Hialeah council losers not ghosts

While all eyes are on the possible mayoral endorsement in the Hialeah runoff election and who former State Sen. Rudy Garcia -- the third place finisher -- will eventually back (if he backs anyone), council candidate endorsements are already being sought and traded.

And there are a couple of surprises, but let's go with the easy one first. Former planning and zoning board member Ramiro Sicre stopped by the campaign office of former Mayor Raul Martinez Wednesday evening and told Martinez he would support him. Sicre told me Martinez is what the city needs now and that he cannot back the incumbent. He also said he had not decided on what council members to support, but Ladra suspects it will be the Back to the Future slate.

Now for the two shockers.

We heard Daisy "Duh" Castellanos say so many bad things about Councilman Pablito "Huh?" Hernandez that we are giving her back her old nickname so they can be a pair again. Besides, she lost her daring. While Ladra didn't think it would be easy to get her behind Frank Lago, who she has been critical of throughout the race, I certainly did not expect this. And while some people who said she has long worked for the Julio Robaina/Hernandez machinery expected it, this is hypocracy at its worst people. Castellanos ran against Hernandez, in part, because he got appointed to the seat she wanted when it was vacated by su alcaldito Carlos Hernandez. She told El Nuevo Herald reporter Enrique Flor that she still is critical of the process "Besides, I've spoken to him and he seems like a noble person who wants to serve the community," Flor quotes her as saying. Two weeks ago, she was calling him immature and said that he had too many conflicts of interests with city business -- as an employee of lobbyist Felix Lasarte -- and had to recuse himself from many important votes. She and I debated whether his appointment was intentional in order to get a smaller pool for those crucial water plant votes. But, now, that after talking to her supporters, she felt Hernandez would be the best choice. he also said so many bad things about absentee ballot queen Sasha Tirador, who she told Ladra called her on the phone to harass her with obscenities and threats and called the police on her husband to have him trespassed from the Hernandez campaign office (this is becoming a habit with them). I am sure she is now saying bad things about Ladra and former State Sen. Rudy Garcia, the mayoral candidate whose tiny coattails she rode, and anybody else who gets caught in the alcaldito and council's crosshairs. What a sell-out. Duh.

And Ladra doesn't know what former cop and Hialeah Housing Authority Danny Bolaños was thinking when he agreed to meet with gunshop owner and permit shirker Tony "Phony" Vega -- whose fast-tracked gun range permits are being investigated by the Miami-Dade Police Public Corruption unit -- and accepted the liar's support. I know that Danny, my favorite candidate, is facing an uphill battle against Councilwoman Vivian Casals-Muñoz, who has the backing of her brother-in-law, former Mayor Julio Robaina and a Republican All Star Legislative team -- State Sen. Rene Garcia and State Reps. Jose Oliva and Eddy Gonzalez, all of whom have reportedly been raising money for her (and there was someone counting checks at her campaign office Friday morning). But Ladra is not sure Tony Phony's endorsement will translate to checks, Danny. He won't bring you more than three votes from his fellow pistoleros photographed here because his votes came from su alcaldito and his ballot broker, Tirador. "Every vote counts," Danny told me later Wednesday night, and he promised there was no deal made for the support. But I still think Phony Vega would only bring him headaches as I suspect that his endorsement was fake, a set-up to hurt him later. Because Vega, like all phonys, cannot be trusted. And you know that, Danny. Tony Phony was squarely with su alcaldito and would do his bidding to get his gun range. He apparently now has the green light to build it -- er, I mean, to make $3,000 worth of "interior alterations." That sounds phony to me (more on that later). I am sure these permits are phony, too

Ladra may have cost Bolaños the nod, however, according to Vega's own snippy text messages. And while Danny may not be too happy with his unpaid number one fan for that, I am fine with it. Sometimes, you have to fall on the sword.

Ladra has been a thorn in Tony Phony's side -- and vice versa -- since she exposed his deal with the devil (read: deal with su alcaldito) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdK4qA3oLNQ). During early voting, he finally admitted to openly supporting Hernandez, who lied (again) in Friday's El Nuevo Herald story when he said he had not supported anyone in the Group 3 race. (And now he is making nice with Casals-Muñoz? Is that part of the deal for the Garcia nod?) But he had. And we have proof of yet another lie. He and his supporters were caught handing out Phony Vega cards, as in the photo here. In the photo below, Tony offers his Phony grin next to Casa Marin owner Diosdado Marin -- who claims to control 651 absentee ballots and supports the incumbent slate (plus former Housing Authority commissioner Lourdes "Who?" Lozano, who came out of nowhere to beat the unbeatable former councilman Alex "The Professor" Morales (who is seeking Group 1 candidate Fernando Alvarez's support through mutual friends but not Jesus Novo's because he is a plantidate likely thrown into the race by su alcaldito). Come to think of it, Vega didn't like that post about the alliance with Hernandez, either. I think Vega lied (again) when he said he was a fan. Here is an exchange of text messages between him and Ladra that began after that post when he and the mayor made their mutual admiration "news":

Vega at 11:13 a.m. Oct. 28: Loved the cortadito today!!! I can tell that my win is going to hurt you so brace for the impact! I'll expect my call on a timely manner to congratulate me!

Me at 9:51 p.m., Nov. 1 (because he doesn't pick up the phone or call back): "So... do you still feel so cocky? I expect a call in a timely manner to accept defeat."

Vega at 10:17 p.m. Nov. 1: "Yes well.. I've learned lots which will help in other races, for a total novice I got alot of bang for my buck. Now whom do I endorse???"

Me at 10:55 p.m. Nov. 1: "You got a lot of ABs from Carlos' support. You might not have that in other races."

Vega at 10:56 p.m. Nov. 1: "Good night."

Me at 10:57 p.m. Nov. 1: "It is for me." (Because at least that tiny part was).

Me at 12:09 p.m. Nov. 2: "You know, after thinking about it, I realized you got Danny into the runoff... thanks!"

Vega at 12:12 p.m. Nov. 2: "Elaine, I just left a meeting with Danny where we discussed me endorsing him. I said yes. Your continued jabbing has caused me to reconsider the swing of my 6,000 votes."

Vega at 12:23 p.m. Nov. 2: "Ok I've considered it enough. I won't be endorsing anybody for group 3. Thanks for helping me with my process. Explain that to Danny."

Me at 1:57 p.m. Nov. 2 (after I got over the shock when Danny confirmed it): "Those are/were Carlos' votes. Not sure your nod is going to help so if I messed that up, yay! I don't want him muddied up by your conflicts & corruption."

Me at 3:46 p.m. Nov. 2: "Which, by the way, I am going to keep covering."

Vega at 9:38 a.m. Nov. 3: "It's over! Raul and his team are back to retirement. Deals are cut."

Me at 10 a.m. Nov. 3: "Huh? What are you talking about? Can you just call me?"

Vega at 10 a.m. Nov. 3: "Have fun!"

Vega at 10:01 a.m. Nov. 3: "Just wait and watch."

Me at 10:08 a.m. Nov. 3:  "Yeah, because your predictions are always so on target!"

Me at 10:09 a.m. Nov. 3: "How's your gun range coming along?"

Me at 10:53 a.m. Nov. 3: "Hello?"

That's the last Ladra heard from Tony "Phony" Vega and she can't help but wonder if he knows something about the A Mano Limpia show with Garcia and if there were expectations he would endorse su alcaldito. Then again, he always makes stuff up.

But I promise it is not the last Tony "Phony" Vega has heard from me.

Or the last you have heard of him.

Su Alcaldito accuses me of theft

As if his alcalditowear has something more than a nostalgic and comic value, Hialeah's alcaldito Carlos Hernandez went bonkers Saturday -- the last day of early voting at the JFK library -- when he saw me walking by with one of his campaign t-shirts.

