Miami Herald:
‘Strong mayor’ ballot question sparks new tiff between Miami and Miami-Dade mayors
Then White received a call from her boss, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. A day later, White publicly agreed to give Miami an extra week to consider the ballot language expanding the city mayor’s authority — a delay sought by a top foe of the proposal, City Commissioner Joe Carollo.
The phone call from Gimenez to the person he appointed to run the county’s elections agency is the latest twist in a saga that has widened a rift between the two most prominent politicians in the county. City Mayor Francis Suarez wants to transform his position from a largely ceremonial post to one that administers the city government, and Gimenez is calling it an improper power grab.
Gimenez said Monday he made the call to White on behalf of one of his sons, C. J. Gimenez, a lobbyist allied with Carollo. The revelation rankled Suarez, who was denied a shorter deadline extension beforehand because White’s office needed time to prepare a slew of lengthy ballots for different jurisdictions with different ballot questions and candidates, all in three languages.
“I’m very shocked to hear this, that the mayor of Miami was told that this was not doable” and yet for Gimenez’s son, a registered lobbyist in Miami, and political ally Carollo, an extension is possible, Suarez said.
Suarez wanted a few days so he could present his ballot item to a full five-member City Commission, hoping it would send the question to voters in November. With the deadline seemingly firm during the Aug. 6 commission meeting, Carollo suggested calling the county’s election supervisor to see if she could give the city more time.
Turns out, according to Gimenez, Carollo already knew the answer.
“I told them it wasn’t a hard date,” he said on Monday. “That if requested, the supervisor of elections would probably be amenable to moving it back a week.”
C.J. Gimenez, who has recently lobbied Miami commissioners on high-profile issues such as a potential Formula One Grand Prix in downtown and David Beckham’s proposal to build a large commercial complex and soccer stadium on Melreese Country Club, declined to comment.
Carollo, a staunch Suarez foe, said he was with C.J. Gimenez when they asked the county mayor about a deadline extension, but he does not remember receiving a response. Carlos Gimenez said he called his son with White’s response and that Carollo was with his son during that call.
Carlos Gimenez didn’t see any issue with calling someone he appointed to the top elections position in the county in 2016 to see if she’d be willing to allow a city more time to prepare a ballot question. Part of the reason is because, in his estimation, he’s actually the one in charge of elections.
“I’m the supervisor of elections. I delegate that power to Christina White,” Gimenez said. “To me, it’s important to get things right. Adding another week to get things on the ballot, I don’t see a problem with that. I would do it for anyone else who asked. That is the democratic process.”
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