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 Norman Braman
The Activist
Charlton Heston, the man who portrayed such moral icons as Moses,
may be gone, but another giant remains among us: auto magnate and
civic activist Norman Braman, who believes “principle is
everything” and is waging a war for justice against
Miami
and Miami-Dade County governments.
Standing 6-feet-4-inches tall, the 75-year-old Miami Beach resident
and former Philadelphia Eagles owner has single-handedly fought
what he believes to be a corrupt $3 billion megadeal between Miami
and Miami-Dade County governments to build a Marlins baseball
stadium, a port tunnel and museum park downtown at taxpayers’
expense. “If we don’t stand up for this, they’re going to bankrupt
us,” he said.
Since January, Braman has spent his own money on legal fees and
radio advertising campaigns to stop the public works projects from
being built because voters had no chance to approve them. Although
Miami police officers now want to join Braman’s lawsuit to settle
a dispute about who will police the baseball stadium, Braman,
standing on principle, won’t allow it because he believes their
motives are selfish — to gain more off-duty compensation and raise
their pension packages.
So far, two surveys commissioned by Braman and Miami-Dade County
Commissioner Javier Souto reveal that taxpayers do, in fact, want
a say about the stadium. “I would drop my lawsuit in a heartbeat”
if the city and county would bring it to a public referendum for
voters to decide, Braman has said. He also objects to the plan’s
financing, which depends on using community redevelopment funds
designated to rebuild poor neighborhoods.
Braman is as legendary for his philanthropy as he is for fighting
what he regards as government waste of taxpayer money. He is a
founding member of the committee for the Holocaust Memorial on
Miami Beach and established the Braman Breast Cancer Center
Institute at the University of Miami. He and his wife, Irma, were
instrumental in bringing Art Basel to Miami Beach, are major
supporters of the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art and, through
the Norman and Irma Braman Foundation, contribute to dozens of
charities.
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