"She stole my shirt. Call the police," he told his assistant, Arnie Alonso, who had offered (probably as a joke) to give me a shirt. But being the political junkie I am, and a collector of political memorabilia, I said I absolutely wanted a shirt. "Will you wear it," Alonso asked. "Nah. But I want it for my collection. I have a [Miami-Dade Mayor] Carlos Gimenez shirt and a shirt from Katie Edwards failed bid for state rep last year and a couple of others." I also collect signs, I told him, and would love to have one of su alcaldito's -- but with the mirrors on it (supposedly to ward off the evil eye).

Alonso, who has been a good sport during this week of early voting. Maybe he sees the writing on the wall like Council President Isis "Gavelgirl" Garcia-Martinez did when she walked off for a private chat with former State Sen. Rudy Garcia, who is running to unseatsu alcaldito. But Alonso is in trouble anyway right now for giving me that t-shirt. Alcaldito had a cow.

"She stole my shirt," he told Alonso as he rushed over to get someone to confiscate it from me.

"I need that shirt back. Call the police and write a report," su alcaldito instructed Alonso.

"No, I gave it to her," Alonso said, because he doesn't lie, at least not all the time, like his boss.

"Why did you give it to her?"

"It's okay," Alonso said, trying to calm him down. "She can't do anything with your shirt. It's ok."

"I don't want her to have my shirt."

Really? Really? What is he? Six years old?

"I'm not going to do voodoo or anything with your shirt. I'm not santero like you," I told him, referring to the mirrors on his signs and the broom and recogedor in front of his camionsito, which is also a Santeria religion custom.

"No, that's Raul's people," su alcaldito said, in reference to photos posted by council candidate Tony Vega's supporters that infer that Barbara Hernandez, president of the employees union (which this week gave Martinez their endorsement), was providing former Mayor Raul Martinez some spiritual leverage the other day -- as if he needs it.

Alcaldito, J Martinez share $ sources

While the Back to the Future crew, under the leadership of former Mayor Raul Martinez, have shunned funds from the maquinita industry, there is one slate mate who has jumped ship: former Mayor Julio Martinez, once a foe now a friend, has taken at least $1,500 from companies with maquinita permits who have also donated to the campaigns of the current and past administration.

But those are not the only contributions Julio "The Replacement" Martinez shares with el alcaldito Carlos Hernandez and former mayor Julio Robaina, who funded a $3.5 million+ bid for the county mayor's job that he lost at the 11th hour. There are contributions from Sergio Pino's companies as well and some of the same construction and management or real estate interests with bundled contributions: $2,000 in 10 $200 checks from Evelio Garcia and family and companies and $2,000 from developer Domingo Pando and his, for example. Benajamin Leon of Leon Medical Centers and his companies and relatives gave at least $1,500 in $500 maximum gifts. There is also $3,000 in six $500 contributions from firefighter locals across the county and their PACs, likely encouraged by the increasingly influential Hialeah fire union, which gave Julio Martinez their endorsement and collected funds for the other Back to the Future friends (but were unpleasantly surprised to hear of his monetary support base).

Julio Martinez's campaign reports are interesting reading. He has a $250 contribution from former Miami City Manager Jose Garcia-Pedrosa and $1,000 from Alex "No Pagues Ese Ticket" Hanna. Most intriguing, however, is a $250 contribution from Re Gu Records, owned by Recaredo Gutierrez, who borrowed money at high interest from former Mayor Alex Penelas, and soon-to-be former alcaldito Carlos Hernandez and Councilwoman Vivian Casals-Muñoz in a shadow banking industry that has been exposed by the media and a self-proclaimed music producer from Las Vegas (read: maquinitas). Gutierrez did not want to talk to Ladra about the loans -- which he is reportedly still making payments on, payments that may not be reported -- and was unhappy I called Wednesday morning. "Frankly, I don't have anything to say about any of this," said Gutierrez, who noted a $50,000 debt to el alcaldito when he claimed bankruptcy (which came out in the Miami Herald's shadow banking story before the mayoral primary). "I am a businessman with a low profile and I don't need to be involved in this. I am not a public person. And I would ask you not to call me again." (But there will be more later anyway.)

Julio Martinez told me, basically, the same thing he told the Miami Herald's editorial board: that maquinita money is as good as any other money."As long as they are legal, I am in favor," Martinez said in a telephone interview Wednesday morning, completely aware that the boss frowns upon the industry. "I don't want Hialeah people to get picked up on buses and taken to the Indians who don't give anything back to Hialeah. When they become illegal, I'll be against them."

As for Gutierrez, Martinez said he knew him only as a maquinita interest (told ya) and didn't know about the West Dade man's loans with Hernandez and Casals-Muñoz. "I didn't know they were in business." He seemed to put little weight on the fact that Gutierrez is also supporting Hernandez's campaign.

While surprised about the contributions from what would seem like tainted sources, the other Martinez shrugged off the seeming conflict of interest. "They know each other from before," he said about Gutierrez. "And Julio is wrong on the maquinitas, but I can't tell him not to accept checks."

Yes, you can. That's why you are the boss. Try it like this: "Hey, blockhead! Stop taking tainted money from the crooks who want to keep el alcaldito in power so they can keep the status quo. You don't need that extra baggage."

Because, Raul, you don't need that extra baggage.

City paid for campaign pancakes

Two weeks after that infamous lunch with senior residents from public housing at IHOP -- you know, where Alcaldito Carlos Hernandez insulted balseros and divorced women and Council President Isis "Gavergirl" Garcia-Martinez had a hissy fit when we caught her in a blatant lie -- we still don't know what the real cost was and who paid for the city-promoted event, which was really a campaign stop for su alcaldito and his incumbent slate. Was it an "anonymous donor" who footed the bill, as was first claimed, or it was it on the taxpayers' tab? We still don't know. When we ask the actual alcaldito and the council members live and in person, their lips are sealed (unlike at IHOP). But the official story from their mouthpieces and go-betweens keeps changing, too.

So, who paid for lunch?

At first, the mayor's campaign director and absentee ballot queen Sasha Tirador said repeatedly that the lunch was paid for by an "anonymous" donation to the special events department for such events and that the donor did not want to be known for fear of retribution (an inadvertent admission that even their camp believes former Mayor Raul Martinez will return). I believe Council President Isis "Gavelgirl" Garcia-Martinez may have said so also. On the radio. An invoice from the restaurant is addressed to the city, but it does not indicate where the funds came from. The bill was $500 for 50 pancake combos including drinks at $10 per person (though I don't think there were 50 senior residents there. Let's count them in our popular video -- destined to be a greatest hits -- by my new best friend, cameraman Raul "El Toro" Torres: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-A38ekCUk.). The bill from IHOP was sent to the city's communications and special events department and the check request is from Education and Community Services (the new umbrella for the special events department, which is code for political PR department). The event is called an "adult center program" and there is no reference to the alleged "anonymous" donor that supposedly did not want to be named. Ladra wants to know -- no, scratch that -- needs to know who the "anonymous donor" is (or, conversely, why anyone felt the need to lie about that). It could be relevant if it turns out to be one of the alcaldito's big financial supporters on his campaign like Robertico Blanco or Herman Echevarria or, even, Julio Robaina. Wouldn't that be relevant? The source of funding could further show -- not that there really needs to be any more nails in that coffin -- that the city-promoted, staff-supported event was a campaign stop in disguise. That's why I pressed Hernandez and the others about it. Now that the story has changed and it looks like the check came out of the general fund, then it is a taxpayer-funded, city-paid event for campaign purposes and su alcaldito and his incumbent-slate-minus-one used city resources to woo voters. City funds, city staff, city vehicles.

The event was supposed to be an unveiling of eight new circulator buses from the county. But two weeks later, those buses are not on Hialeah streets. They're parked in a fleet maintenance yard, out of service. Why would you unveil buses that won't be in use for five or six weeks? That's how long it will take, said City Attorney Bill "Go-Between" Grodnick, in a clumsy stab at an explanation about titles from the county and whether or not they were going to get the title or leave it with the county. Or something. I am not making this up. Look at the video by Raul Torres: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajMsx0InXt4

So, this hasn't been decided yet and you unveil the buses? Really? Really? It isn't because there wouldn't be a campaign opportunity when they are ready three or four weeks from now, is it? Because if he waited until the buses were actually ready, su alcaldito wouldn't be able to "maximize the exposure," (read: milk the spin) as Grodnick said -- finally, some truth -- when he answered for the mute mayorette for the I-don't-know-whath-time at Tuesday's council meeting (more on that later). But nobody, not even Grodnick, could answer the basic question that we still have after 14 days: Who paid for lunch?


