish yesterday than ousted Mayor Alvarez and Commissioner Seijas were during their recall elections earlier this month.

Why I Am Voting YES on Amendment 4. By Albert Harum-Avarez

We know in our gut that land use in Florida is out of the control of citizens, and so Amendment 4—Hometown Democracy—has a strong attraction for anyone who cares about Florida. Turns out this is one of those cases where you can trust your gut. Here are the main arguments against Hometown Democracy, de-constructed one by one:

1. AMENDMENT 4 (HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY) IS TOO FAR-REACHING.

Here's how the Miami Herald summarized the opponents' argument the other day: "...the amendment amounts to an indiscriminate blast that, by leaving often technically complex decisions to the unpredictability of the ballot box, could make matters worse by inhibiting smart planning while stifling development in a state heavily dependent on it for jobs."

It's a classic scare tactic, evoking lost jobs and recession. But the truth is, overdevelopment is what has made the Great Recession even GREATER in Florida. And that happened under the current rules, not under Amendment 4. What we see today is mostly bad planning, and overbuilding has left us with an economy very vulnerable to downturns. None of that can be blamed on Amendment 4—which hasn't passed yet.

2. THESE DECISIONS SHOULD BE LEFT TO ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHOM WE CAN VOTE OUT OF OFFICE IF THEY DO A POOR JOB.

Some people have swallowed the argument that elected officials should be entrusted with these Comp Plan decisions. Of course, we all know that local democracy is in a coma, induced by truckloads of developer money. County Commission incumbents have turned away challengers 56 times in a row--despite the commission's craven record on land use decisions.

If you count Katy Sorenson's win over sexual abuser Larry Hawkins 16 years ago, and if Jean Monestime is finally able to turn out bought-and-paid-for Commissioner Dorrin Rolle, the score will improve to 56 to 2. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement of our democratic process. Elections have not given Florida's voters a shred of confidence in their ability to steer development in this state. That's why the Amendment 4 petition effort was supported so strongly.

3. THE RESULTING BALLOT MEASURES WILL BE NUMEROUS AND COMPLICATED.

This is a complete exaggeration. Complex administrative decisions will never get to the voters. If there is a ruling that minor technical matters have to go to a vote, The Developer Lobby will pull the strings on their legislative marionettes, and the statewide Comp Plan rules will be adjusted. Bank on it!

Please pass the word: YES on 4.

Corruption. Miami-Style. Listen305 Monday, Oct. 18th, 7 pm, Listen305.com

Two UEL Board Members have a new radio show. They say: Join your hosts Sonia Succar and Albert Harum-Alvarez for YOUR show: YOUR chance to speak out—and LISTEN—on the issues that shape our city! Join us Monday night at 7.

Politicians buy elections. Developers buy politicians. It's an old story in South Florida politics. But this political season gives us a chance to make BIG CHANGES in the state constitution, and even give the boot to some of those corrupt politicos. Listen305 gives YOU a chance to talk it over this week.

We'll start with a primer from Dr. Paul George, on the history of political corruption in the 305. Did immigrants make it worse? Are we improving at all? Reform has been tried before: did it do any good? What do YOU think? And are you ready to CHANGE your mind?

There are THREE WAYS to listen to Listen305:

1. Listen Live to Listen305 Monday night at 7, on The Biz 880 AM Radio.
2. Stream the show live at 880TheBiz.com, at 7 on Monday.
3. Listen to the podcast recording the day after at http://Listen305.com. You can even listen now to last week's show, at the same site: http://Listen305.com.

Losses to our community. By Albert Harum-Alvarez

Two longtime UEL members lost a parent this week. Thorn Grafton lost his mother Martha French Pancoast Grafton and Alan Farago lost his father Peter Farago.

On behalf of the UEL Board of Directors, we send our condolences to both men in their time of sorrow.

UEL Board Member, Albert Harum-Alvarez is running for office!

We were surprised when we read it in the Miami Herald yesterday:

Now, more fresh faces are starting to pop up. For Sorenson's seat, they include Homestead businesswoman Pam Gray, Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn and software-design consultant Albert Harum-Alvarez.

If you haven't heard of these people, it's not because they've been making themselves scarce. Harum-Alvarez, for example, has been active in a wide range of community issues for more than a decade. Among other things, he helped plan the concept for a downtown Kendall.

A SERIOUS REALITY

``I've been doing community work for free for 15 years,'' he says, ``so a $6,000 [commissioner's] salary would be a raise for me.''

Harum-Alvarez, who has yet to file the paperwork to run for Sorenson's seat, is joking, but he represents a serious reality: talented local leaders -- from municipal mayors to community activists -- rarely have a realistic shot at a county-wide platform.

We wish Albert well and the other candidates in the race.