PB: Hello and Goodbye
by SDM
Hello Tim
By now, most Palmetto Bay watchers know that John Dubois and Tim Schaffer were elected to the village council last night. Dubois’s victory was narrow, but a win is a win. Schaffer trounced Jim Araiza.
Before SDM says goodbye to Brian Pariser, let’s first say hello to Mr. Schaffer. SDM has called Mr. Schaffer the fourth amigo in the past, but SDM’s sources are not sure he will take Mr. Pariser’s spot in the ruling troika. The first indicator is that Palmetto Bay’s mysterious Marathon Man apparently spends a lot of time at the Hole in the Wall Pub. If true, then he is obviously too normal to be an amigo.
On the other hand, Mr. Schaffer was supported by the Stanczyk/Lindsay machine so SDM has to put him in that camp unless he splits from them. We are all going to have to wait and see what Mr. Schaffer is really all about. For today, SDM is giving Mr. Schaffer the benefit of the doubt while keeping an eye out for trouble.
Goodbye Brian
The good news from last night is that Palmetto Bay will say goodbye to Brian Pariser. Given the holiday season, SDM wishes to thank Mr/ Pariser for his service to the community. SDM was no fan, but props are due to anyone who sits on a municipal council.
SDM’s agenda
Mr. Dubois has been a steadfast critic of the three amigos and appears to have the intellectual capacity to challenge the surviving couplet. Assuming Mr. Dubois is up to the challenge, SDM has some suggestions regarding what he ought to do right away:
- Set a meeting with the village attorney; just the two of you. SDM wants to see the transcripts of the attorney-client sessions on the Palmer matter and you should be demanding that they be released or you should report to the community as to why they should remain embargoed. SDM can accept that there may be a good reason to keep the records under wraps, but we must be told why. If there is no good reason, then introduce a resolution to release the transcripts now.
- When you meet with the village manager, you must ask him whether he is trying to settle the lawsuit with Shores at Palmetto Bay, LLC. (This is the charter school project on Franjo Road.) The Mayor and her anti-school cronies should not be allowed to continue to interfere with a legitimate use of private property. Use your business experience to help the manager find a reasonable settlement so that this property owner can move ahead with his project.
- Speaking of settlements, please look into a settlement of the Palmer issue. Again, Palmer is here to stay and both sides need to find a way out of the mess the Mayor created. Maybe you will find that the village’s legal position is strong enough that there is no reason to settle at this point. If that is the case, then tell us why we should stop worrying about a potential $13 million liability.
- Hold a workshop on the future of the downtown area. Our community deserves to see a vibrant, exciting Franjo Triangle where businesses are welcomed, rather than shunned. Bring in the Palmetto Bay Business Association and the chambers of commerce and let them know that Palmetto Bay is under new management.
SDM Says: The beginning of a political career is a little like the birth of a child. One never knows for sure what this new person will turn out to be. SDM hopes Mr. Dubois and Mr. Schaffer turn out to be great leaders for our community.
SDM, I agree wholeheartedly! Hello and Goodbye and let’s ALL work together to bring back the great community we once were! Mr. Dubois and Mr. Schaffer, “I’ll be watching you!”
Together, we CAN make a difference!
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Dear friends,
Last night, I called my opponent, Tim Schaffer, and congratulated him
on his victory. Tim secured the most votes in yesterday’s runoff election and will soon be sworn in as our Councilman for Palmetto Bay, District 2.
Please join me as we wish Tim all the best, and let’s show him our support as our newly elected representative.
While I am disappointed to come up short in my bid to serve our village
as a member of the council, I am proud to say we achieved our primary goal:
This community needed new leadership, and two new
council members HAVE been elected in Palmetto Bay!
Tim will join my dear friend, newly-elected Vice Mayor, John Dubois. We need to encourage both Tim and John to bring a fresh perspective to resolving our local issues.
My wife, Jana, and I are deeply proud of the thousands of residents who voted and supported us, both in the general election and the runoff. In the past two years we have knocked on thousands of doors in our village. We have met so many wonderful families, shared pet stories, recipes, and tales of growing up and living in Palmetto Bay.
