Complain, complain, complain. Miami-Dade voters have been complaining for years — no, for decades — that their elected officials are more beholden to special interests than to the people who voted them in. More beholden to developers or sports teams or highway companies or port contractors.
They complain that Miami-Dade County Commissioners put their own selfish political interests ahead of what’s right for the people those commissioners are supposed to serve.
They complain that there are commissioners who work for companies that do business with the county. And even though those commissioners don’t vote on those deals because ethics rules prohibit them from doing so, they may be greasing the bids behind the scenes. Same goes for commissioners past and present who work for nonprofit groups that receive some of their money from county government.
They complain that commissioners have slush funds (more than an office budget) — money they hand out to constituent groups to court favor come election time instead of having those projects voted up or down in the open by the entire commission.
They complain that commissioners ride luxury cars paid for by struggling taxpayers. They complain of corruption or at least the smell of it.
Many of those complaints are spot on. So what are you going to do about it?
Voters of every political persuasion have a chance to send the strongest signal yet to commissioners that public service isn’t business as usual. How? By voting for charter amendments that would make the petition process easier (not ideal but better than we have now) and, most important, set term limits so that commissioners would serve no more than eight years once the amendment passes — and be barred from holding outside employment.
This would be the first time since the 1950s that an eight-year limit has made it to the ballot, even though polls keep showing voters want new blood and fresh ideas on the dais. Past commissions refused to offer voters term limits that add up to less than 12 years. This time, commissioners stopped short of making the eight-year proposal retroactive. That’s a shame, but if you vote “no” on this eight-year compromise you will likely miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
That’s not to say that all commissioners are corrupt and deserve to get booted. Many serve admirably, true public servants. But today’s system invites corruption or at least the appearance of it. It also entrenches incumbents whose campaigns are packed with special-interest groups’ cash for a job that pays $6,000 a year. That’s a salary set in the 1950s back when there were more McArthur cows than people in Miami-Dade.
The problem boils down to fair pay for a day’s work. Fulltime county commissioners across Florida earn salaries based on their county’s population. But in Miami-Dade, which is a home-rule county, only the voters can make that salary change in the county’s charter, which sets the rules for government to operate.
If voters want to kick the rascals out, they can do so starting in the next election. But right now, if they vote against term limits because they think a $92,000 a year salary is too much for what should be a fulltime job, they will shut the door on future reforms (such as ending the leased cars and slush funds). They will close the opportunity for people who want to serve but can’t leave their current jobs for poverty wages. On Tuesday, vote YES for reforms.
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