Miami, how did we end up with the political leaders we have today?
The judge’s statement ruled that it once started with voter fraud and election manipulation in the case of the election of Miami mayors. For the doubters, please allow the Election Brigade to take you back to the good ole days of 1997.
After this, you may be asking, how did we get our current Miami Mayor, Francis Suarez, a Republican who says he voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton?
Remember when Xavier Suarez was removed from office, leaving the City of Miami without a Miami mayor?
Let’s flashback party started! Let’s start this blog party at The New York Times 1998 archive. titled
Fraud Ruling Invalidates Miami Mayoral Election
In 1998, citing ”a pattern of fraudulent, intentional and criminal conduct” in the casting of absentee ballots, a Florida eleventh circuit judge voided Miami’s mayoral election today and ordered a new vote to be held in 60 days.
The ruling overturned first-round balloting on Nov. 4, 1997, and led to Mayor Xavier L. Suarez’s runoff election, leaving the city without a mayor. The City Commission appointed a mayor in the interim. Under the city charter at the time, the commission, which is the city’s legislative body, had ten days to make such an appointment.
Judge Rules Election Invalid For Election Fraud
The judge, Thomas S. Wilson Jr. of Circuit Court, ruled in a lawsuit brought by the defeated incumbent, Joe Carollo, said there was no evidence that Mr. Suarez knew about the fraud.
The unusual court decision threw the city of about 360,000 residents into fresh turmoil as it tried to recover from a financial crisis that required the appointment of a state oversight board in 1996.
From the convictions of a former city manager and a city commissioner who went to prison for bribery and obstructing justice.
Many Florida officials praised the ruling for saying that election fraud would not be tolerated. Gov. Lawton Chiles said in a statement that the decision would ”help restore integrity to the elections process and give people confidence that democracy works.”
A state criminal investigation led to the arrest of four campaign workers on charges of voting fraud in the election last November. Are you wondering the same thing we are? Did the campaign workers realize they were committing fraud? Or were they doing what the campaign manager or campaign consultant told them to?
The ruling did not address who should function as Mayor in the interim, and Mr. Carollo and Mr. Suarez immediately claimed the office. Commission members said they considered holding the new election on May 5, 1998.
”It’s going to bring pain to the city because it’s going to be an abrasive campaign,” Commissioner Tomas Regalado said of the special election, ”but we needed this to clear the city’s name. This is the best thing that could have happened because after this election, we come out clean.”
Judge Wilson’s ruling was a sweeping indictment of the absentee ballot system, which last month was the subject of a state grand jury report that found it riddled with flaws. The panel’s findings included the casting of ballots in the name of dead people and the manipulation of elderly voters. {Does this ring any 2020 election bells?}
Miami-Dade County has begun reforming the system by tightening requirements for requesting and delivering absentee ballots.
After a two-week trial last month in which 27 witnesses asserted their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify, Judge Wilson said 60 other witnesses he heard from gave ample evidence of fraud.
In his written decision, the judge said the absentee ballots cast in the election included those from people who did not vote, did not live in Miami or the district in which their ballot was cast and did not qualify as unable to vote at the polls. The judge noted that several ballots were even doctored to alter a vote for Mr. Carollo into one for Mr. Suarez.
”This scheme to defraud, literally and figuratively, stole the ballot from the hands of every honest voter in Miami,” Judge Wilson wrote.
In a similar 1993 case, a state judge also threw out the results of a mayoral election in the nearby city of Hialeah and ordered a new vote.
Mr. Carollo, 42, a businessman who served as Mayor from 1996 to 1997, said he felt vindicated.
”It’s a great day for Miami because democracy has been defended and protected,” he said at a news conference outside the court. ”We live in a great country, and I’m proud of being an American.”
Mr. Suarez, 48, a lawyer who served as Mayor from 1985 to 1993 and had a controversial four-month second tenure, said he would not appeal the decision because he was sure to win again. He said he ran a clean campaign and planned to implement measures for the new election “to assure that every single vote is exactly as proper, legal and kosher as a human being can make it.”
Xavier Suarez Wins Most Absentee Ballots
Mr. Carollo won most of the ballots cast at the polls in a first-round election that included five candidates. Still, he was 155 votes short of a majority overall because Mr. Suarez won most absentee ballots.
Mr. Suarez won the runoff on Nov. 13, with 23,598 votes to Mr. Carollo’s 20,739. Judge Wilson’s ruling today overturned the first-round election, thus invalidating the runoff.
Judge Wilson found that Mr. Hernandez’s district was ”the center of a massive, well-conceived and well-orchestrated absentee ballot voter fraud scheme.”
Mayor Xavier Suarez Appoints Commissioner
Since the election, Mr. Suarez has contributed to the tragic-comical political scene by appointing Mr. Hernandez to preside over the commission despite his legal troubles and engaging in antics that have earned him ridicule.
Commissioner Humberto Hernandez, the official who Xavier Suarez appointed to preside over the five-member commission, was awaiting trial on Federal charges of mortgage fraud and money laundering in a case unrelated to city business.
A secretary for Mr. Hernandez is among the four campaign volunteers arrested in the ongoing criminal probe.
Xavier Suarez Dismisses Popular Police Chief & Threatens Miami Herald
Mr. Suarez has made headlines by trying to dismiss a popular police chief, threatening The Miami Herald with the withdrawal of city advertising unless the newspaper was ”a lot nicer” to him, and calling a state senator with a hard-to-pronounce name ”Senator Cabbage” in a formal meeting.
Miamians Were Tired of the Election Fraud Then & They Are Tired of It Now
Many Miamians said they were glad they would get another chance to vote.
”I hope there’s a third candidate,” said Jorge Gonzalez, 58, a construction worker.
Tired of the Election Fraud in Miami-Dade County?
Join the Election Brigade now >>>
Share With Your Friends On Your Favorite Social Media Channels:
Share on Facebook:
Share this post on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram
