Norman Braman...then and now

One week ago today, Miami-Dade residents were celebrating the fact that car dealer Norman Braman had saved them from another 18 months of Carlos Alvarez's incompetent leadership.

And he's not finished yet.

Three of the leading candidates for Miami-Dade County mayor threw their support Monday behind an eight-point reform plan proposed by billionaire businessman Norman Braman, who led the successful recall of former mayor Carlos Alvarez, as the race for a new mayor picked up steam and county commissioners tried to regain their footing after last week’s stunning recall vote.

Thirty years ago Braman was on another crusade.

"Norman Braman wants to save us all from economic catastrophe," read the first sentence of a story in The Miami News on March 23, 1981.

"He puts his money where his heart is -- with Reagan," blared the story's headline.

It's OK Norman, all is forgiven!