The SunPost

Who will run city of Miami Beach-owned parking garages is up in the air after the mayor and commissioners voted unanimously not to automatically renew the city�s $3 million-a-year contract with Standard Parking, Inc.

�In the spirit of competition, I would ask this contract be put out for competitive bid,� said Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, the sponsor of the resolution. �In addition, this contractor, Standard Parking, its local hierarchy, recently has been mired in private ethics issues.�

The only dissenting voice came from Commissioner Jerry Libbin, who questioned why the city was not renewing Standard�s contract when other contracts are routinely renewed.

�I just think we need to be consistent in how we handle these things,� said Libbin, who eventually voted with the rest of the commission.

Commissioner Saul Gross pointed out why Standard�s situation was different.

�In this case, Frank [Pintado] has pushed the envelope by being involved in campaigning to a greater extent than I feel comfortable with,� Gross said. �What he�s doing might be perfectly legal, but it violates my sense of what the vendor ordinance is all about.�

Pintado manages Standard Parking�s Miami Beach operations and was an active fund-raiser and volunteer for political candidates in the November election. The city�s vendor ordinance doesn�t allow vendors with city contracts to contribute money or services to Miami Beach political campaigns.

Pintado could not be reached for comment, but this isn�t the first time his ethics have been called into question.

In 2004, when Standard�s contract was last renewed, Quik Park of Florida owner Hank Sopher filed a bid protest alleging Pintado had violated the ordinance by helping then-Commissioners Matti Herrera Bower, Simon Cruz and Luis Garcia with their respective campaigns. Sopher, who ran against Cruz for commissioner in 2003, felt he lost the parking contract because of political favoritism. He contributed at least $3,500 to Bower�s recent mayoral run against Cruz.

The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust is investigating an e-mail that Pintado appears to have sent from his personal address just before this year�s elections with what appeared to be the results of a city election poll showing three candidates supported by Pintado � Elsa Urquiza, Luis Salom and Michael Gongora � ahead of their opponents. (All three candidates lost.)

The ethics commission also is investigating who mailed a campaign flier attacking Group 6 candidates Frank Kruszewski, Linda Grosz and Urquiza with homophobic, sexist and racist references. Many sources told the SunPost they believed Pintado was behind the flier, because it reminded them of a similar attack against South Miami Commissioner Dan McCrea during his 2004 re-election effort. Pintado�s name came up in sworn depositions as being behind those mailers. Pintado insisted he wasn�t involved. The case was closed when an important witness died of natural causes before he could testify.

Standard Parking has been contracted to supply cashiers, attendants and other employees to run Miami Beach�s garages and lots since 1999.

Standard�s contract officially expires Jan. 3, after which it will be extended on a month-to-month basis until Standard gets another contract or a new vendor is hired.

The commissioners voluntarily agreed to immediately enact a �cone of silence� about the parking bid process, meaning that neither they nor city staff can discuss it except in a public forum.

Comments? E-mail ben@miamisunpost.com

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