The Small-Minded Game
of Miami-Dade Politics

We may as well merge the two ordinances into one law and call it The Witch- Hunting Act.

Barring yet another clever legal challenge, there will be a special election on Jan. 23 (Jan. 8 for early voters) to decide whether or not the mayor should have the ability to hire and fire department directors and relegate the county manager to the mayor’s assistant.

The proposal is being pushed by Mayor Carlos Alvarez and his allies, Citizens for Reform. The idea is hated by all 13 county commissioners. So Citizens hit the streets and circulated a petition, gathering enough certified signatures to have the charter amendment placed on the ballot. Now after years of legal wrangling, voters will get a chance to weigh in.

Meanwhile, the commission is making sure that it’s harder for anyone to circulate a petition to either amend the charter or recall a public official.

Last week, Nov. 28, the County Commission approved two ordinances. One makes it a crime for anyone to lie about the contents of a proposed charter amendment or recall effort. The other requires that petitions for a referendum or recall be done with 12-point font, that only one signature per page be allowed and — here is the clincher — gives a signer 15 working days to withdraw his name “because the signature was fraudulently obtained.”

Commissioner Natacha Seijas’ recall effort, which many commissioners believe to be, at the very least, questionable, inspired the ordinances’ passing. Their belief has at least some merit: The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is investigating claims by 34 people who insist they didn’t know they were signing a referendum to recall Seijas, the District 13 representative.

But the commission’s motivation for restricting the rights of residents to petition was also the mayor question. Commissioner Joe Sanchez said as much when he claimed that some people were misled when they signed the mayor’s petition.

We may as well merge the two ordinances into one and call it The Witch-Hunting Act. (Yet another ordinance, forbidding those who aren’t electors of Miami-Dade County to circulate petitions, was proposed this past Tuesday. Whether or not that law was passed by county commissioners is not apparent at deadline.) No one condones obtaining signatures through lying but apparently there are already laws against that kind of thing, as the State Attorney’s Office is investigating the claims. What these laws do is create a chilling effect. Unscrupulous operatives can derail a petition drive by convincing signers they were lied to, allowing petitioners to be threatened with fines or imprisonment. Politicos also have 15 days to get signers to essentially change their minds. And the new requirements make it virtually impossible for grassroots reform committees without large campaign treasure chests to get referendums on the ballot. There is also the onerous rule about allowing only one signature per page, meaning petitioners will have to carry around pounds of paper.

This doesn’t just affect desired special elections dealing with county government, by the way, but all the cities within it as well. Want to fight for term limits or zoning restrictions in your city, town or village? Behold: the new rules.

The County Commission is not protecting the voters from liars by passing these laws. They are protecting themselves and other elected officials from proposed laws they don’t like.