Judge denies Michelle Spence-Jones’ suspension stay request
A Miami judge quickly dispatched ousted Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones’ emergency order which sought to stop Gov. Charlie Crist from suspending her. (Video after the jump) Read more
On MLK Day, Spence-Jones gets downright defiant
Michelle Spence-Jones (far right) put on a full court press during the MLK Day parade in Liberty City Monday.
The politicians assembled across from the Wendy’s, their convertibles and constituent buses and vans lining 54th Street along 10th Avenue. It was about an hour and a half before the scheduled start of the Martin Luther King Day parade through Liberty City — an annual tradition, and THE parade according to insistent fans who brushed off the parades in South Dade and in Broward as knock-offs of the real thing. Women fixed their elaborate, feathered outfits, boys straightened their marching band uniforms, and a carload of kids from the 5000 Role Models looked smart in their crisp, white shirts and trademark red and black ties. There were candidates and politicians everywhere — Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, Democratic Senate contender Maurice Ferre, Miami-Dade District 2 Commission Dorrin Rolle, who wheeled up in a giant bus with his face emblazoned all over it, and State Rep. James Bush III, whose wife is running for his seat while he run’s for Kendrick Meek’s Congressional seat (one of about a dozen candidates to do so.) But that wasn’t the show.
The show was, at first, the guessing game over whether “she” would show up. And then, she showed up. Read more
Crist orders Spence-Jones suspended (again)
From the Miami Herald, confirmation of what Gov. Charlie Crist’s spokesman told me yesterday:
Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday issued a new executive order to re-suspend Miami City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, whom he suspended from office after she was charged in a corruption probe.
Crist immediately suspended the popular commissioner after state prosecutors arrested her in November for allegedly redirecting $50,000 in county money to a family business, before she won her first election. She denies wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. Read more
Asked and answered: Crist v. Spence-Jones
A spokesman for Gov. Charlie Crist tells me the governor does indeed plan to go forward with suspending newly re-re-elected Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones. Spence-Jones won her seat back last night after being suspended previously by the governor over grand theft charges she’s facing. Spokesman Sterling Ivery told me Crist believes he does have the authority under state law to suspend Spence-Jones again, even though voters re-elected her with full knowledge of the charges against her. There has been some chatter that a suspension would constitute a usurpation of the will of the voters (most of it from the pro-Spence-Jones camp,) and with PULSE out there with protest songs at the ready, there’s always a risk of blowback, particularly for a Republican governor with a rare talent for being popular with black voters. Asked if the Gov worries about a possible backlash if he removes the commissioner again, Ivery added, “the governor feels he has the responsibility to uphold the laws of Florida.”
The suspension won’t happen today, since obviously there is a lot of other stuff going on (namely Haiti.) But could come at the time of Spence-Jones’ swearing in. The commissioner has filed papers with a state court seeking to block a second suspension, and legal eagles around these parts seem to believe she has a decent case. A hearing on the motion filed by the commissioner’s high priced attorneys is expected to take place next week.
Stay tuned!
Local Buzz Update: Governor suspends Spence-Jones
Charlie Crist’s office issued this statement today:
TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today suspended Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, who was charged today with grand theft, a second degree felony. Last month, Governor Crist petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to impanel a Statewide Grand Jury to investigate criminal activity committed by public officials while acting in their official capacity. Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the State Attorney for the 11th Circuit Court, informed Governor Crist of the impending arrests.
“I am grateful to Florida’s State Attorneys for their tireless work to uncover corruption and bring those who abuse their position of public trust to justice,” Governor Crist said. “Today’s events further demonstrate the need for a Statewide Grand Jury to identify necessary changes in current law and provide specific recommendations to combat corruption in our state.”
In a separate case, Miami Commissioner Angel Gonzalez was charged today with a misdemeanor count of exploitation of public position and resigned today, effective Monday, November 16, 2009. Governor Crist cited the arrest as further evidence that a Statewide Grand Jury is needed.
Governor Crist deems it to be in the best interest of the public for a Statewide Grand Jury to review criminal activity committed by public officials while acting in their official capacity. Since taking office in January 2007, Governor Crist has suspended 32 public officials, including today’s suspension.
That leaves the City of Miami commission down two seats, counting the resignation, the suspension, and a run-off. I spoke with a staffer in the city clerk’s office today, who said that it’s still unclear whether the commission could have even followed the city charter and replacing either of the two missing commissioners, since two people does not a quorum make. Another source told me today that the new mayor, Tomas Regalado, has been in touch with Gov. Crist, and favors a “caretaker” for the seat — someone who would not want to run in their own rite, presumably in a special election. But there will be push-back on such an idea from the Black community, which has already seen the disenfranchisement of the voters in District 5 due to this mess. Already there are noises about several potential candidates, including Jeff Torain, who came in third in the race against Spence-Jones, and possibly Richard Dunn, who fought Spence-Jones to a run-off the first election go-round.
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