Miami Dade County commissioner Bruno Barreiro is up to his old tricks again. Earlier this year, he was found conducting a meeting with some commissioners behind closed doors strategizing how to fight the Strong Mayor proposal at the voting booth. They lost that one. Now he wants the Florida Legislature to alter the state's fabled, sacrosanct "Sunshine Law" established in 1967 which requires meetings on public issues between elected officials to be held in public. His solution to better government: allow any two members of a government commission or council to meet privately if that group is made up of 12 members or more.
Our newly elected governor has a problem with it. "It sounds like a retreat on openness," Governor Crist is quoted in the Miami Herald.
The State Attorney General's office has a problem with it. "The people of the state of Florida felt access to government was so important that they put it in the Constitution," said Associate Deputy Attorney General Simone Marstiller. "There's no better way to hold them (elected officials) accountable."
We will have to wait until April 24th to see if the Miami-Dade County Commission has a problem with it when it comes up for a vote. We predict they won't.
UpDate (4/26/07): The Florida State Legislature quickly shoots down Barreiro's proposal to mess with our "Sunshine Law."
1 comment:
Nothing shocks me anymore from some of our delightful BOCC. They fought tooth and nail against the Strong Mayor campaign and lost, the whole time complaning and alleging (I will be kind with my words)that the strong mayor form of government would push to do precisely what they want to do now. What gall they have; they have absolutely no respect for the people of Miami-Dade County. Its all about them! I hope that in the next election cycle people remember all this and vote some of these goons out of office.
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