Gavelgirl said everybody knew that and suggested I be more specific with my questions of the city clerk's office. (Read: "Next"). Okay, next it is. Because now I'm not satisfied with this one alleged anonymous pancake party patron, if indeed there ever was one. Now Ladra wants a list of all, anonymous or not anonymous, donations, gifts, grants or contributions of any kind to any department, division, office or officer or any part thereof in the city or any quasi-independent agency, such as Hialeah Housing by or from or through any person, group of persons, any corporation, any non-profit, or any entity of any kind since January 1 of this year. And where those monies were applied. I want to get information, which could be verbal if someone is allowed to speak with me, about the process by which donors contribute to these events and whether or not there is criteria. I also want to know what the city paid in gas, salary for the five or six or more employees that were there woofing down their own pancake combos at IHOP two weeks ago and any other costs associated with that particular roadtrip event. I'm making a public records request for the photographs and video that the city recorded of the event and will ask for those. To see if they match up with any campaign ads. Because the event was definitely a political campaign stop on what I now call (thanks, Bill) the "maximize the exposure" tour (more on that later).

My man 'El Toro' even has, on video, some campaign literature on a table that would have been taken out if we had not been there. A man entered the IHOP with a Hernandez for mayor t-shirt and was told to remove it. Then he became very aggressive with us both at IHOP and the next day at the Gus Machado Ford on West 49th Street when I went to speak on a live radio broadcast to counter su alcaldito's lies. This guy with the t-shirt incident said, and it was recorded by Telemundo 51, that "it was a political meeting."

Bingo. Told ya.

And if it is a political meeting being paid for with city funds and/or it is being attended by city staff on city time, it is not only a political meeting, but an illegal political meeting. Maybe Internal Affairs should investigate that.

Maybe then they can tell us who really paid for lunch: The taxpayers.

Ladra y Raul, slated on flyer

Guerilla campaign tactics in Hialeah elections are not always very sophisticated. But they are almost always kind of unique to the flavor of Hialeah. And sometimes that makes them silly.

Ladra went from the surreal to the completely ridiculous when she stepped outside City Hall during Wednesday's budget hearing after she was trespassed from the building by police on orders of the chief. As she took a short walk to a group of fellow bogus budget objectors talking outside, a gentleman came up to her and asked if she was Elaine de Valle. "Yes," I said a little hesitantly, thinking he could be another Sergio Gonzalez. But the man only wanted to thank me for my work and hand me a flyer he found on his car in the parking lot at City Hall when he left the council chambers (apparently on his own accord). On the plain letter-sized, white paper, in all capital letters, a very rudimentary flyer with zero creative flair says that former Hialeah Mayor and current candidate Raul Martinez and I are communists.

"It's on all the windshields on all the cars in the parking lot," the gentleman said.

What surprised me was not that someone in Hialeah might call us communists, erroneously of course, since communists don't really exists. Except inside City Hall where they try to conceal information and intimidate their enemies, firing employees for political payback and hiring cronies and campaign contributors. More and more Ladra has heard people compare the current climate at City Hall like Cuba or Venezuela, where individual freedoms and constitutional rights do not exist. Martinez knew this would come as a Democrat who did the most unCuban thing you can do in exile and ran against fomer U.S. Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R., District 25). Eh, I've been called a communist before, too, and it really doesn't bother me because there is no such thing. The people who call themselves communist are almost without exception opportunists in disguise. And the people who call other people communist really mean to say Democrat.

No, what surprised me -- and perhaps even gave me a little lift in my step -- was that I got top billing. How do you like them apples, Mr. Mayor? "ELAINE DEL VALLE Y RAUL MARTINEZ" Not "RAUL MARTINEZ Y ELAINE DEL VALLE." Oh, just wait one cockamaney minute. That's why I got the first line: the Y is awkward and the writer didn't know if it was proper to use an E instead. Aw, man. Well, still... it's absolutely a dubious yet somewhat thrilling honor to be on a double-header billing with the Raul Martinez no matter where that is. Although we should shoot for a marquee or a headline next, don't you think Mr. Mayor?

While the flyer is an obvious, albeit tiny, attempt at a smear campaign, it is so insignificant and misdirected that it is infinitely more amusing than troubling. I mean, I am not even a candidate. But since I have felt like people are campaigning against me, perhaps someone got confused and thought so, too. I also find the flyer a little fulfilling. In fact, I'm going to have it framed. And I practically had to fight Martinez for it. He wanted to keep it but gave it back when I promised to make him a copy.

Martinez was similarly tickled by the lackluster leaflet -- you know, even though his name was second. At least it's spelled right. Those who know Ladra are nodding their heads because that little annoying and unwanted l in the middle de has been the bane of my existence since grade school. But even with that extra needless letter, the flyer was totally worth having been ejected from the building by order of Police Chief Mark Overton, who should have maybe been outside watching for these political vandals rather than inside harassing council critics and protecting su alcaldito Carlos Hernandez from I don't even know what.

Well, Overton can make it up to me for all the times he's tried to mess it up for me by investigating now. I wonder if there are any video cameras outside City Hall, the courthouse across the street or any of the nearby shops on Palm Avenue that we can peruse for the hours of the meeting.

Now that could be even more amusing than the flyer. I want my own copy on DVD. And I would definitely post it on youtube for everyone's amusement.

Sasha, Alex: Unlikely cafecito pals

Sasha Tirador hunting for
clients at a recent meeting.

Who would have thought that the two warring sides in the Hialeah elections could sit down to a cafecito at Chico's on West 12th Avenue over race relations? Not Ladra.

But that is what happened Saturday afternoon when former councilman and candidate Alex Morales -- who is running on an anti-incumbent slate and platform -- met with absentee ballot queen Sasha Tirador, who worked for former mayor Julio Robaina's failed county mayoral bid and is now on the staff for four of the five incumbents (proving again that councilwoman Vivian Casals-Muñoz has been made an outsider). Both said they had been longtime friends and brushed off the meeting as if it was nothing unusual -- even though each said the other had called it.

But Ladra is pacing and growling, anyway.

Julio Martinez, Raul Martinez and Alex Morales at a
recent city council meeting.

Morales is in an open seat and Tirador said she is helping his last minute challenger, former Housing Authority board member Lourdes Lozano, who everyone knows was planted in the race by the mayor. The professor said she told him at the time that she was not helping Lozano, but he is also running on a slate with former mayor Raul Martinez, former mayor Julio Martinez, former councilwoman Cindy Miel and former police officer and Hialeah Housing Authority official Danny Bolaños. Tirador is representing the incumbents in three of those races: Alcaldito Carlos Hernandez, Council President Isis "Guttermouth Girl" Garcia-Martinez and Councilman Jose Caragol.  She says she is also working for Pablito "Huh" Hernandez and "helping" Lozano, who is not an official client, run against Morales, her "old friend," and force him into a runoff. She says she is not representing gun dealer and permit-smirker Tony Vega in the challenge against Casals-Muñoz, where Bolaños is running. "I will not represent Tony Vega. At least, I don't think so." But Ladra doesn't believe that she is going to work on everybody in the incumbent slate except Vega? We think Tirador is out to get Vivian (more on that later) and that Vega and Hernandez are becoming allies before our very eyes and, so, I can't help but think that Tirador will be collecting iffy absentee ballots for Vega, too.

