What's right in this case is to throw their support behind former Mayor Raul Martinez. Not because he was a great mayor, which is arguable, or a great administrator, which is not. Not because he is squeaky clean, which is impossible to believe, or because he is a nice guy, which depends on the time and day. But because he is the least of two evils 24/7 and 365 days of the year. Because the alternative would be two more years of oppression, corruption, conflicts of interest and fraud under Su Alcaldito Carlos Hernandez. And that is what Casals-Muñoz and Garcia -- or anyone who claims to "I Love Hialeah" -- must try to stop.
Garcia -- who is not returning phone calls and threw me out of his family business, Atlas Carpets and Tile, Friday morning when I went to ask him about his plan to combat absentee ballot fraud (he has none, it was all more hot air) -- has said that he has not decided who to support. That, in and of itself, is disgraceful. Here is a guy who served for more than two decades in Tallahassee and wanted to be the mayor of the city, who wanted to lead the people and represent them. But he needs more time to decide if he should back a man who is raping the city, threatening employees, approving fraudulent budgets that call for a drastic and unnecessary reduction in firefighter paramedics, giving away millions in no-bid contracts to his friends and contributors of his campaigns and lying about everything, from the increase in water connection fees to his role in a loanshark operation where he was getting $5,400 a month in interest paid to him by a convicted ponzi schemer. The Senator kept saying he had to speak more to his wife, so maybe we should ask her who he is going to support since she seems to be the one who wears the pants in the family. At the Garcia campaign office Tuesday night, when I asked if he might cower in to the Republican party pressure to back su alcaldito, Zuly Garcia said, "Hernandez, no way!" So maybe there is hope. But don't expect Garcia to do the right thing and back Martinez. It's too politically inconvenient. And he's not a leader. He's a politician.
Casals-Muñoz, who won the first round Tuesday with more than 49 percent and thanked her opponent, former cop Danny Bolaños for running a clean race, won't do the right thing, either. At least she didn't do the completely wrong thing. Even though Hernandez has sought her for his run-off slate, Casals-Muñoz is staying independent. "I am going to stay by myself. I like who I am with and where I am," she told Ladra in a telephone interview Monday morning.But it's not because she doesn't think Martinez is the right man for the job. She apparently does.
"I'm not going to support someone who is supporting someone against me," she told me, referring to Bolaños. When reminded that she might easily take the run-off even with Martinez supporting her opponent -- and that it would be an opportunity for her to show how much bigger she was than the political circus around her -- she scoffed. "He has a candidate against me. There's a protocol."
Really? Really? There's a protocol? You can't back Martinez, even though you know he is the best of the two options, because he won't abandon his slate mate and long-time family friend? Casals-Muñoz acknowledged that if Martinez did that, she would not support him anyhow. Of course not. And he won't. He is nothing if not loyal to those who are loyal to him. But why is protocol more important than the people of Hialeah? Ladra just doesn't get it. Shouldn't you represent the people who elected you and who are clammoring to elect you again?
"The people choose the candidate. And if Raul gets his message out loud and clear, he can get their votes," Casals-Muñoz said. "He's done a wonderful job of getting the message across."
Ladra can't help but wonder if it would be inconvenient for Casals-Muñoz to have Martinez, or Anyone But Carlos, in office on the fourth floor at City Hall. Martinez promises to open up all the no-bid contracts and contracts that look like they were quid pro quo for political favors. Who knows how much of that would involve Casals-Muñoz -- who notarized several questionable loans for former Mayor Julio Robaina and also loaned money herself to a condo-conversion king that got loans from Hernandez, Robaina and former Mayor Alex Penelas, in addition to others like Roberto and Mercedes Blanco. That certainly could be the perception among the voters.
But the silence is certainly inconvenient for voters and residents who are not being represented by these two. They are the ones who will lose much more than just an election if the silence is interpreted silence is that Garcia and the councilwoman are okay with Hernandez continuing with his corrupt, repressive and retrograde regime.
Ladra what can you expect of a city that is corrupted since Robaina went in, thank God i leave in Miami and we do the right move when we get Carlos Gimenez for our Mayor no the scumbag of Robaina and his team.
ReplyDeletei am surprise that Raul dont come out telling everyone in Hialeah who Robaina was, and whoHernandez is doing and will doing with the city.
Today a lot of people dont have any respect for
Hialeah, and if Hernandez get to be theMayor Hialeah will getback 30 years ago.
How the residents of that city can be so stupid and dont see what they are coming to
There should be somebody that open an investigation about thelast years under Robaina and Hernandez.
and let the people know who they really are.
Ladra....OK we can assume you are no longer working here as a journalist.
ReplyDeleteThat given,,,,,Vivian and Rudy are no good if they don't endorse (which Raul is desperate 4) or are they ok if they support the "has been" slate? Just want to be clear....because it seems to me that even removing the ABs Raul and his people lose.
Also, it doesn't matter what Rudy does......his voters are not going to Raul or his people.
