Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez, a former cop, has opened an account to run for city mayor, opening the way to the best political contest in recent memory. Commissioner Tomas Regalado, who announced several months ago, is sure to attack, particularly as we get close to election day.
Regalado's ethical lapses are already known...I mean there was the year that city taxpayers footed the gasoline bill for his jeep. And the guy sometimes gets himself in trouble by talking too much, a quality that we, of course, laud.
But Sanchez is more of a mystery. He's likely to be Mayor Manny Diaz's anointed successor. This will be particularly important if Manny is appointed to an Obama cabinet position. Sanchez has some weird connection to scandal-plagued South Miami Mayor Horace Feliu....but mostly it's his tie to Manny that should concern us. Manny's part in the fire fee scandal has never been fully sussed out....and his campaign to make the city green has largely been a sham. Then there was the Joe Arriola mess and Manny's and others' role in the Elian affair.
Soon, Riptide will start a mayor watch....the key in this one will be Spanish language radio and we'll be listening.