One of the reasons I believe she is working, or advocating, for Vega is because one of the anonymous facebook profiles that have been attacking Bolaños and Martinez -- and, most recently, me -- sent me a personal message late last night with inside details about the cafecito meeting. "The conversation was really intimate of a classified nature... cozy and honest," wrote "Ernesto Mirabal," which is not the real user of the facebook page that used to be known as Hialeah First. It is the name of the man that Martinez had a physical altercation with on the Palmetto Expressway some years ago, an episode we will come back to later since it will become part of the smear campaign. The anonymous author (read: Vega or one of his campaigners) wrote that Morales had tried to distance himself from Bolaños, who had the weakest showing of the Back to the Future campaign slate in the firefighters' poll. "Even the signs are distanced and never on the same pole. He thinks the only ones that can win are Frank Lago and him out of his whole slate. Even Raul is not where he wants to be. Food for thought. Ask him."

Always a skeptic, Ladra did ask. Even though Lago is not on the slate -- not yet, anyway. Both he and "Daring" Daisy Castellanos were at the grand opening of the Martinez/Morales/Bolaños campaign office Sunday afternoon and Martinez mentioned both candidates' names in his platform speech.

Morales, who would never say that Martinez is not in the lead (c'mon, he is a very smart guy) and has consistently told me to watch as every incumbent is unseated in November, said he said no such thing. But he really didn't have to. He's not stupid, after all. He is the professor for something. And while he may have been dismayed early on by the numbers in that poll, Morales has been supporting Bolaños for months and says his momentum has increased tremendously. They've walked together and put up signs together. Many of their signs are posted side by side on fences and in yards. "I have put Danny's signs up and he's put up my signs. I have put my signs together with his. We have made the decision to support each other." Besides, he knew that Tirador called him with some ruse about housing authority campaign rules so she could try to get some intel on the strength of the bonds between the slate mates. "She was there to obtain information on our slate and how committed we are. And I told her we were very committed," Morales said. Tirador confirmed that. "Alex Morales made it very clear that he was supporting Danny," she said.

But Tirador also told Ladra they met so the professor could get her professional assessment. "I have known Alex Morales since I was 14 and I'm 37. He was asking me for advice," she said. I had to ask: Advice about what? "That's a private matter between Alex and I. I've never had any issues with Alex Morales. Why shouldn't I talk with him? We were jut picking each others brains." It was so cordial, in fact, they walked over to Morales' parents' bakery in the same shopping strip and he gave her a tres leches.

"I met with Alex Morales because there is no reason I shouldn't meet with Alex Morales and it's not like the first time we are on opposite sides that we meet anyway," Tirador told me. "Just because you're on opposite sides doesn't mean you can't meet and pick each others' brains." Well, wait. Was he asking you for advice or were you picking each other's brains?

And, yeah, just because you are on opposite sides does kind of mean that you can't meet to pick each others' brains. Or you can't meet and expect everyone to think it was on the up and up. Most people I know would think it was odd. Like Martinez, who does not trust Tirador since she was accused of tampering with absentee ballots during his failed congressional run against Lincoln Diaz-Balart in 2008. (She was investigated, but the case was closed because while there was evidence that tampering occurred, they could not prove it was her doing).  Martinez was apparently not happy about the meeting.  "I told Alex, 'Why in the world would you want to meet with that individual? Sometimes, he thinks he's too smart. I love him, but I want to kill him sometimes," said Martinez, who will only admit to supporting Morales, Bolanos and the other Martinez "because I want Caragol out of there." Miel has to try harder if she wants his active support, he said. (More on that later).

But all this proves, Martinez said, is that the incumbent side that Tirador works for is trying to cause a rift or break within the Back to the Future cast. And, Ladra said, it proves that Martinez is not always completely in control of his crew.

Hialeah's padded, bogus budget

The proposed 2011-2012 Hialeah budget is an almost two inches thick and divided into sections that lay out the plan to operate the city's departments and services with $263.4 million.

But it is so full of holes that it shouldn't weigh as much as it does.

Only about $115.6 million is in the general fund, the rest of that is in capital projects funds ($4.8 million all for Milander Park, which is one improvement plan that has to be audited and/or investigated come Nov. 17), special revenue funds -- grants like Children's Trust and affordable housing, transit monies and fire rescue transportation -- and enterprise funds, like solid waste and the cash cow Water and Sewer, with a $103.4 million budget that the city keeps dipping into to cover expenses, we suspect (more on that later). So let's concentrate for now on the general fund, which is where mayoral stand-in Carlos Hernandez plans to extract close to $7 million from the fire department by firing 105 firefighters and paramedics.

Let's pretend this is not political backlash and retribution for the endorsement of his challenger, former Mayor Raul Martinez, which came one day before the alcaldito announced his plans to cut the fire rescue personnel by 40 percent and distributed a an article of past hostilities between the fire union and the Dark Prince (a bitter pill to swallow for many firefighters who remember the former mayor's hardline with them in his administration). Let's pretend it is not blatant retaliation for the union's consistent legal victories that have found the city time and time again to practice unfair labor laws and which have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars in fines, legal costs and overtime. Let's pretend it is not a pathetic example of blackmail as the council and administration extort the firefighters by saying the terminations could be stopped if they just swallow whatever concessions the mayor demands, rather than sit at a table and, in good faith, find ways to compromise on items that can lead to savings for the taxpayers, as the firefighters have offered. (We really cannot believe this is even legal for them to do this). Let's pretend it is not a campaign ploy in a desperate attempt to keep his $190,000 job and VIP pension -- because the council members get pension, too, and preferential treatment (more on that later).

Let's pretend, also, that any one of those council members actually read the budget and all its glorious chapters and line-by-line itemizations. I say pretend because it is plainly clear that the Seguro Que Yes crew either did not read the budget or did not understand it. And I can understand that. Ladra is not a financial genius by any means, and this budget is not an easy thing to get through (so I cannot imagine either council member Pablito "Huh" Hernandez or Katherine "I sleep here and there" Cue getting the fine details). But there are definitely some questions that council members should have asked if they had been paying any attention to where the budget director, Alex Vega, is hiding the money. Instead, they stare blankly as others ask the questions they should be asking. Like why the budget does not reflect the $10 million that the city has twice been ordered to pay the general employees for a grievance the general employee union won and that the city is still appealing, at more legal costs to taxpayers. It doesn't reflect that almost certain debt. Like why there are more than 32 additional positions (read: ghost workers to pad the budget) budgeted in the water and sewer department? Like why the revenues reflected for monies owed to the city from the county for overpayment on water and sewer fees are zero when there should be revenues there. After Martinez asked about it at the budget hearing , department director Armando Vidal said that he did not know why that line item had a zero. Because it shouldn't be. It was a classic moment that perfectly illustrated how bogus and ridiculously falsified this budget is.

Still, there are more questions that the council should have asked. Especially before they voted to pass a bogus budget that calls for the firing of 105 of 271 firefighter paramedics based on economic hardship that, if you look elsewhere in the budget, doesn't seem to really exist.

Let's start with some positions that we want to know more about before we cut one single first responder from our fire rescue personnel. The "budget in stages" calls for the first 14 to be unemployed as of Oct. 1. They already got their letters from human resources about Sept 30 being their last day. But I found 14 or so other jobs that maybe should be eliminated instead. Maybe these positions are crucial. Maybe they are the botellas that they seem to be. This was admittedly found in a very quick and shallow look at the budget by Ladra, a dog who really doesn't know what she is looking for. And we don't have names attached to the budget, which is a shame since we would really like to know who these people are and what they do. But we will ask.

The director of the department of education and community service, for example, makes $91,000 and a "recreational supervisor" in the same department and a "recreational special programs supervisor" make about $68,000 each. Who are these people and what do they do? And are the two supervising jobs so different that we need two? And then a third, really, if you count "education special programs director" budgeted at $48,800 (there are already two education center directors getting paid a total of $52,000 between them; couldn't they handle "special programs"? Especially when the budget already has a $37,400-a-year "communications and special events supervisor"? And, then, wait, why is there also a "recreation programs supervisor" making $60,000 at the parks and recreation department. Is that different than the "recreational special programs supervisor" in education and community service? Some of these positions seem repetitive. Soon, we are going to need a coordinator to coordinate all these people and their jobs.