Ladra
ReplyDeleteWOW... normally your insight is needed but I feel your blogs need a *paid political advertisement by* at the end. As a journalist and as part of you blog introduction in January where you say “Sometimes the bias is obvious. But it's even more dangerous when it is not.” I would have hoped you would be neutral but factual.
Just because that sentiment is not in this blog does erase that you have said it and at one point believed it. I also find it interesting how in your last blog you complained that people where in your personal space but you must admit your style of questioning is rather aggressive and can also be considered as violating personal space.
It is a shame you’re postings are so blatantly biased and favoring candidates. People deserve someone that simply presents the facts and both sides of a story. That has been missing from the media for so long. It is sad to see you so easily dragged into the mischaracterization of people. I guess the best word to describe my sentiment is disappointed.
I am openly ABC and have been for months. I am supporting the anti-incumbents because of what I have seen as an abuse of power and office from su alcaldito and the Seguro Que Yes crew. No-bid contracts, needless threats to fire 105 firefighters when they spend money needlessly elsewhere, lies and more lies, increase in water connection fees to pay for the infrastructure of an unnecessary water plant that will benefit their friends and cronies who own land around it... what part of that is paid or mischaracterized?
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of unbiased sources of information. This blog attempts to raise the curtain and show what goes on behind the scenes and my commentary is born of observation, education and information. Do you think that a journalist who calls Fidel Castro a dictator is biased and not a journalist? Please... stop talking nonsense.
Yes, this blogger is biased in the Hialeah elections. I am not biased based on threats or promises, coersion or intimidation or compensation. My bias is based on education. There is a difference.
So in your opinion Martinez is the best option...Based on what facts...you supported Gimenez and he is about to lobby for his "nino lindo son" to get the camarita contracts and he's not corrupt... I did not here you complain about TU ALCALDITO proposing the layoff of 90 cops at the county...Why don't you talk about how you financially support yourself if neither of these two are paying you and what ADLP is such an outstanding member of society "The Absent Senator" guilty of greater AB Rackets and attacks on the elderly to steal their ballots than anyone you can mention...See Ladra your problem is you don't know what's the real story you are nothing more than a puppet for these people and report and due as they say...if you had to make it on your own and report objectively you would realize what was really underlying the Martinez campaign and his real motivation to run, one that Hernandez nor Robaina would ever consider doing to the people of Hialeah because they don't need the money they are as your former employer the Herald has made so blatantly clear, very well off. If Martinez wanted to set an example and run an ethical campaign he reached out to the wrong people on election night, yes those 2 are as unethical as they come.
ReplyDeleteFired reporter , you continue to talk lies and not facts!!! Martinez worked for the water plant owners as a consultant. Martinez awarded his whole career no bid contracts to William paving. Martinez played hard ball his whole career with the firefighter and garcia will back hernandez and you and martinez will lose. So start writing facts .
ReplyDeleteRaul L. Martinez raised property taxes 19% when he first got elected mayor, years ago. The residents were angry, but forgave him because he was their Cuban Golden Boy. There is no doubt he will do this again. Hialeah Taqxpayers beware of history repeating itself.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry. Although I am not exactly who to be sorry to since apparently you have a ridiculous alter ego. You really need to stop trying to spend time on all of this S*** and go spend time with your family. Please stop wasting your time with focusing on the current members of the council and be a respectable reporter and report the facts because politics is a double-edged sword and always has two very sharp edges and both sides should be respected. So please show some descency and stop groveling over the fact the you are upset that you were fired from the herald. You definitely LOOK old enough to be and elder so try to be as wise as respectable as one.
ReplyDeletewhat education? did you graduated from hialeah tech high?
ReplyDeletewhere are your press credential? oh STRIPPED AWAY!!!gee what a shame.what are you going to do after the elections? i hear that bugger king is hiring.maybe its time to put your application in. pistolero 3
To both Anonymous posters above. I must certainly agree with you. You are sorry. You come to this country, for obviously you are not native born English speakers evidenced by the illiteracy that runs throughout your comments...you come to this country and do not learn to communicate properly in the public tongue, nor do you learn to respect the right of free speech. You also never learned to respect a woman, but that education should have been garnered from whatever uncouth environment that puked you up. The ad hominem against Ladra's looks demonstrates that you have little substantive argument to press, and that the lack of decency your decry ( and misspell)
ReplyDeleteis your own lack of decency that you project onto another.
"politics is a double-edged sword and always has two very sharp edges and both sides should be respected." WOW...double-edged and has two edges...your redundancy shows that your are perhaps dumber than dirt, but that would be unfairly denigrating good ol' mother earth.
And anonymous #2 dares question Ladra's education with "did you graduated?" Did you go to the George W. Bush school of elocution?
Bugger King is hiring? There is some great humor hidden in your misspelling there...and for that I will thank you. Aaaah...remember when rafters were only in your attic...and not infecting the blogosphere?
Yo LickerPoet!
