DeFede

The overwhelming defeat of Alex Penelas’s proposal to raise the sales tax by a penny leaves the mayor in strange and unfamiliar territory. Until now he had been the golden boy of Miami-Dade politics, his political savvy having always landed him on the winning side of important issues. Never before has Penelas lost an election or failed on a matter in which he invested so much time and energy.

In public appearances he wrapped himself around the transit issue, pleading with voters, particularly Hispanics, to support the tax increase as a matter of faith in his leadership abilities. With the loss of both the election and Penelas’s air of invincibility, a question arises: How will he deal with such an embarrassing and lopsided defeat?

History doesn’t offer us many clues. Prior to last week’s vote, the most recent example of Penelas suffering such a personal rejection came in 1993, when he sought to become chairman of the county commission. Penelas, 31 years old at the time, believed he had the support of his fellow Hispanic commissioners, but when the votes were counted he finished a distant second to Art Teele. Penelas responded by pitching a fit and using Spanish radio to blast his colleagues for giving the chairmanship to a black man rather than one of their own. It was an adolescent tirade from a young man who was accustomed to having everything handed to him on a platter.

Following that defeat Penelas redoubled his efforts to become the county’s first strong mayor, efforts that centered on working hard to avoid any measure of controversy. Between 1990, when he was first elected to the commission, and 1993, Penelas was an agitator, someone who tried to get things done. But after losing the fight for chairman, he spent the next three years saying little of significance, trying his best to offend no one as he headed into the 1996 race for mayor.

Prior to pushing for the penny-tax increase, Penelas was a fairly quiet and passive mayor, which is why his vigorous advocacy was so refreshing. This was a side of Penelas people hadn’t seen in years. Of course losing is never easy, but there’s no shame in it. Truly shameful would be a Penelas retreat to the play-it-safe, do-nothing mayor who relies on polls and popular sentiment to guide his every move.

The long-term effect of last week’s election loss will almost certainly be negligible for Penelas. In the short term, though, he may have a few problems. Certain commissioners, for example, may be emboldened to challenge his leadership, not necessarily by running against him in 2000 but merely by refusing to fall in line when he seeks support for a specific proposal. In particular it will be interesting to watch Miriam Alonso, Natacha Seijas Millan, and Javier Souto. The day after the election, Millan made a cryptic comment during a special county commission meeting: “Somebody got run over yesterday and he must feel the tracks on his back.” You can also expect increased criticism of the mayor from Commissioner Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez.

As for the future of transportation in this town, the problems remain. Most analysis following the election pointed to the public’s distrust of local politicians and county government generally. Although I applaud Penelas for taking the lead in fighting for the tax, his tactics during the campaign may have fueled that distrust.

The fact of the matter is the ballot language was misleading because it conveyed the sense that all tolls would be removed, not just the four on county roadways. The very slogan of the campaign, “Tax Not Tolls,” reinforced that notion.

And though the mayor claimed there was no bait-and-switch involved, there was. More than $100 million currently being used for transportation would have been spread around elsewhere, a trick similar to the legislature’s promise of lottery money supplementing state education funding when in fact it ended up replacing that funding.

Then there was the amount of campaign money the mayor raised, more than $1.8 million. That bordered on being obscene, all the more so when the public began to realize where it was coming from. It was only natural to imagine backroom deals being cut for contracts and other goodies when so much money was delivered by a handful of construction and engineering firms.

Whenever that much money flows to a campaign, the level of public distrust rises dramatically. Penelas should have known that. Given how few votes were cast in support of his proposal, you have to wonder what the outcome would have been had he raised and spent one-tenth that amount.

He certainly couldn’t have done much worse.

Related Stories by Jim DeFede

“Whichever Way the Wind Blows,” April 9, 1998

“Alex Penelas’s Rite of Passage,” July 1, 1999