Malefactors of great wealth
“. . . [these men] combine to bring about as much financial
stress as possible, in order to discredit the policy of the government and thereby
secure a reversal of that policy, so that they may enjoy unmolested the fruits
of their own evil-doing. . . I regard this contest as one to determine who
shall rule this free country—the people through their governmental agents, or a
few ruthless and domineering men whose wealth makes them peculiarly formidable
because they hide behind the breastworks of corporate organization.”
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
The Miami Beach
campaign is over. 11,000 of 48,000 registered voters have spoken, and Mayor Levine
got over 6000 of those votes, and we got under 4000. Encouraged by activists into the lions den, I emerged
chastened, more humble, yet unbowed. I realized some crucial mistakes, sorely needed debate
preparation, and a media coach.
The debate coaching should have included being able to meet Philip
Levine's spiffy song and dance routine, because I emerged with the knowledge
that the political debate in this election, consisted of dumbed-down discourse,
platitudes, non-existent "accomplishments," and a non-stop retinue of
mailers, pamphlets, banners, advertisements and slick videos of Mayor Levine
descending from the heavens, with a voice over Hollywood, echo-chamber narrator,
his deep tones preparing the Mayor for the next Papal beautification. "Mayor Philip Levine," it
droned.
So the Mayor won, his great fortune deployed against me to
protect his vested interest in the financial or political reward to be gained
by the continued unfettered redevelopment of Miami Beach. Along the way, I had the good fortune
to meet many interesting, dedicated people, who sincerely had the city's best
interests at the center of their idealism. I wish to personally thank Daniel Ciraldo, Peter Erlich,
Alex Fernandez, Randall Hilliard, Charles Urstadt, Clare McCord, Tonya Bhatt and last but
not least, my faithful, loving wife Catherine who supported me throughout this
entire speed-dating effort.
The editorial board of the Miami Herald, fecklessly endorsed
Mayor Levine's candidacy as one that would, through "flashy TV ads” carve
a more paradisiacal Miami Beach, a city that would inevitably succumb to his
consolidation of power, his "vision" for its betterment. They hoped for his ethical rehabilitation
as well as less arrogance during his second term. They confided to a colleague that I was "flat" in
my presentation to them, the crux of which they affirmed in an intellectually
dishonest editorial, praising me, questioning my experience (despite my twelve
years of service) and toughness and endorsed the Mayor. There followed in succeeding days,
simply a printed list of "names only" endorsements preceding the election.
People carried that list into the booth. They did not think.
They did not read. Ten percent of the vote probably gone in a puff of
editorial smoke, cavalierly brushing aside the PAC, the shakedowns and the
ethical issues that should have mattered to good journalists. Let's not even mention the early
blackmail attempt reported to the MBPD, which later took only perfunctory steps
to identify the perpetrator, despite a video identification by my campaign
worker and a clear bank security photo of the messenger who dropped it off.
The mayor even attempted to have elected a intellectual
dwarf who, sitting on the commission would have ensured an even more bullet-proof
majority (he probably has one anyway).
It might, however, be despoiled by a hard working candidate
who was elected, despite the late endorsements of her opponents expressing
fealty to the Mayor's slate.
The city charter is now effectively abrogated. Miami Beach will be here for
"hundreds of years," Mayor Levine has said. After all, he sold his business for $300 million, so it must
be true. And he is even featured
in an article in this month's "Vanity Fair."
Perhaps Mayor Levine is correct. The city needs a Napoleon. Too many pesky gadflies, tree-huggers, preservationists, sea
level rise believers, self-appointed retired lawyers who appear at city
commission meetings and "scream," the Mayor said, ever magnanimous, in
victory. Churchill needn't worry.
The government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich--a true plutocracy
backed by deep pocketed Russian oligarchs, constructing towers for hedge fund
managers and ejecting the middle class. A town perhaps doomed to suffer the
fate of looking like another gleaming, skyscrapered, hedge-fund Xanadu, a
characterless zombie-like towered, Sunny Isles Beach-like entity where people
believe that the sine qua non of status involves an elevator ride to one's
apartment in your Porsche 911 turbo.
Stay tuned for more demolitions of historic homes on places
like Star Island, the Venetian causeway,
and on North Bay Road.
Keep watching the other parts of our city as big block white houses
replace the buildings of mid-century Miami Beach as bulldozers roam with
impunity carrying demolition orders.
December is my last month after 12 years of service on two
city boards and my last month as chairman of the Historic Preservation Board
following six years of service there. I hope against hope that the city
commission appoints people of the same quality with whom I had the privilege to
serve. Insightful and
aesthetically sensitive, we monitored almost 700 projects, most of which helped
Miami Beach maintain its status as a predominant world destination.
I felt that I had an obligation to the dedicated community
activists who so ardently supported me and who engaged an army of volunteers to
fight a gigantically funded city political machine, headed by a twenty-first
century Boss Tweed, despite whom, we defeated a major thrust into the treasured
Ocean Terrace historic district.
Keep fighting folks, be on guard, be vigilant and protect our precious
city, our young city, only a 100-years-old fragile lady, now more vulnerable than
ever.
* * *
We'll always have
Paris.
I apologize for the absence of this blog since May. Running for office has its constraints,
and some of them include not offending anyone. Those fetters are now removed.
Our local problems seem minuscule compared to the debate now
surfacing in the wake of the Paris attacks by bloodthirsty, mayhem-spreading
Islamist terrorists, their twisted version of a religious ethos compromising
the normally safe feelings we feel in major Western cities. This climate where the practitioners of
Islam refuse to speak out against the atrocities, is underwritten by a Saudi
Arabia that practices the same brand of violence, subjugation of women, and
religious intolerance, subsidizing a plethora of Mosques and radical Imams who
preach hatred of the west. Our
values are perverse, our women are prostitutes and for this, we deserve to die
grisly deaths while sitting in Restaurants or attending a rock concert.
Here politicians scramble to sound tough, prescribing
remedies, such as limiting war-torn refugees from entering the states, and
recommending (Donald Trump) that all Muslims be "registered."
Talk of this is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
Police patrol the center of New York City, Paris, and
London, armed to the teeth with submachine guns and riot gear, a Gestapo look
and security panic mode in tow.
And even here in Miami Beach, going to the movies even seems a bit
risky, because targets here are softer than most places. Metal detectors in theaters cannot be
too distant from now.
Since I last wrote about the Republican candidates, they
seem to have entered a new level of craziness.
Dr. Carson thinks that women should bear children of rape
and incest, and that Jews would have shut down the Whermacht if they had been packing heat. Never mind that the mighty German Army shunted aside the
armies of France and Belgium and almost destroyed the British army at
Dunkirque, except for the miraculous evacuation. But Jews in the small villages, armed with handguns could
have stopped it all. Only
Christians should be President, he says.
Really? Does the
Constitution mention that?
The Donald would build a "beautiful" wall on the
Mexican boarder and deport 11 million aliens and their children, whether born
here or not, violating the constitution.
He does not mention that immigration from Mexico is negative now, so the
wall would keep them in, not out.
I could go on with this nonsense. But I will stop for now.
Great to be back!
