VISION FOR A BETTER MIAMI
A clear vision and positive energy for economic progress
PUTTING NEIGHBORHOODS FIRST
During my decade of public service, I have listened to the comments and advice of the people.
Building on that foundation, I have developed a clear vision for a Better Miami.
NEIGHBORHOODS FIRST
For neighborhoods to come first Miami's next Mayor must get the city’s
economy moving forward.
As your next Mayor, I will be open with the citizens of Miami about
the policy decisions affecting them as well as forward-thinking
in finding the solutions you expect and deserve.
The Mayor must be an individual determined to unite the people.
Divided, our economy will not progress.
United, under my leadership,
we can wipe out the inequities that blight our city to achieve
our goal to become the most livable city in America.
KEEPING IT BASIC
As a City Commissioner, I take great pride in providing first-rate services to
our constituents and neighborhoods.
As Mayor, I will continue to prioritize delivering first-rate services to
our constituents and neighborhoods.
As Mayor:
- I will bring the best of the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) model
to the entire City of Miami.
The citywide model will focus on increasing the number of scenic vistas;
tree-lined streets and lush landscaping in our high traffic areas,
popular destinations, and neighborhoods throughout the city, to ensure that
our residents and visitors experience what they envision Miami to be.
- I will create a one stop City Action Team that responds directly to inquiries.
This way your neighborhood will have a real person to talk to who can solve problems.
A VISION FOR OUR ECONOMY
We need to deal with our economic crisis today, while laying the foundation for
a stronger City for decades to come.
One of the ways to achieve this is to put our taxpayers' dollars back into the
community as quickly as possible.
I supported the economic investment package that pipelined the building of
City projects, which created jobs and got dollars quickly
invested in our communities.
I strongly advocate the investment of our tax dollars on public projects
to create more local jobs, improve transit, strengthen public safety, and
enhance our quality of life.
As Mayor:
- I will continue to prioritize the use federal, state and local dollars
to update Miami's infrastructure so that we can provide long-term, well-paying jobs.
We will also launch a blue ribbon panel with community experts to study ways
of streamlining and improving permitting processes to better meet
the challenges of our new economy.
- I will re-create a stand-alone Economic Development Department,
and together with agencies such as the Beacon Council and the South Florida Workforce,
this Department will be focused on our unique needs in Miami.
We will attract and sustain major employers in
modern industry sectors in order to create high-paying, long-lasting local jobs.
CRIME PREVENTION
Prior to being a City Commissioner, I had the honor of serving as a
Florida State Trooper for a decade in this community.
During my years of service I learned a lot about crime prevention.
I learned that while it is crucial to catch and incarcerate criminals,
it's more important to stop crime from escalating in the first place.
We need to return to the tradition of community policing, and lessen
the temptation of crime during tough economic times.
As Chairman of the Miami City Commission, I worked with my colleagues to
strengthen code enforcement and to pass tougher laws on abandoned buildings
and trash-strewn vacant lots to help clean up neighborhoods suffering from
the effects of mass foreclosures.
We have also captured more than $12,000,000 in Federal dollars to help stop
foreclosures.
As Mayor:
- I will embrace our diversity and train Miami’s officers to interact
with unique cultures in every neighborhood of the City.
We will go back to an era when officers knew their patrol area and the
people who lived there.
These neighborhood officers serve as role models and help at-risk youth by
putting them on a productive path before they are drawn into a life of crime.
- I will increase our support to Citizens on Patrol, the Neighborhood
Crime Watches, the Police Athletic League and other crime prevention programs.
I will create a citywide volunteer board to work with the State Attorney’s
Office to assist victims and witnesses, thus making sure people show up at trials
so criminals get convicted.
- I will use my strong, bipartisan ties in Tallahassee and Washington
to make sure we reduce blight and keep neighborhoods safe.
MAKING LOCAL GOVERNMENT MORE EFFICIENT
As Chairman, I have focused on reconnecting local government with the
citizens we serve. I fought to keep my colleagues and the administration in
touch with your needs.
Moreover, I fought to protect your tax dollars by requiring that every item
on the City Commission agenda had a fiscal impact analysis performed.
As Mayor:
- I will create tougher oversight measures for Capital Improvement Projects.
I will impose the same stringent oversight on the City's federal housing dollars
to ensure that the funds are distributed equitably Citywide.
- I will conduct an exhaustive, line-by-line, review of the City's budget
with an outside task force of accountants, businessmen, economists and other
experts in order to eliminate non-performing projects and launch new
initiatives based on merit.
HONORING AND PROTECTING OUR SENIORS, DISADVANTAGED AND DISABLED
As Chairman, I fought to create opportunities for our elderly and disabled
residents.
They are talented and valuable people who want to work and it is our duty
to give them the opportunity to do so.
As Mayor:
- I will partner with agencies to enable job and volunteer programs that
recognize the skills, wisdom and energy that our senior citizens have to offer.
I will seek assistance from our seniors to act as Community Action Team
troubleshooters and problem solvers.
- I will make Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance a top priority for City facilities.
Each City department and agency will have a point person for ADA coordination.
I will establish an advisory board of people with disabilities to focus on
practical ways to remove barriers and increase accessibility.
Additionally, I will create a program to recruit people with disabilities for
one-year paid internships with benefits, with the goal of placing each intern in
a permanent full-time position.
MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE TRANSPARENT
Transparency is the best way to do business for the citizens of Miami.
I will not stand for City departments and agencies that try to hide
their mistakes or to manipulate statistics.
In my years as a City Commissioner, I demanded audits that resulted in
positive changes which turned agencies that were running deficits into
revenue-generators, and eliminated corrupt officials.
As Mayor:
- I will demand a monthly expenditure report from each department.
- I will demand expenditure data be posted online in order to provide
our residents easy access to information.
A GREEN MIAMI
With my colleagues on the Green Commission, I have taken important steps
toward achieving a greener Miami.
These steps included: going green with City purchasing, reducing our
dependency on foreign oil by building walkable urban spaces, tree planting,
greening historic neighborhoods, creating bicycle lanes and launching plans
for circulator routes.
As Mayor:
- I will facilitate sustainable initiatives in our neighborhoods and lessen
greenhouse gases by creating canopies and planting public gardens
throughout the city.
- I will urge my colleagues on the commission to invest in public
transportation to lessen our dependency on foreign oil.
- A Green Miami will not only help us protect our planet,
it will help jump-start our economy and create jobs in our local neighborhoods.