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The past few weeks have been very hectic for my staff and me.
We have been working on a number of district projects, as well as
several of legislative issues. As you read on, you will learn about a
couple of these endeavors that have been keeping us busy. On Feb. 22,
I hosted a live cablecast electronic town hall meeting. This meeting,
the first of its kind, was an opportunity for residents of District
Seven to interact with their County Commissioner and various
Miami-Dade County department directors from the comfort of their
homes. This meeting was held at the Miami-Dade Commission Chambers and
cablecast live on Miami-Dade Television Channel 34. Viewers were
encouraged to participate by calling or E-mailing questions or
concerns, which were instantly responded to. That evening we received
an overwhelming amount of citizen participation and later gathered
nothing but positive feedback from throughout the community.
In my three years in office I have continuously made an effort to
make government accessible to the people. I have conducted town hall
meetings throughout the neighborhoods of District Seven. I maintain
two district offices, I established Saturday office hours to
facilitate meeting with constituents and I posted an interactive web
page, which provides information and invites input. Despite these
efforts, we have usually only been able to touch a fraction of the
people in the district. This electronic televised town hall meeting
was an attempt to use the latest technology to bring government even
closer to the people.
On March 9, I sponsored a revised comprehensive campaign finance
reform ordinance. The ordinance, was broader in scope and coverage
than the previous one presented and approached campaign finance reform
from the following three critical perspectives:
1) Prohibit campaign contributions to and expenditures on behalf of
candidates for Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County
Commissioners by county contractors and their immediate families.
2) Provide public access via the Internet to campaign finance data
by requiring electronic submission of campaign finance reports and the
posting of such information on the Department of Elections web page.
Information to be transmitted includes sources, amount of campaign
contributions and expenditures. Electronic reporting will give
residents immediate access to the campaign finance process and hold
candidates and elected officials to a higher standard of
responsibility.
3) Establish an Election Campaign Financing Trust Fund to provide
partial public financing for mayoral and county commission elections.
It is a voluntary system and to participate a candidate must agree to
abide by specific contribution and expense limitations and provide
detailed disclosure information.
I sponsored this Ordinance because public confidence in local
government is at an all-time low. There is a widespread perception
that money and influence peddling take priority over the best
interests of our residents and the community as a whole. This explains
why voter participation continues to dwindle.
I wanted to send a very strong and clear message that this is a
government for the people, not for special interests. I thought there
was no better way to get this message across than to reform the very
process by which our elected officials are selected.
I also thought that public financing of County Commission and
Mayoral elections would help encourage the great civic activists in
our community to run for office. Unfortunately, the Board of County
Commissioners failed to approve my Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance.
Four Commissioners (including myself) voted in favor of the Ordinance
and seven commissioners voted against it.
Despite this vote, I am going to continue to work on this very
important issue and will present new Campaign Finance Reform
Ordinances to the Board of County Commissioners.
If you missed our televised town hall meeting, don't worry because
it won't be our last. But until then I will be hosting a series of
town hall meetings throughout District Seven. Hopefully, you will be
able to attend one in your neighborhood and provide me with the
necessary feedback. Please mark these dates on your calendar:
* Wednesday, April 12, 7:00 pm at Shenandoah Elementary, 1023 SW 21
Street.
* Wednesday, April 26, 7:00 pm at Coral Gate Park, 1415 SW 32 Avenue
* Wednesday, May 3rd at Ponce de Leon Middle School, 5801 Augusto
Street
* Wednesday, May 10th at Grapeland Park, 1650 N.W. 37 Avenue.
* \Wednesday, May 31, at The City of Miami Commission Chambers, 3500
Pan American Drive
Please remember that my staff and I are always available to assist
you and your family. My office number is 305-375-5680 or my District
Office number is 305-529-0599.
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