America's Best Leaders: Manny Diaz, Mayor of Miami

MANNY DIAZ

Manny Diaz is one of the greatest mayors in the city of Miami since its founding in 1896. I am a native 65 year old Miamian, 3rd generation. I have seen so many former mayors and commissioners come and go without having made half the positive impact Manny Diaz ha made. He has brought Miami up to the 21st Century, and is in the forefront of making Miami a world class city.

Sure every one makes mistakes, but I definitely say that Manny Diaz's positives outweigh the negatives. Miami is so lucky to have had him as a mayor. He has been most effective in leading Miami.

I think he would make an excellent addition to the Obama team, but even if he does not, I am sure he will continue to be an excellent leader in whatever he undertakes.

Housing And Real Esatate Development

If I am not incorrect I believe that before Manny Diaz became mayor of Miami. High rise developers were not allowed to build the supper expensive luxuary condos and that previouos mayor had alway set aside real estate f oe affordable housing. Mr Diaz came in shut all that down

Now you have half million dollar condos 36th and 2nd ave.WTF and all over the city. Third world politics has alway s been in Miaimi as far back as the 90's when 65 million vanished into thin air. You know the president runs off ith the treasury to another country leaving the people to fend for themselves . This is just a new way of pay and play./ Andre

Please Obama, Diaz Doesn't Cut It

The Mayor refuses to hold any one person responsible for the current $2.5 total rezoning effort he has been pushing. It's full of inconsistencies, since it is designed for special interest developers, rather than the public. He pulls the strings from afar. And, as his style, except for those who live here and see him up close and personal, he seems impressive.

Yet, look at his administration: more than half of the Public Works Dept was found quilty of corruption. His hirings.

Even slaps on the wrist don't come easily to officials in corrupt Miami. Yet, our Police Chief, who he chose, was found guilty of an ethcial violation, basically lying about a gift he received, and was reprimanded for overly agressive force with peaceful demonstrators.

Naysayers

change is never easy. Miami is full of naysayers. Is Manny Diaz perfect? Of course not, but to look where he took Miami from and to - Banana Republic (people tossing banana peels at City hall and with the City government under state watch and downgraded bonds) to a place where City services actually get delivered and people want to live in the City. We are no longer the laughing stock of the region, the state or the country. As a longtime homeowner in Miami, he's the best mayor I have seen, but alas, for Manny: You are never a prophet in your own land.

Manny Diaz Bad For & Miami Worst For The USA

Manny Diaz professes Government Transparency but has acted aggressively to prevent the public from voting on two huge public land giveaways.

He wants to give the Marlins, a privately owned company, up to 30 acres of land at the Orange Bowl site. Manny Diaz is not requesting payment. He demands the taxpayers pay for a $200 mil parking garage adjacent to the proposed stadium. The Marlins will receive 100% of the parking revenues.

He also wants to give $150 mil in taxpayer owned waterfront park land to two museums. Unfortunately neither museum has endowments. Massive ongoing operating losses are projected. Manny Diaz refuses to allow a public referendum. Years ago voters did vote to allocate money to improve the museums but no detail or land giveaway plans were available. Since then neither museum have been able to raise required money privately yet both museums can afford lobbyists to garner more money and more giveaways from the taxpayers.

City Charter requires a public referendum for land giveaways except under very narrow circumstances. Polls show the public would vote 3 to 1 against giving $1 bil in land and money to the privately owned Marlins.

Under his watch Miami is still the third poorest midsize city in the USA. We also have such a glut of excess housing that we rank only second to Las Vegas in the quantity of foreclosures. As much as we want Manny Diaz gone from Miami government we don’t want him in DC where he will be able to inflict even more harm to the entire USA.

Let’s hope that the Obama Transition Team looks at potential applicants very closely, especially that of Manny Diaz.

Harry Emilio Gottlieb, Coconut Grove, FL.

Here's the real truth about Manny Diaz. See full story at the link below.

http://cbs4.com/defedecolumn/defede.diaz.obama.2.870651.html

Nov 21, 2008 3:35 pm US/Eastern

DeFede: Diaz Faces Tough Fight For Cabinet Post

Fred Frost, the South Florida head of the AFL-CIO is not thrilled with the prospect of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz being considered for a cabinet position in the Obama Administration.

Diaz has faced questions about his ethics in recent years. His decision to own a restaurant housed on city land raised one set of concerns, but that was nothing compared to the revelation back in 2004 that the mayor's restaurant was behind almost $200,000 in rent payments to the city, that it owed the county nearly $100,000 in delinquent property taxes and that it had stiffed the state almost $250,000 in sales tax payments.

It was only after I reported those problems four years ago that the mayor sold his stake in the restaurant.

The mayor's relationship with city hall lobbyist Steve Marin will also be an area for the feds to review. Marin, a close friend of Diaz, received several no-bid contracts from the city.

Then of course there is the debacle surrounding the city's efforts to settle the infamous Fire Rescue Fee case, in which Manny Diaz and then city manager Joe Arriola were either duped into paying a handful of people $7 million or were complicit in the outrageous deal. Either way the case does not reflect well on Diaz's judgment or ability.

There will be other issues, as well, including his decision to enter into a multi-million dollar land deal with then city manager Arriola and Johnny Winton, who was a city commissioner at the time. The three waited months to disclose their private business dealings, and in the meantime, Arriola and Winton engineered a $53,000 pay raise for the mayor, ramming it through the city commission without any advance notice or allowing the public to speak on it.

In 2007, Diaz was charged with violating the conflict-of-interest provisions of the County's Ethics Ordinance because of the land deal with Winton and Arriola. He pleaded "no contest" and was found guilty by the Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. Diaz was fined $250 and given a letter of reprimand.

But ultimately, it could be Diaz's problems with organized labor that may cause him the most trouble. Frost was on the phone today with national union officials discussing what to do about Diaz's name being mentioned for a cabinet position.

When the local AFL-CIO filed its lawsuit against the city, it was the union's national leadership that gave it the green light.

Frost asked the question: Can Obama really appoint someone to the cabinet that the largest labor union in the country is actively suing for beating, tear gassing and brutalizing its retired workers?

It was Diaz, after all, who hailed the police response during the summit a success and gave it the name, "The Miami Model." That term, the Miami Model, is now a source of scorn within the labor movement and was derided on editorial pages around the country. The Miami Mode

Seriously?

From the SAME paragraph:

"The bilingual mayor is credited with attracting major developers..."

"Another headache is Miami's glut of condos, the result of overbuilding and the foreclosure crisis."