North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre seems to have some secretive and flashy quirks, which would be fine if it didn't involve public money and shady ethics. A few months after being forced to return a borrowed Porsche he was driving around town and never reporting who lent him the car, he's now under fire for spending more than $4,000 in taxpayer money on 43 police-like badges that he handed out to his staff and "city volunteers." What the hell would he even need those for?
Pierre ordered the badges in August and November and claimed they were for his staff. Problem is he only has three employees on his staff, and he ordered 43 badges. The badges cost tax payers a total of $4,151. While Pierre has apologized, he is refusing to return them.
Pierre also refused to tell the Herald what the intent for the badges was in the first place. Well, we have a few ideas.
- Pierre is actually the leader of a secretive order of super heroes charged with protecting the city of North Miami and he wanted to get cool insignia for his team. The Porsche meanwhile was a high-tech crime fighting vehicle.
- Pierre is planning on sending the entire North Miami police force to Cartagena, Colombia, to search for a fictional character from a 1980's romantic adventure movie and needs the extra badges to deputize emergency officers. Oh wait, that's a Family Guy plot.
- He hates the sight of embroidered logos on dress shirts, and ordered the badges so everyone around him can cover them up. He just really, really cannot stand that Polo pony.
- He wants to reward his employees with a real badge for every badge they earn on Foursquare.
- His misheard a bachelor employee talking about how badly he needed "vadge," and being the nice, but hard of hearing guy he is he tried to help out.
- He plans on instituting a law saying that everyone in North Miami must dress up like Woody from Toy Story next Halloween, and the Herald just hasn't uncovered his purchase of cowboy hats, Andy-scrawled boots and vests yet.
- Pierre is an increasingly inept politician with no sense of ethics and a growing ego.
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