Most importantly, we all expressed a mutual love for our home town.
Words cannot express our gratitude to the dozens of volunteers who put their lives on hold to join us on the campaign trail. From organizing meet-and-greets to knocking on doors, placing yard signs
and working the polls. We are humbled by your generosity and I am personally forever in your debt.
The rumors, fears and innuendos that circulated during the election can and must be put aside by all of us. I am convinced the great majority of residents care and respect their neighbors, local business owners, and our large faith-based community.
Collectively, let’s all take a deep breath, remember what we love about life in Palmetto Bay, and work for consensus on our local issues.
If we truly respect one another as most of us claim, we can all swallow a bit of our pride, give a little, and be resolute in our desire to once again come together as a, “New” village – just as we did 10 short years ago….
God bless all of you, and God bless Palmetto Bay!
Your neighbor,
Jim Araiza
Together, we CAN make a difference!
—-
Email: jim@eyeonpalmettobay.com
Cell: 305-720-7245
Congrats to both gentlemen.
It’s now time to regroup and start the recall in January. Let’s get at least Joan off the Council. Always kill the snake at the head my dad use to say.
Wow what class Jim has shown. Too bad Howard could not so much as muster an endorsement of either Jim or Tim, frankly he is or was only a self serving politician. You sow the seeds that you plant. God bless Palmetto Bay. I hope Tim has not sold his soul to the devils (Shelly & Joan, oh and Jerry for that matter).
SDM is not disappointed in Howard and understands fully why he didn’t endorse Araiza. Mr. Araiza challenged a sitting incumbent who SDM thinks should have been re-elected. Howard may have beaten Schaffer mano a mano, but we will never know. Araiza’s weaknesses finally caught up to him and the result of his hubris (and that of some of his supporters) is that we are left to hope Schaffer somehow falls out with Stanczyk and Lindsay.
SDM voted for Araiza because he was the best of two unfortunate options. Let’s hope this defeat ends Araiza’s perennial candidacies.
Jim has given new meaning to turn the other cheek. Tim “the eunuch” Schaffer filed an ethics complaint against Araiza the day before the election, because Jim’s campaign finance report had a typo in it. Schaffer is a steaming pile of *%#+¥@$ for doing that and will be tied tighter to Joan and Shelley than a tether around the neck of a sexual asphyxianist. Mark my words.
I congratulate the citizens of Palmetto Bay for your spirited election process. Democracy is not a science but rather an ever evolving social exercise.
I choose to stay out of my neighboring cities politics, as they are not mine. But, I congratulate those elected and I am eager to move South Dade forward, working with our neighbors, on the many issues facing us all.
I admire the spirit of the residents of Palmetto Bay. Congratulations.
Ed MacDougall
All the good people of Palmetto Bay need to focus on ensuring that Patrick Fiore becomes our next mayor in 2014. He’s the only one who can really save our village for generations to come.
Councilmember Patrick Fiore and newly elected vice mayor John Dubois participate in Fiore’s second annual food drive. This is what good government is all about. Helping residents rather than antagonizing them f
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151168382575745.448811.80499470744&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.10151168382575745.448811.80499470744&type=1
Tendrich claims Stanczyk violated campaign laws.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/23/3110509_p2/letter-thanks-for-voting-to-allow.html
As an observer of Palmetto Bay’s politics, I was struck at the election results.
So was SDM. Elections like this one usually turn on which candidate who works the hardest. It looks like the victors outworked the vanquished here.
As an observer of our local politics, I was struck by last week’s election results. The voters selected John Dubois as Vice Mayor but did not elect his slate mate, Jim Araiza. So the question is why? I would say Karyn Cunninghman’s endorsement of John Dubois was the main reason. Not only did Ms. Cunninghman endorse the Vice Mayor but she campaigned for him as well. She did not do the same for Mr. Araiza. That key fact has been lost in all the post-election pontification. Ms. Cunningham is a fresh voice in our community’s deliberations and obviously one that is being heard. This voter wants her to offer herself again for public service, but as Mayor.
Excellent point! SDM thought highly of Ms. Cunningham and she proved to be formidable. Voters need to hear more about her specific plans, though.