Cup and Joe

This past Tuesday, Miami-Dade County commissioners took up the issue of the strong mayor ballot. At first they wanted to cut the salary, but then they chickened out. Indeed, it seems every time they discuss this issue, they act loopier than Reverend Jim Ignatowski rampaging through a political convention. Consider...

By Chuck Strouse

December 7, 2006

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This past Tuesday, Miami-Dade County commissioners took up the issue of the strong mayor ballot. At first they wanted to cut the salary, but then they chickened out. Indeed, it seems every time they discuss this issue, they act loopier than Reverend Jim Ignatowski rampaging through a political convention.

Consider the following gem from the county commission meeting this past Tuesday, provided by Miami-Dade's favorite rambling man, Javier Souto : "So all these euphemisms of strong, weak, quasi-weak, super strong. What are we talking about here? Are we talking about coffee?! Super strong coffee?!"

Yes commissioner, its called the Carlos Alvarez cortadito.

Or take this paranoid pearl of wisdom from Commission Chairman Joe Martinez

— in reference to Mayor Carlitos: "Right now, he's watching us. or sometbody from his staff. They are watching it. But when they do strategies about what they are going to do, we are not watching it. There is no TV. There is no nothing."

Francisco Alvarado

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Chuck Strouse is the former editor in chief of Miami New Times. He has shared two Pulitzer Prizes and won dozens of other awards. He is an honors graduate of Brown University and has worked at newspapers including the Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times.

Contact: Chuck Strouse

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Twitter: @chuckstrouse