ReplyDelete"[the anon commentator's] ad hominem against Ladra's looks demonstrates that you have little substantive argument to press"
A few days back Ladra dedicated an entire post to Mayor Carlos Hernandez's looks. So according to your logic Ladra also has "little substantive argument to press".
Give me a break buddy. This entire blog is bereft of any sort of journalistic standard. So go home with your fallacy crap.
Lickerpoet,
ReplyDeleteI really hope your a first generation American. Anything more than that and you would be shame on our educational system.
Your comment is devoid of any sort of proper sentence structure.
Ladra's humorous commentary on the mayor's normally well coiffed hair, was just that, a humorous commentary. It was not an attack on him personally to disparage his policies or his statements. Insulting Ladra's looks, attacking the blogger personally, is the epitome of an ad hominem attack. Last anonymous, the spelling is you're, a contraction for you are, not the possessive "your". You almost made me piss myself, challenging my literary skills with your illiteracy. You never need to tell someone of your superior skills or intellect. You need merely demonstrate it. Really, devoid of any proper sentence structure? I will let my record of online diatribes speak for me. Just google Lickerpoet.
ReplyDeleteI'll say this short and sweet. This is Ladra's blog, and she can say what she wants. If you don't like it, don't read it.
ReplyDeleteOr as they say in proper English STFU
LICKERPOET
ReplyDeleteI AM MORE AMERICAN THAN YOU WILL EVER BE!
GEE ITS NO WONDER THAT IN A CITY AS BIG AS HIALEAH ,SHE HAS 88 FOLLOWERS.BY THE WAY I GRADUATED FROM HHS,MIAMI DADE AND FIU.FINALLY TAKE THE RAFTER COMMENT AND SHOVED IT UP YOU BUTT.
HEY LADRA, DO YOU EVEN VOTE? HAVE YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS BEEN RESTORED? JUST WONDERING.
ReplyDeletePISTOL 3
Man, the pistoleros are still really bitter about Tony Phony Vega's crushing defeat. Los pobres. Don't take it out on them, too hard. Especially since their intelligence level is so low. Everybody knows Ladra is a supervoter whose rights were never taken, because she was never convicted of any of the misdemeanors (dismissed 25 years ago) su alcaldito pulled out in an effort to discredit me with an illegal investigation of yours truly, despite what any Hialeah Police spokesman says on the radio. That's why higher authorities are looking into it.
ReplyDeleteAnd my humorous commentary on su alcaldito's hair was fair game because he pays more attention to that than to the things he should be paying attention to. Maybe if he spent HALF the time on the fraudulent budget as he does in front of a mirror, he could find the hidden funds and NOT fire 105 firefighter paramedics... ah, but that would not give him the vengeance he seeks. Right?
But don't worry, my dearest poet, whose presence I have sorely missed (stop obsessing on the word sore) and whose defense has made me blush (stop obsessing on the word blush). I am immune to those silly jabs because I know who I am and how I am seen by the people who can see and hear and think -- aka the people who matter. And I don't care what the rest say in their desperate attempts to hurt me, which only strenghthen me because it shows that they have no other argument of substance.
Ladra, apologies for soiling your blog by continuing with this childish discourse, but I so love to play with dumb animals.
ReplyDelete"FINALLY TAKE THE RAFTER COMMENT AND SHOVED IT UP YOU BUTT." I am proud of anonymous above, that he has pursued an advanced education. I believe he may have been napping during English composition class when the rules of syntax were discussed. ( NO, not taxes on sin; cigarettes, alcohol, hot sheets motels) Your comment should read, Take the rafter comment and SHOVE it.... You have incorrectly mixed your tenses. Still, I am proud that you have graduated from FIU. I graduated from a very small university, not a large institution like FIU. Yes, a tiny university in Baltimore. I'm not quite sure if you may have heard of it. It is the humble home of the Applied Physics Laboratory and the Space Telescope Science Institute.
Now, I don't really want to toot my own horn; for I already know who I am and what I am capable of; but you have implied that " (I)would be shame on our educational system."
I was educated in the then Dade County Public School System. They had a program in place called Motivation in Depth; allowing gifted young students to attend college while still in junior and senior high school. Having exhausted all the advanced mathematical courses at the U of Miami; I left Miami Beach High School a year early. I matriculated to the Johns Hopkins University when I was 16 years old, graduating when I was 19. I am no shame to our public educational system.
To reiterate, I am proud that you have pursued an advanced education. I am proud that you consider yourself to be more American than myself. I only suggest that you take a refresher course in English grammar, so that you might express this pride in a more professional, and grammatically correct, manner.
Much good that did you Lickerpoet. lol.
ReplyDeletewasting your time, lowering yourself to the level of us young and reffy college boys on a Hialeah blog in the middle of the afternoon. So much so that you feel the need to vindicate yourself by listing your educational background. You left out your elementary and day care education btw.
When I'm your age (im 20) I hope I'm too busy contributing to society to waste my time on the blogosphere (as a search for "lickerpoet" demonstrates).