It's official!
This year is not yet over, but Random Pixels has chosen Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Alvarez as 2009's Worst South Florida Politician.
And quite possibly, the worst ever.
With press clipping like these, how could we even begin to consider anyone else for this prestigious honor?
Congratulations Mayor!
In a town with a rich history of incompetent and corrupt politicians; your complete disregard for anything remotely resembling ethical conduct and your lack of a moral compass has put you head and shoulders above any of South Florida's other morally bankrupt and ethically challenged politicians.
...
NEWS ITEM, Dec. 17, 2009:
Probes launched over outside work by Miami-Dade employeesNEWS ITEM: December 9, 2009:
BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN AND JACK DOLAN
mhaggman@MiamiHerald.com
The Miami-Dade Inspector General has launched an inquiry into private consulting work by county Chief of Staff Denis Morales and several law enforcement officers who moonlighted as police trainers in Panama.
[...]
When the [Herald] asked Alvarez about Morales' double-dipping, the mayor initially defended his top aide. ``Nothing you have described for me is unlawful, improper or unethical,'' Alvarez wrote in an email. He added: ``Sharing knowledge with others is something that should be commended and encouraged.''
A day after the Dec. 8 Herald report, Alvarez said he was ``rather disappointed'' about the fact that Morales used paid leave instead of vacation time on that March trip to Panama. ``I would never have approved it,'' Alvarez said.
Miami-Dade mayor halts paid 2nd job for top aideNEWS ITEM, August 23, 2009:
BY JACK DOLAN AND MATTHEW HAGGMAN, jdolan@MiamiHerald.com
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez has ordered his chief of staff to stop moonlighting as a private consultant in Panama, and to use vacation time for a week he spent in the Central American country in March working the second job.
For the trip, aide Denis Morales took his regular salary from county taxpayers for five days even though he was also being paid by the outside firm. Instead of using vacation time, county officials said, Morales granted himself paid leave.
``He is not going to be going to Panama anytime soon,'' Alvarez said on Tuesday afternoon, following a Miami Herald report detailing how the top staffer worked abroad as the county struggled with a historic budget crisis.
``Quite frankly I was rather disappointed that he used'' paid leave instead of vacation, Alvarez said in an interview.
He added: ``I would never have approved it.''
THE MAYOR'S BIG-RAISE CLUB
BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN AND JACK DOLAN mhaggman@MiamiHerald.com
When Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez delivered his State of the County speech in February, he said the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression required government to "do more with less." Budgets must be trimmed, jobs cut and waste eliminated.
"Make no mistake, we are in for some tough times," Alvarez warned. "We are all in this together."
Yet, three-and-a-half weeks after the speech, Alvarez gave an 11 percent pay raise to his chief of staff, Denis Morales .
The hike increased Morales' salary from $185,484 to $206,783 annually; he also gets $18,720 in cash and executive benefits. The raise was backdated to Sept. 21, 2008, so Morales received the pay increase over the previous five months, too.
He certainly deserves this award.
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