Audrey Edmonson and Barbara Jordan Fail Their Community

Miami-Dade commissioners – particularly Barbara Jordan and Audrey Edmonson – last week let down their constituents. How? They punted for a third straight year on coming up with a system to give $14 million in funding to nonprofit groups.

By voting 7-4 to delay approval of the plan, they shut out groups that need the money. It has been 13 years since the county had a competitive system for handing out these funds. Think about that the next time you vote. It’s been more than a decade, and they can’t get anything done. And this is only a tiny piece of the county’s $7 billion budget.

The commission played into the hands of big charities that have big grant-writing machines. Especially to blame in this mess are Edmonson and Jordan, who represent primarily African-American communities. Edmonson, who was once an Eastern Airlines flight attendant, just wanted to keep everybody happy; that’s the way she is. And Jordan didn’t help anyone.

The county’s system for choosing who gets the money is based on a United Way plan that screws grassroots organizations. Both Edmonson and Jordan voted to uphold that system.

The commissioners’ final decision to punt means the Liberty City Optimist Club, which I cofounded, won’t get help. Not even the Richmond Perrine Optimist Club can get aid to fight gun violence and promote athletic  programs that help kids – and Commissioner Dennis Moss, who had to abstain from the vote, is the executive director there.

These people are wasting your cash. They spent a year coming up with a way to distribute money. They produced a 120-page request for proposals and spent hundreds of hours negotiating a plan.

It’s time for voters to stand up to Edmonson and Jordan – and boot them from office. It’s time to help the organizations in our community that are really doing something.