There is also a "literacy program director" (I kid you not) with $54,000 a year salary and a "sponsorship coordinator" with a salary of $37,600. The number of "community development representatives" grew from one to four for a combined $91,100. That's three new positions. There is also a "mayor's liaison" with a $38,000 salary -- a new reward, er, I mean position, probably, for either Jonathan Martinez or Arnie Alonso, who each spent much time campaigning for former mayor Julio Robaina's failed county mayoral bid and will likely waste much of their taxpayer-paid time doing the same thing for their new boss -- where 25 percent of the salary comes out four different departments: the code enforcement, occupational license, building and planning and zoning departments. Neither one would tell me when I asked what their new reward jobs were. There's another position, one not budgeted last year, that is paid from two different accounts: a "purchasing/property director" with an $80,000 salary -- 25 percent of which comes out of the office of management and budget and 75 percent of which comes out of "affordable housing fund." Another new position is the building official, a title to which the senior building plan processor was promoted, with a salary of $96,000. This person's former salary in the last position, where he or she was performing these duties, is not listed in the budget because it is eliminated. So, basically, this person was promoted, it seems. Wonder if it was a big raise.

These are great positions to be able to have in a city government, but maybe not at the price of 40 percent of the first responders who safeguard the residents lives for an average of $70,000. I have asked for a finer salary breakdown in the department, as some supporters of this dangerous and absurd proposal to cut two out of every five allegedly overpaid firefighters have suggested, and I expect to get those public records faster than I get most documents that I requested (have waited more than a week to see personnel records for Martinez and Alonso, and I bet that won't come as quickly). But the proposed budget does reflect that the fire chief, who has been awfully silent about this plan to cut 40 percent of his staff, makes $131,000 and the assistant chief make $114,000. Three battalion chiefs make $364,720 between them, so that's about $121,500 each and four division chiefs making about $105,00 each. But none of these top management employees are going to get fired, I bet. Not that they should. These are enviable salaries, sure, but these people are in those positions because they have worked for decades and climbed up the civil ladder and they make policy and operational decisions that affect hundreds of workers and hundreds of thousands of residents. And if we are going to size them up, it would be smart to compare them to, say, the police chief's salary and fire chief salaries across the county and/or state for cities of similar size and population.

And while they seem like very high salaries at first glance, it's not that much when you realize that the mayor makes $190,000 a year to dole out political favors to his campaign contributors and use the office and bully pulpit to campaign for election -- not re-election since he was never elected to this position. It's not that much when you realize that executive salaries in the city clerk's office are projected to rise by $41, 342. Yes, they have a new office coordinator at $35,300 but lost a records manager who makes $35,900 (transferred to the building department for whatever reason). And the department has a new administrative aide for $26,600 but they lost a clerk/typist and a print shop technician. So two new staffers, three other positions gone is a net loss of one position. There should be an overall decrease, no?

There are so many questions about this budget, in fact, that one has to wonder if Vega, the man who wrote it for the mayor and makes $118,000 a year to play a funny money shell game for their political friends and aspirations, is overpaid.

Hialeah: Campaign $ before safety

Hialeah's alcaldito Carlos Hernandez and his yes council would have people believe that they have to fire almost half the city's firefighter paramedics to balance the budget without raising taxes. But a closer look at the city's checkbook may indicate that what they really want is to take money from the fire department budget so they can keep on doling out millions in no-bid contracts and purchase order increases for their friends and campaign contributors.

On the agenda for tonight's meeting, two days before they consider firing 40 percent of the 270 firefighters that currently serve more than 220,000 residents, there are several items that are worth questioning. They include more than a dozen requests to waive the competitive bidding process -- which guarantees fair, not inflated prices, and an open, level playing field -- for a total of more than $800,000, which includes one for Maguire Group for inspections that have already been done on the water pump that cost the city double because it wasn't done right the first time. Maguire Group, its officers and their other companies contributed at least $4,300 to the failed Julio Robaina county mayoral campaign -- and, Ladra is willing to wager, we'll see some contributions to the current candidates on the dais (which is the long podium they sit at for meetings, for that person who did not recognize the word).

Additionally, there is a "change order" for contracts with two other companies (probably no bid contracts, also) that contributed to the Robaina campaign: Acosta Tractors ($175,000) and Overland Carriers (doesn't say how much the change is, but the contract total is $2.1 million so I bet it's at least a six-figure figure). Acosta Tractors and its related officers and companies donated $2,000 in four bundled maximum $500 contributions. Overland just $1,000 that I could find so far, but its harder than it looks to trace these contributions back and connect them to bundles. And I haven't even started to look at the seven or eight PACs that supported Robaina that might have also benefited from these benevolent city vendors.

This is how the city administration misspends your hard-earned taxes, Hialeah. Watch them as they raise no questions and rubber-stamp every no-bid contract and every change order. Council President Isis "Guttergirl" Garcia-Martinez might even give her nod with her signature enthusiastic "Absolutely!" -- just in case there is any question of how she really feels.

Then Thursday, do not let the council blame the city's hard-working employees for their own financial mismanagement and cut half of the city's firefighters and paramedics so that they can keep on doling out funds to their campaign contributors.

That's pathetic. And it should be criminal.

Kicked out of a campaign kick-off

There was a large crowd Saturday at the grand opening of the campaign headquarters for Hialeah's unelected alcaldito Carlos Hernandez and his Yes Crew Minus One. But even if it ws just the immediate families of the five incumbent candidates there would have been a big crowd.

Still, two people were very conspicuously MIA from the festivities.

More than 200 people stood sat in the parking lot or stood in the little shade they could find at the shopping center on 12th Avenue and 38th Street to listen to Hernandez as he listed his claims to fame -- stopping the red light camera program, legalizing illegal efficiencies, slashing the mayor's salary to $190,000, opening parks that the city had closed -- flanked by former Hialeah Housing Authority member Lourdes Lozano, who was the best Hernandez could do to try to force former Councilman and Hialeah Housing Authority Director Alex "The Professor" Morales into a runoff, and the entire council except one of the incumbents fighting for re-election. Visibly missing from the platform as well as the campaign literature on the table: Councilwoman Vivian Casals-Munoz, who is facing a challenge from Danny Bolanos, the former cop and son of the former chief, and last-minute entrant Tony Vega, a gun dealer who Ladra predicts will take Vivian's place on the slate. One of the few Hernandez supporters that was unafraid to speak to me in public, said Casals-Munoz -- who reportedly got there late, but Ladra is sure they would have waited if she was part of the Hernandez slate -- had made the decision to separate herself from the group. But that makes no sense and other sources say she has been left out intentionally by Hernandez and the other incumbents. Why on Earth would they leave out the official notary public of the 1st Hialeah Bank of Julito, former mayor Julio Robaina's own relative (Casals-Munoz is related to Robaina's first wife)? Hmmmm. Inquiring minds want to know if it has anything do with the federal investigation into loans made to the ponzi schemer and jeweler Luis Felipe Perez by Roberto and Mercy Blanco and Robaina. Or loans of her own, uncovered in the inquiry, that she may not have declared on her income taxes. One of the people Ladra spoke to who testified before the grand jury said "she's toast." Maybe Hernandez (once rumored to be in trouble, too, for his own loaning moonlighting, but seemingly in the clear by the way he is acting) and the council know something we don't. We've been hearing about this grand jury investigation for weeks and the rumored resolution that is supposed to come this month. Maybe after that, Hernandez will officially pull Vega -- whose signs are already adhered to Hernandez sign posts around the city -- into his slate.


And just because Ladra didn't see Vega at the campaign party Saturday, doesn't mean he wasn't there. Ladra had to leave early after someone inside the campaign office called the police and an officer issued her a trespass warning. Yes, folks, someone called the popo on Ladra again. It hadn't happened since Miami Vice PAC chair Vanessa Brito called the cops on me during early voting for the recall at the Miami Lakes library. I was due. Officer Horacio Lopez and Sgt. Frank Agoglia were very nice and professional as they followed orders for what amounts to harassment for political reasons (read: official misconduct). Because by the time Officer Lopez, standing in the parking lot, called me over from the shopping mall promenade with his index finger, I had left the private campaign office because I was obviously not welcome. I had been inside twice earlier that day and nobody had complained until I started to take photographs of some older man suffering from heatstroke or something being attended to by, possibly, the very same Hialeah firefighter paramedics that the incumbents want to fire Oct. 1. I thought it would be poetic imagery, and you gotta admit that Council President Isis "Guttergirl" Garcia-Martinez is perfectly caught in all her angry glory. First, she tried to get in my way so I didn't have a shot. After I moved around her, she started yelling that I could not take photos and that I was not welcome there. I objected, asking if I was the only person that had been asked to leave a political campaign office event that the general public had been publicly invited to attend. But getting no answer, and having my photo, I left. About a minute later, after I was outside, is when I got called over by the police. But I was not trespassing and that should be corrected. Maybe I was going to have a cafecito. Maybe I wanted to try my luck at the illegal maquinitas at Little Vegas Hialeah a few doors away.

Ladra has asked for the public records on the police call and the radio communications -- and cellphone records, in case the normal operating procedures for such a call were circumvented -- that preceded this trespass order for such a dangerous watchdog. I want to frame it and hang it up, of course. It's a badge of honor, really.

But I wonder if it's also evidence of a false police call or making a false police report since I had already left the premises and was in the public area.

Two moves fill out Hialeah races

Longtime Hialeah Planning and Zoning Board member and council candidate Ramiro Sicre sat on a bench on the third floor outside the clerk's office at City Hall Friday afternoon and waited.

And waited. And waited.

Sicre, sitting here next to former councilwoman Cindy Miel, who filed to run against Council President Isis "Guttergirl" Garcia-Martinez in the only head-to-head, was one of the first and few funded candidates to jump into November's council elections. But he became the last one to qualify by the 5 p.m. Friday deadline. He later told Ladra that he wanted to see what Frank Lago, former Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño's chief of staff (at the other end of the bench), would do. If Lago switched from the Group 6 race against incumbent Pablito "Huh" Hernandez and longtime water department worker Daisy "Duh" Castellanos, Sicre -- who was once appointed to the council to fill a vacancy -- would jump into the Group 6 race. Instead, he jumped into the Group 2 contest to make a three-way now with incumbent Jose Caragol and former mayor Julio Martinez (who could quickly lost Back to the Future slate status with Sicre around).

But one thing was certain: Sicre was going to jump out of the Group 1 race vacated by termed-out Councilman Pepe Yedra, which is largely seen as Professor Alex Morales' seat despite several other wannabes, including last minute entrant Lourdes Lozano, a former Hialeah Housing Authority member who was among those who voted to fire Morales, the onetime director, at the behest of former Mayor Julio Robaina. Lozano has been cast as a plant by Hernandez (read: Robaina) to force Morales into a runoff so he has less time and money to help his slate mate, former mayor Raul Martinez, who wants his old job back.

He's not the only one who switched the seat sought. Tony Vega, who had also indicated he would run in the Group 1 seat vacated by termed-out Councilman Pepe Yedra, jumped into the Group 3 race against incumbent Vivian Casals-Muñoz and former cop and police chief's son Danny Bolaños. "My shot is better here," Vega said, which could be a strange thing to hear from a gun dealer. "A merchant of death," as he calls himself. Vega owns Miami Guns on West 84th Street, which he says the city is trying to close down (but Ladra needs to dig into something about a gun range and city permits). "Because it's such a crowded field," Vega added (read: "Because that is Professor Alex Morales' seat.").

"I'm running because of my terrible dealings with the city as a businessman," Vega told me, minutes after he qualified Friday morning (photographed here with City Clerk David Concepcion as he switches). "It can run a whole lot better. There is no customer service here. There's apathy."

But while he has spent much of the last year complaining about the administration and writing letters to the editor about the city trying to shut him down, Vega seems to be simpatico with Alcaldito Carlos Hernandez. He almost echoed Hernandez on the union position. "There's a big push to satisfy the unions who don't want to take any steps down," Vega said. "They want what's best for their members, but not what the city needs." And there also have been Vega signs spotted on the same posts Hernandez signs (unknown, however, if it was the ones with the little evil-eye-warding mirrors).

Su Alcaldito (Ladra adapted another nickname, this time to mimic his own slogan and return address) is rumored to be distancing himself from Councilwoman Vivian Casals-Muñoz. Ladra smells a riff between the incumbents and the official notary for the 1st Hialeah Bank of Julito, who may be off the slate and left to fend for herself. There are no Casals-Muñoz signs or materials at the incumbents shared campaign headquarters on West 12th Avenue, which is, coincidentally, a couple of doors down from Little Vegas in Hialeah, a game room with more than 50 illegal slot maquinitas, likely permitted and operated by one of Hernandez's campaign contributors (still more on that later).

Maybe there is one way to find out for sure whether Vega is the new slate mate or the incumbents are going to stick together: Let's see which one shows up for the photo ops at the Hernandez Et Al campaign office grand opening Saturday morning.

And then there was one...officially

The first endorsement is out in the Hialeah mayor's race -- which is becoming more contentious (read: interesting) by the day -- and the firefighter union's pick of former mayor Raul Martinez is both surprising and expected.

It may surprise those who remember Martinez's reign and hostile "If-you-don't-like-it-here-go work-at-the-city-of-Miami" rapport with the firefighters that the fire union would recommend their former foe. It is likely expected by some watching Hialeah politics more closely. Not only were Martinez and his slate mates allies during the hard-fought county mayoral campaign against former mayor Julio Robaina, where the firefighters used their flex to help Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, the man who held the position for more than two decades is seen as a financial guru who can pull the city out of an alleged fiscal emergency that the current administration won't address or disclose.

In the end, union President Mario Pico -- who has been battling the city through tenuous negotiations without having a clear picture of the city's fiscal standing -- urged his membership to forget the history and concentrate on the future financial recovery of the city. "When it is all said and done if this city does not float we all drown," he said.

To be fair, the firefighters invited all four candidates to the screening by a political committee comprised of some of the executive board. But acting alcaldito Carlos Hernandez declined. Pico said Hernandez told him he had something else to do, more or less. My words. I think he told Pico something like, "If you haven't heard, I'm running a campaign." To which Ladra would have replied, "If you haven't heard, you are wasting your time and Jesus Navarro's money." But Pico is polite and diplomatic. Ladra is less so.

And then there were three. But George "Who?" Castro, who hasn't raised any money and doesn't stand a chance, was taken off the table of consideration quickly enough. He isn't, er, ready.

And then there were two. And then there were two for hours and hours. And then there were two for days. But, really, there were two from the very beginning. Firefighters were as ABC (read: Anyone But Carlos) as Ladra and were only going to consider Martinez and former State Sen. Rudy Garcia, who I hear impressed the screening committee with his speech. But grandeur thoughts of industrial trail lines across Hialeah and a planned hub of recycling industry businesses take years to materialize, let alone make an impact, said one firefighter. "We need someone to take care of what's going on right now." Garcia's words also seemed rehearsed and practiced next to the unpolished, less-stellar interview with Martinez, who said things that started with, "You might not like my answer," and "I'm not going to lie to you or mince words..." He came off as "rough around the edges," as one firefighter said, and rubbed some guys the wrong way when he defended his hardline past by justifying that while he never gave them raises, he also did not take their pay or benefits away. But one has to remember that the audience is a group of firefighter paramedics who have repeatedly won legal orders against the city for unfair labor practices and who are now threatened with up to 25 firings this October and more later this year. Union leaders say Martinez did not sound practiced. "I don't need a friend at City Hall," said union Vice President Eric Johnson, who is also founder and president of the Raul Martinez fan club at the union. "I need a financial manager to fix things so that I can take care of my wife and children and their future is secure."

