Norman Braman Endorses Mayor Loco Xavier Suarez?

By Francisco Alvarado Wed., May 18 2011 at 9:48 AM

Norman Braman confuses us sometimes.

So multi-billionaire car dealer Norman Braman is all about reforming county government and curtailing the influence of lobbyists. Then why the heck is Braman's mug on a flyer endorsing Xavier Suarez for county commissioner? Voters in district 7 received the campaign literature last week with a quote from the auto mangate saying, "Xavier has always kept the public interest in mind while being our mayor." Really? The guy whose 1997 Miami mayoral campaign was busted for rampant voter fraud is going to keep the public's interest? I don't think so.

Moreover, Suarez is the candidate of special interests. This past May 10, Suarez held a fundraiser whose hosts included Courtney Cunningham and Christopher Korge, two former lobbyists who got rich under Alex Penelas' mayoral regime, as well as Rosario Kennedy and Al Maloof, two prominent political arm twisters at Miami and County halls. Suarez's $117,000 campaign war chest is dominated with contributions from folks that do business with the county. The former Miami mayor is vying against ex-State Rep. Julio Robaina to replace Carlos Gimenez, who is running for county mayor.

If Braman doesn't want to lose credibility in his quest to reform county government, he shouldn't be telling people to vote for a retread who has sold out to the very people he rails against.

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Tags:

Norman Braman, Xavier Suarez

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Thanks, Xavier Suarez...

In 1992, when Xavier Suarez was Miami Mayor, I lived at Matilda Street & Day Avenue in Coconut Grove. I had some problems with weekend partiers who frequented the late night bars in the Grove. They would park on the swale in front of my duplex and when they came back at 2:00AM, they would usually turn on their sound system and start partying right there. I got tired of walking out and asking people to leave, especially when they started to threaten me in my own front yard. I hand delivered a letter to Mayor Suarez's office one Thursday, describing the problem I was having. He called me on Friday morning and said he would take care of the situation after asking me some questions about it. By the following week, he had the city put up NO PARKING/TOWING signs along the swale and bumped up the Police presence for the next couple of weekends just to make sure there were no more threats/problems.Needless to say, I was downright impressed with Mayor Suarez's response, it was refreshing to have someone in City Hall who listened and reacted to the average citizen on the street...Thanks, Mr. Mayor...!!

J Alexander

I think Braman is on the mark with his endorsement of Xavier Suarez who is talented, honest, dedicated to quality, cost-efficient government, and cares about the middle-class and underserved in our county. I look forward to a County Commission with him on the dais.