Miami Beach City Hall. File photo

The Great Reformation
City Commissioners Debate Ethics, Campaign Finance Reform

By Lee Molloy

If Miami Beach City Commission meetings tend to resemble a marathon, the July 22 Special Commission Meeting, called to focus solely on a slew of ethics ordinances, was the legislative equivalent of an Iron man contest. For eight grueling hours, city commissioners debated a dizzying array of ordinances proposed to bolster the public’s trust in their local government.

City Attorney Jose Smith, perhaps reacting to the sheer number of ordinances, set the stage for the meeting by explaining that many of the proposed ordinances could affect “significant constitutional rights,” he said. “Primarily free speech.”

Faced with more than a dozen ordinances on the agenda, Smith added that proposed changes need to demonstrate that there is a compelling need to take action and that the legislation is narrowly tailored to the problems that have been identified.

Robert Meyers, Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, attended the meeting to offer his advice. He praised the commission on the steps that City Hall had already taken.

“Miami Beach is a leader in ethics reform,” Meyers said, “not just in South Florida but around the country.”

Many of the proposed ordinances focused on transparency in government or on attempting to prevent potential corruption with regard to the business dealings between elected city officials and businesses. However, with an election coming up in November, it is perhaps the three ordinances dealing with campaign finance reform that are the timeliest.

The Weithorn Proposal

Commissioner Deede Weithorn suggested an ordinance that would prohibit anyone that had been paid to work on a commissioner’s campaign from lobbying the city for a period of one year.

“I’ve been around the city for a very long time,” Commissioner Victor Diaz said, pointing out to the commission that “there seems to be a direct correlation between if you have run a successful campaign and are allowed to lobby the commission,” he said.

Diaz also explained that the perception of a vendor is that you can potentially get special treatment with city contracts if you hire someone that ran a successful campaign for a commissioner.

“People came to me and offered substantial amounts of money to lobby you,” Diaz told Mayor Matti Bower to illustrate his point. “And I turned them down.”

Commissioner Jerry Libbin, however, wanted the ordinance to go even further, suggesting that after the 12 month prohibition, the elected official should be required to declare a voting conflict whenever that particular lobbyist came before the commission for the remainder of the commissioner’s term.

“This is a really, really good ordinance,” Commissioner Ed Tobin said, “and what it seeks to prevent is the real underbelly, or the dirty side of being in public office.”

Tobin then appeared to take a pot shot at his former campaign consultant David Custin, who was in the chamber to offer advice on the issues at the request of Commissioner Jonah Wolfson.

“We have been infected by a breed of Tallahassee lobbyist that has come into our community,” Tobin said. “I just wonder what a lobbyist tells that vendor in order for a lobbyist to pay $20,000 to come in front of a commission?”

Custin stepped up to the podium and fired back at Tobin, citing the commissioner’s business partner and current commission candidate Fred Karlton.

“Fred Karlton paid me $15,000 cash to help [Tobin] in his campaign,” Custin said. “Would that be covered by this ordinance?” Custin then claimed that being a campaign consultant doesn’t necessarily yield positive results. “Weithorn’s campaign retained me for 10 days of work,” he said, “but she hasn’t voted for one” of my issues favorably.

Commissioners decided to amend the ordinance to require that unpaid campaign volunteers would also have to disclose having worked for a commissioner if they came before the dais.

The Gross Proposal

Although existing law is clear that a city vendor or lobbyist is prohibited from donating money to a commissioner’s campaign, Commissioner Saul Gross proposed an ordinance that expanded the rules by also preventing lobbyists and vendors from soliciting contributions on behalf of a candidate.

“If you have a contract with the city, not only can’t you contribute, you can’t solicit others to contribute,” Gross said, “Otherwise it’s a mockery, the vendor holds a fundraiser and they don’t write a check themselves but they contribute $20,000 through the fundraiser.”

The Diaz Proposal

Stating that his ordinance sought “to close a loophole that currently exists,” Diaz asserts that, “If we believe it is improper to raise contributions from vendors for his city campaign, it is equally improper to allow them to raise money for a statewide campaign.”

Commissioners discussed the example of state Rep. Richard Steinberg who campaigned and raised money for his race for a seat in Tallahassee while still a sitting Miami Beach Commissioner.

Custin pointed out that having a state level elected official from the city of Miami Beach is a benefit to citizens, adding that if the city goes the route of disallowing a candidate to solicit contributions from city vendors, “you are putting your city’s constituents at a political disadvantage,” he said.

Diaz, however, romantically asserted that the public would reward a candidate with their financial support for behaving ethically. Custin, on the other hand, remained doubtful.

“The noble intent don’t get you elected man,” he said.

The commission passed the three campaign reform proposals, along with several other ethics ordinances. They will hear the items on second reading Sept. 9.

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