To be sure, there were unpaid boosters lobbying on behalf of both candidates inside the union. And that is why the group deviated from its regular process to take two votes and make sure that the board's decision would represent the membership and could not be challenged as hurried or biased. The first vote of the screening committee (between 40 and 50 people) was reportedly so lopsided, that the union decided to take another vote at the general union membership meeting later that night. Again, it was reportedly overwhelmingly pro-Martinez. Pico went to further lengths, visiting stations over the weekend to make sure that the decision would represent a unified stand from the majority of the 271 firefighters. He announced the decision Tuesday.

"This is the most important city election that this union membership has ever voted on," Pico told Ladra. In his note to the members, he told them that Martinez edged out Garcia on his knowledge and experience with city finances. But he acknowledged it was a difficult decision. "He has the reputation of being a great financial administrator. He has guided the city through difficult financial times, not once but twice. He also has the reputation of being hard at negotiations," Pico wrote adding that the past "is not important right now. What matters now is the one constant focus Mayor Raul Martinez has always had, and that is the prosperity of the city." The email went out after Pico spoke personally with both candidates and delivered a letter and a check for $500 from the union PAC to Martinez.

But everybody already kinda knew. Like Ladra said, they got people on the inside. Garcia and his people had been downplaying the importance of the endorsement since Saturday. "It's sad that after what they heard from me and told me how great I did and what a great job I would do, that's the result they have," Garcia said, quickly cutting off as he walked and knocked on doors Tuesday evening. While Martinez said he "never expected anything" from the union, Ladra knows he was surprised the nod for him didn't come sooner. "I'm very appreciative of their confidence," he told me. But he will value their sweat even more as he expects the firefighters to help his campaign as they did on the successful county mayoral campaign for Gimenez.

"The firefighters have always been the toughest, hardest-working in any campaign for or against -- and I have been on both sides of that," Martinez told Ladra late Tuesday, completely aware that he was maybe a bitter pill to swallow.

"It's not about me," Martinez said. "It's about the future of the city of Hialeah."

Gimenezes weigh in on Hialeah

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has been silent on the upcoming elections in Hialeah, where one of the mayoral candidates and several council wannabes worked hard for his campaign and recruited family members and friends -- even contributors.

But that silence will be broken before the Nov. 1 election.

Ladra had to find Gimenez at the Miami-Dade Young Democrats meeting Tuesday night-- where he spoke candidly and confidently about the budget cuts he had proposed (more on that later) -- because now that he's got the job, he is so busy with the budget and assembling his dream team staff he is much less accessible and never calls to chat. Sigh. They all forget the morning after. When asked if he was supporting any Hialeah racers, he said "Not yet."

Then he flashed that smile and repeated it. "Not yet."

Which means that he will eventually lend his support, either publicly or privately, eventually. "I had a lot of those people support me and work hard in Hialeah," Gimenez said. "I'd like to show my appreciation."

The candidates that helped Mayor Gimenez are all on the Back To The Future slate against all the incumbents (yes, you are supposed to hear the theme song in your head). It starts with former mayor Raul Martinez, who went on Cuban AM radio regularly to defend Gimenez and blast his one-time protege and successor, failed mayoral candidate Julio Robaina for something or other and who is likely to have former State Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla -- who was crucial to the Gimenez campaign's turnaround -- on his election team. The mayor may also show some loyalty to Professor Alex Morales -- a former city councilman and housing director who was fired by Robaina and did some research and put together some of Robaina's misdeeds for the media -- and former cop-turned-housing-official Danny Bolaños (in this photo in a Gimenez caravan on West 49th Street in June), who put his own campaign on hold to stand for Gimenez at early voting sites for a couple of weeks (as evidenced by a window of inactivity in his campaign finance report). Former Mayor Julio Martinez, who qualified earlier this month to run against former police spokesman Jose Caragol, and former councilwoman and teacher Cindy Miel, who qualified Monday for a rematch run against Council President Isis "Guttergirl" Garcia Martinez -- because someone has to stop Garcia's public chusmeria -- hosted a fundraiser meet-and-greet for Gimenez at La Carreta before the county runoff. Maybe Gimenez won't go out on a limb and support all of them. After all, there are some colorful characters on this slate -- which, by the way, could grow before it's all said and done.

Las malas lenguas tell Ladra that Frank Lago, the chief of staff to Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño who lost his bid to replace Esteban Bovo at the state house to Jose Oliva, could join the Back To The Future slate with Martinez, et al. Sources close to the two campaigns say Lago has been courting both Martinez and former State Sen. Rudy Garcia to share resources and my gut tells me he is working the Martinez slate harder (and was spotted chatting with Professor Morales at Maruch recently). The former mayor told Ladra he had not spoken to Lago in weeks but that he had yet to return a call. Lago has told Ladra he was never going to go with acting alcaldito Carlos Hernandez, but felt loyalty to Guttergirl because she helped him with his state house run. Well, that was then. This is now: Guttergirl and perhaps other incumbents urged Lago to switch groups and run against the unbeatable professor -- their only chance to keep Morales out of their hair -- rather than Easy-out Paul Hernandez, another rubber-stamper.

Then there is this telltale sign: Attorney Carlos J. Gimenez, lobbyist son of our new mayor and "absolutely" a Raul Martinez supporter, and his boss State Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, will host a fundraiser for Lago at their Coral Gables office Thursday, Sept. 8. Um... wait... Didn't Lago support and help Robaina and his clan and talk badly about his dad and work against them? "Yes. But then he found out what trusting that guy does to you," Gimenez Jr. said, adding that Lago, a fellow Christopher Colombus grad, helped his father in the runoff. "Was it disappointing to me that he would support Robaina even at first? Yes. But at the end of the day, the political reality is look at where he was running," the future county commissioner (you heard it here first) said about the state house race, which included most of Hialeah in its district.

The fundraiser next week is Lago's campaign kick-off, said Gimenez, who added that one thing became clear during the county mayoral campaign: "Hialeah needs a change for the better, a clean slate," Gimenez said. "It needs people who are competent and honest. That's what I want. That creates an even playing field."

In that effort, he said, there will likely be more fundraisers as Gimenez Junior reaches out to other non-incumbents, council candidates, who supported his dad's run for mayor.

"We are going to be supporting Danny Bolaños, Cindy Miel, Alex Morales," Gimenez told Ladra. "In coming months, hopefully we'll have events for all of them

Ladra just wishes that some of them had come before Lago.

Poll: Hialeah incumbents weak

A poll of 300 Hialeah residents paid for by the city's firefighters union puts former mayor Raul Martinez in the pole position for the mayoral race this November with a double-digit lead over incumbent mayor, Carlos Hernandez. But while former State Sen. Rudy Garcia has been in the number three position before, he is now double-digits behind Hernandez -- who has used the bully pulpit to promote his candidacy through a bunch of obvious campaign initiatives -- according to the poll by the same Freddy Balsera who was paid more than $200,000 for work on the county mayoral campaign of former Hialeah mayor Julio Robaina.

Balsera reportedly only charged $5,000 for the poll for the fire union, who fiercely fought Robaina's mayoral bid and is likely not going to endorse his puppet alcaldito. The union leadership, which released only a one-page summary of the poll and not the questions or the numbers themselves (and, yes, I've asked for more and will press for full disclosure) chose Balsera's firm to give the poll credibility and commissioned it because, contrary to popular belief, not all the union members are as supportive of Martinez as the leadership may seem to be. The fire union screening is next week and the poll was commissioned by the leadership to help with the decision. But Martinez certainly has a few things on his side: He supported Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez -- and the firefighters built a rapport working with him on the same side of that -- and his slate has a few fire union friendly candidates, also from Hialeah Team Gimenez, that the anti-incumbent and increasingly influential fire union leadership will likely support. That includes former councilman and housing authority director (until he was fired by Robaina) Alex Morales, who also showed "a commanding lead" in the open seat in this poll after getting high recognition ratings in the poll commissioned last month by Frank Lago, a council candidate and chief of staff to Sweetwater Mayor Manny Marono. This poll says Lago is tied or within the margin of error with incumbent Paul Hernandez, whose seat he is seeking. In fact, all the incumbents are vulnerable and Cindy Miel and Julio Martinez are also tied or within the margin with Council President Isis "Gavelgirl" Garcia-Martinez and Jose Caragol, who they are challenging, respectively. Miel is currently in the seat against Vivian Casals-Munoz with housing authority employee and son of the former chief Danny Bolanos. But Ladra is certain she will switch to rematch Gavelgirl -- and the fact that this poll pit her there instead of with Vivian shows that the fire union or Balsera may have had that inside knowledge.

