Miami Beach

Political Semantics

Are politics really what govern charter interpretations in the city of Miami Beach? Sorry, rhetorical question.

Richard Steinberg

By Ben Torter

The political winds in Miami Beach have changed direction since 2006, and with them certain interpretations of the city’s charter.

It seems laws for appointing versus electing to fill a commission vacancy have gotten stricter this year. Well, actually the rules haven’t changed — just the way the lawyers are reading them.

Commissioner Richard Steinberg (a lawyer) will be stepping down later this year to run for state representative, District 106. On March 12, commissioners voted 6-1 that if they decide to appoint rather than hold an election, which is their right, former Mayor David Dermer is their man. Commissioner Jerry Libbin was the one dissenter.

Deputy City Attorney Jean Olin told commissioners that, by law, they could only appoint Dermer between Nov. 5 and Dec. 5, and had until July 16 to decide to call an election instead.

A couple of days later, Commissioner Jonah Wolfson (a lawyer) threw a curve ball at the City Attorney’s Office. Not only would commissioners have to wait 30 days after Steinberg left the dais to make an appointment, but also to call an election, opined Wolfson.

City Attorney Jose Smith decided Wolfson’s read of the charter was right. If Steinberg’s last day isn’t until Nov. 4, “the remaining members of the city commission must fill the vacancy by appointment within the 30 day period commencing Nov. 5, 2008,” Smith wrote. “If no appointment is made, then a special election must be held to fill the vacancy.” That would be too late for a Miami Beach election to be put on the Nov. 4 presidential ballot, a much less expensive proposition than holding a special election, weeks later.

Semantics aside, Wolfson wants Dermer appointed, while Steinberg prefers a special election.

The last time the city found itself with a commissioner stepping down a year early was in 2006 when Luis Garcia ran successfully for state representative, District 107. In that case, the city attorney allowed a different interpretation of the same section 2.07 of the city charter.

Garcia submitted a letter of resignation on July 7, 2006. His last day as commissioner was to be Nov. 7, 2006. The commission was left with a decision: Should it appoint someone to fill the remaining year of Garcia’s seat, or hold an election? On July 12, 2006, it voted to hold an election. Michael Gongora eventually won a runoff against Deede Weithorn. He then had to run a year later, and lost a close race to Ed Tobin.

Wolfson claimed last week that the election to replace Garcia violated the charter because it was called before Garcia’s last day as a commissioner. Smith disagreed with Wolfson. He ruled that although the election may not have followed the “literal reading of the charter, it was lawful.”

It appears the appointment versus election debate will continue for some time as the rhetoric heats up between Wolfson and Steinberg.

“I would like the person who replaces me on the commission to be the people’s choice, not my colleague’s choice,” Steinberg said March 25 at the unusually crowded Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club, a weekly political breakfast in the back of David’s Café.

Samuel Cherry, son of local gadfly Harry Cherry, said at the breakfast he wants an election “mainly because Dermer has been up there long enough. If he wants to run again, he should.”

Activist Gabrielle Redfern and businessman Luis Salom are registered to run and don’t want to wait until 2009.  Salom lost a tough race to Wolfson last year. Bower has suggested it would make more sense for them to run in 2009 when she and Libbin will be up for re-election, Steinberg’s full term will have ended and Commissioner Saul Gross will be termed-out of office.

Vernon Garraway, another breakfast club attendee, is against holding an election this year. “The cost of an election is too expensive and we don’t get enough turnout to justify it,” Garraway said.

Wolfson sent out another memo Tuesday afternoon that challenged Steinberg to step down early if he wants to make an election more likely. He suggested Steinberg clean out his office by July 1.

“The commission could then make an appointment within 30 days or set the special election on the date of the presidential election so that local taxpayers are not forced to bear the full expense of a special election in December 2008 or January 2009,” Wolfson wrote.

Steinberg shot back that Wolfson’s pressing the issue was politics to hurt him in order to bolster his opponent Geller, who supported Wolfson’s election.

“The memorandum can be viewed as nothing more than a concerted effort by Commissioner Wolfson and [Geller] to improperly use City of Miami Beach resources to further [Geller’s] campaign while attempting to prevent me from continuing to serve the people of Miami Beach who elected me,” Steinberg wrote in an e-mail.

Wolfson fired back by saying, “Obviously, the only one campaigning here is Steinberg. My points were points of law. He has no honor and is not fit to serve us in Tallahassee.”

Wolfson argued that when a commissioner is elected to a short term, he or she is locked in perpetual campaign mode, and thus doesn’t have time to serve the people. Dermer has pledged not to use the seat as a platform to run again.

A special election would mean the people of Miami Beach have gone to the polls every year between 2005 and 2009, which Wolfson called “an absurd situation that serves no good public purpose.”

Comments? E-mail ben@miamisunpost.com