Charlie don’t play that

November 17, 2009 · Posted in Florida, Local politics 
Where has the love gone? Well ... not to Marco Rubio.

Where has the love gone? Well ... not to Marco Rubio.

Gov. Charlie Crist has enough problems. Between Scott Rothstein, the bad press over his Obama-stimulus flip-flops, the distinct loss of mojo (though let’s keep it real — he’s still way ahead of Marco Rubio) and the constant grief from the jihadis, who seem hell bent on turning Florida into one, giant New York District 23, he’s got headaches up to his tan lines, and apparently has no intention of adding Miami’s political nightmares to his own. So it looks like the rump commission and its two members will have to muddle through on their own. From the Herald:

As disgraced Commissioner Angel Gonzalez pleaded guilty to abusing his position and officially left office Monday, Gov. Charlie Crist and Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado continued their stalemate over how to fill the sudden crop of empty seats at Miami City Hall.

Unable to have a quorum with only two of five commissioners in place, Regalado has asked Crist to intercede and appoint a third commissioner — which would save Miami hundreds of thousands of dollars for an off-year election.

Crist, however, isn’t budging from the stance he took last week, saying there is nothing in Miami’s charter that says he should step in.

“We will continue to work with the city,” said Crist Press Secretary Sterling Ivey. “But at this time, it does not appear the governor’s authority extends to the appointment process.”

Translation: “Don’t look at me, Tomas. I wouldn’t touch Miami if it had a six pack.” Not that the new mayor isn’t trying… and by trying, I mean trying anything:

… At one point, Regalado — sworn in last week — asked Gonzalez if he would join an emergency meeting before departing for the sole purpose of having a quorum to appoint a commissioner. Gonzalez declined.

Can you imagine how that session might have gone? Awkward…! It gets worse

That leaves three empty seats for now: Those of Gonzalez and Michelle Spence-Jones, who was suspended Friday by Crist after she was arrested in her own criminal case, and Regalado’s old District 4 seat, which will be decided in a runoff Tuesday.

… The winner of Tuesday’s runoff between Francis Suarez and Manolo Reyes for the Flagami seat will not be able to take office until Nov. 25.

If a third commissioner isn’t appointed by Nov. 23, city charter says Miami must hold an election. That would be for Spence-Jones’ District 5 seat, an election that could cost about $200,000.

The same election trigger doesn’t hit for Gonzalez’s District 1 seat until Nov. 26 because he left office three days after Spence-Jones. So it’s expected the three-member commission — with the newly elected commissioner seated — will immediately appoint someone for Gonzalez’s seat.

Translation: Miami is seriously screwed. Meanwhile, if a special election does take place, likely in January, it’s expected that as many as half a dozen people could jump in, and they’ll be looking to raise tens of thousands of dollars to secure the seat in short order. It’s a tremendous waste of money, both for the election itself, and for tapped out donors who’ll have to decide anew which horse to bet on (names I’m hearing tossed around the rumor mill include Patrick Range Jr., though he may not meet the residency requirement, both of Spence-Jones’ recent opponents, Jeff Torain and David Chiverton, Rev. Richard Dunn, who fought Spence-Jones to a run-off the first time around in 2005, and who knows how many others.)

For the record, I don’t blame Gov. Crist for staying far away from this mess. After all, where would he find minority Sarah Palins who would be sufficiently right wing to satisfy the jihadis, and sufficiently community friendly to satisfy the constituents? This one, in my opinion, lands at the feet of the Miami-Dade State Attorney, who refused to pull the trigger in September or October, when it might have made a difference.

Meanwhile, speaking of Cristian headaches, guess who’s keynoting at CPAC this year???

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