The glaring omission in the summary is any mention about Bolanos against Casals-Munoz, who was cited as the least favorable incumbent in the Lago poll (which we still want to know how it was paid for). And the reason for that is because Danny Boy, who gets some negative points from past accusations when he was a police officer and his brother's bank robbery conviction, doesn't do too well in this poll. According to people who have seen the numbers, Bolanos has about a 14 percent approval rating or voter support, Ladra is not sure which -- but neither is good. And this is one place Ladra thinks the poll is flawed. And not just because Freddy didn't take Ladra into account, and my anti-incumbent bent is giving Danny his due. But, rather, mostly because we bet the 195 women and 105 men -- 86 percent of which were 56 years old or older -- were not told that Casals-Munoz may have "her fingerprints on everything" that federal investigators are looking at in the Ponzi scheme investigation and the inquiry into Robaina's allegedly questionable loans and business dealings. Even if Vivian-- whose highlights and new hairdo get a thumbs up -- is not eventually implicated officially, some of her role has already been documented. The Miami Herald lists her in an April story about shadow banking allegations against Robaina as one of the creditors who loaned $25,000 to a man that also borrowed more than $1 million from Robaina's partners, Mercy and Rolando and Robertico Blanco. And she is apparently the notary public for most of the Blancos' and Robaina's loans, as well. Ladra is not too sure, but we think that the pending resolution of that federal inquiry will come before November and change that race just a tad. One way or another.

What likely won't change between now and then is the way voters feel about the state of their government. According to the summary released, 65% of those surveyed said the financial condition of the city is either average or poor and 26% cited waste and corruption in government was the top issue followed by property taxes and crime & safety.

Being commissioned by the fire union, there were naturally questions to gauge voters moods toward city employees, who are being blamed for the financial emergency and having contract issues with the administration. "Quality city services" was rated as the fourth most important issue to voters, but the poll doesn't say fourth out of how many. Not surprisingly, 86% of those questioned said the Hialeah firefighters -- who have taken a more visible role in political matters lately after contract negotiations with the former administration basically dissolved -- are doing a a good or excellent job. They are, after all, firefighters. Hello. It's like puppies. Who doesn't love puppies? But, again, what the poll summary does not say is whether those polled were asked if the firefighters were doing a good job saving lives or a good job educating voters and exposing concerns with the current administration's policies and management. Or both.

One thing Ladra would add: They are doing a good or excellent job staying politically relevant. But if they don't show the rest of the poll, it's going to be questioned and misconstrued by their enemies, whose approval rating is not 86 percent. Not even close.

Gonzalez exits mayor's race--for now

Though he has been a non candidate for weeks, State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez formally dropped out of the Hialeah mayoral race Thursday with a statement on his facebook page that took a swipe at the interim incumbent running for re-election.

What it didn't say is that Gonzalez still plans to run for the seat -- in 2013.

But that's what he told Ladra in a candid cellphone chat earlier today -- that he still hoped to run for mayor of Hialeah in two years, which was his original plan anyway before former Hialeah mayor Julio Robaina resigned mid-term to run (unscuccessfully, it turns out) for the county mayor's post. And since Gonzalez may end up running against one of the three current candidates after all, he doesn't want to throw his considerable support behind any of them for this election.

"I don't know that I would have anything to gain from it," Gonzalez said. "Because I may have to run against that person."

He did say he would likely help one candidate in a council race: Incumbent Councilwoman Vivian Casals-Munoz, who may either be defending herself against an indictment or providing testimony by then. "Because she has been helpful to me and has always supported me," he said, adding that she also went out on a limb and supported cigar czar Jose Oliva in the race for the state rep seat in district 110 vacated by Esteban Bovo, now a county commissioner, when the rest of the administration was throwing its support behind Frank Lago, the chief of staff for Sweetwater Mayor Manny Marono, who is now running for a Hialeah council seat. He said the opportunity to serve with Oliva also played into the "tremendously difficult decision."

But despite deep rooted ties with former Hialeah mayor and front-running candidate Raul Martinez -- who he served with during his eight years on the council before he became a state rep -- Gonzalez said he was not going to support his old friend. He says he won't back fellow Republican Rudy Garcia, the former state senator who is also running for mayor, either. And Gonzalez has sat on the sidelines before -- during the 2008 Congressional race between Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Martinez. He couldn't back Martinez because it would be a slap in the face to his party, a decision Martinez never forgave him for, despite the fact that he also refused to back Diaz-Balart out of loyalty for his old friend. "I asked him what my mother's name and my grandmother's name was. He didn't know," Gonzalez said. "I told him 'This guy knows my whole family' and that I couldn't publicly support him. It was a difficult decision because I wanted a Republican there."

One thing is certain: He won't help acting alcaldito Carlos Hernandez. In fact, Gonzalez hinted in his statement that diluting the vote and giving Hernandez a chance at a run-off may have played into his decision. "During a time when the current administration has demagogued the issues, a budget deficit is looming, and our economy is still shaky, I feel a contested primary would be a distraction," Gonzalez wrote (though there may also have been other factors, like maybe a poll showing he had an uphill climb). "While a serious debate about the fiscal condition of our city is needed...the heavy hand of a populist administration will not allow this debate to continue. This special election is slowly but surely focusing on personality clashes, personal agendas and not what is most important for the future of Hialeah."

Gonzalez, 41, had wanted to come back to his hometown because it has been hard to be away from his young family as a father of two young boys and a 2-year-old girl. But he said he had important work to do in Tallahassee as the only senior member of the Dade delegation this year, especially with redistricting on the horizon, and could "better represent my community by remaining in the state capitol," he wrote. "If this were only about me, I would go on...but it has never been about me. I entered this race because I love Hialeah, it is where I was raised and have resided all my life, and more importantly, because it is the place where my children will grow. In this time of fiscal uncertainty, I shall stay the course and continue my growth in the House of Representatives for the well being of our residents and for our beautiful City of Hialeah."

If that wasn't enough of a campaign hint, he ended with this: "I will continue to be involved and work hand and hand with the people of Hialeah towards rebuilding confidence, growth, and stability. A future return to the city I love is still very much alive, as it is a dream I intend to see realized."

He thanked his volunteers and the contributors to the campaign, which had raised more than $130,000 because he had begun in January, before anybody else. He may have to return those funds, however. He is seeking a legal opinion to see if he can keep it open for the 2013 election and open another campaign account for his state house re-election in 2012. If he can't, then he will write each of the donors to see if they will allow him to transfer the funds from one account to the state house campaign account. Most will, Ladra predicts. His supporters want him in office, here, there, anywhere.

But Ladra suggests he sit that 2012 race out if he seriously intends to run for mayor in Hialeah a year later. Why waste the voters' time and patience running for a seat you have no intention of serving out? Find a replacement to groom now. If the simple removal of any perception of conflict of interest doesn't sway you, think practically. Look how that two-month session cramped your campaigning and fund-raising efforts in this trial run, Eddy! Martinez and Garcia both caught up to you easily because you had to lay low and stop campaigning -- actually prohibited from raising funds for more than 50 days -- so you could actually work for a while.

And Ladra has another prediction that will let you go ahead and help your friend, Raul: Martinez may not run again in 2013. Mr. Mayor, who has always had his sights on higher political office, said he wants to just fix the city's financial fiasco, which he is uniquely qualified to do. Then, Ladra says, he will likely take another lick at a federal seat -- or maybe the governor's mansion.

And he can support your bid for mayor. That is, unless Professor Alex Morales runs.