11/25/15: When Ken Russell arrives to take the oath of office, his spot is already reserved.
Hello again, Not Now Silly fans. Did you miss me? I missed you.
When we last spoke with any regularity, I was in the process of mothballing the Not Now Silly Newsroom. For those who missed it. I put this blog on hiatus after I signed a non-disclosure agreement with Miami District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell.
[Yes, that’s right. I have something in common with Stormy Daniels.]
I had approached him, pitching the idea of a book. I believe Russell’s story is one of those quintessential ‘Merkin stories: Young family man wakes up to city-made environmental disaster right outside his front door, fights inadequate backroom city hall remediation, effects adequate clean-up, gets bitten by the civic improvement bug, runs for public office a year later, and is elected to replace the [allegedly] corrupt Miami Commissioner with whom he battled. Of course I would have fleshed it out a little, starting with his father’s patent for mass producing the famous Russell Yo-Yo, which has been licensed by everybody from Sprite to Daft Punk.
After kicking around several ideas we both had — and various formats we could shoe-horn them into — Russell agreed to collaborate with me on a book. That’s when we signed the non-disclosure agreement that said I couldn’t reveal anything I learned from Russell until an eventual book came out. He couldn’t reveal anything I told him either, but what could I tell him?
Something that began to drive me nuts: This was the first time in all my years as an investigative journalist when I had some great, inside information, but couldn’t report on it due to the NDA. Russell called it the price of access. I called it an itch I couldn’t scratch.
After we agreed to this book project, Russell announced he was running for Florida Congressional District 27. Suddenly the stakes for the eventual book became a whole lot higher. I was gratified he trusted me enough to write his official biography, but knew the project had just become a whole lot more daunting and important.
Since then I’ve done hours and hours of interviews with Russell [every Sunday at 1PM for months], embedded with him on various civic duties, and talked to many people about him. As my research continued, the contours of the book began to take shape. However, I still had a long way to go; and the time in which to do it. The primary wouldn’t be until the summer and, if Russell won that, the general election in November. That would be the obvious place(s) to end any such a book, even though it wasn’t what I envisioned when I originally had this idea.
A rare quiet moment at the 2nd Annual Hash Bash Cup
While returning from a recent Road Trip [to Ann Arbor to cover the 2nd Annual Hash Bash Cup, which will eventually be part of a much larger article here], I decided to detour slightly to Covington, KY. Covington is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, but — more importantly — Covington is where Ken Russell’s father, Luther Jackson “Jack” Russell grew up in the ’20s and ’30s, almost a century ago. I wanted to see if I could find the Five & Dime in which Russell’s father demonstrated Yo-Yos as a teen for cigarette money.
Because I wasn’t sure I’d have time for this side trip, I didn’t tell Russell until it was confirmed in the itinerary. Here’s our text exchange:
ME: Hey there! Remember me? [Every one of my texts to him start the same way.] I have the opportunity to go Covington Kentucky tomorrow. It will add about a half a day to my trip. So, what’s new with you? KR: I just quit the congressional run. I’m sticking around. Sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier, but I just decided yesterday.
IRONY ALERT: I didn’t know Russell had just announced he was withdrawing from the race when I asked, “So, what’s new with you?”
IRONY ALERT #2: I sent my text to him earlier that morning. By the time Russell responded I was in Elyria, Ohio, explaining to painter David Pavlak about the book I was writing about a politician. Pavlak saw the book project fall apart in real time as I was telling him how excited I was to be writing the book.
So . . . all that to explain why I’m kick-starting the Not Now Silly Newsroom. I wouldn’t be surprised if the engine runs a little rough for the next little while. It’s probably going to need points and plugs, and other enginey things that I can only imagine (because I’m not mechanical and rusty on metaphor).
I have a few ideas for some investigative stories, some of which have been percolating for a long time. I will also be relaunching UpLyfting Thoughts as UberLyfting Thoughts, adding new Throwback Thursdays and Saturday Morning Cartoons to the mix, and dropping new posts under the various other rubrics here.
Ken Russell, potential Commissioner-elect for District 2
while the Veterans’ Day commemoration gathers to march
I originally met potential Commissioner-elect Ken Russell way back when — during Soilgate — when I called out of the blue to interview him.
We met at a local coffee shop just as it appeared his battle with [allegedly] corrupt Miami Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff was finished. It was an epic battle over the toxic soil in Merrie Christmas Park and, in the end, the residents got the kind of toxic soil remediation they felt their children deserved.
While it appeared as if Merrie Christmas Park would be re-mediated properly, I was surprised when he moved on to his next concern, which was all the other toxic parks in the city. Russell was genuinely concerned that those residents might not have enough clout, or enough money, to hire a lawyer like he and his neighbours had. That’s when I knew Ken was about far more than his own property values. He had a Social Justice bone.
He wasn’t doing it for effect. At the time Russell had no intention to run for office, but the fight over toxic soil made him feel that he could do better than the current Commissioner. And, the secrecy in
which [allegedly] corrupt Miami Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff went behind the backs of the residents, breaking several laws about proper notification for a Brownfield Site — not to mention when he lied to this reporter that it had never been so designated — told Russell there must be a better way to conduct city business on behalf of constituents.
It’s a sign!!!
The Veterans’ Day Parade marched right past this.
When he later declared he was running for District 2 Commissioner, Russell made transparency one of the cornerstones of his platform.
In one of the craziest election finishes in Miami history, Ken is engaged in a runoff election with wife of term-limited Teresa Sarnoff. However, with Sarnoff withdrawing from the race, the city lawyer says the runoff will still be held, but that votes for Teresa Sarnoff won’t count. Yet, Democracy dictates that the votes count and Ken maintains that he’s still in it to win it. He wants a clear mandate, so he’s still campaigning for every vote on November 17th.
Russell agreed to a sit down interview and suggested we meet in West Grove after the Veterans’ Day commemoration. As I drove down I couldn’t help but wonder if he had chosen the perfect photo op for a politician, or whether it was simply to accommodate me. I requested an interview, but told him it had to be on Wednesday because that was the only day I had free. I left it up to him to choose the time.
That we met in Coconut Grove for this interview seems appropriate because that’s where he received his highest support, with a nearly 20% turnout. It’s also the area I’ve been researching extensively since 2006. Watching Russell work the crowd was nothing like watching a politician work a crowd. There were enough hugs, kisses, handshakes, and genuine warmth in both directions, that it was obvious that Russell is already well-liked by this part of his potential constituency.
Russell surprised me by sitting in the grass his suit for this interview.
NNS: You’re making up for a politician that was reviled in this district. How are you planning to overcome that?
KEN RUSSELL: It’s true that part of the reason I got involved was seeing how my Commissioner operated and seeing how I felt things could be done better. The day he’s out of office, the day I get into office, that’s the first step and it’s really not that hard. A new tone, a new communication, a new conversation with the neighbours.
I’m already being told, and I’m not even in there, that this already feels different than it has for the last 9 years. So, the first step is to be open and even that, at the very least, wasn’t done to my understanding. And, that comes easy for me.
NNS: Especially in this neighbourhood of West Grove, the people here kinda felt burned by promises made years ago that were never fulfilled. Yet, you were able to overcome that to get a 20% turnout at the polls that went overwhelmingly to you. How are you going to keep that bridge open to the community?
KR: The community’s going to keep that bridge open. At this point, I owe so much to this area that I don’t even have a choice of closing the door. It’s too important. It’s been vocalized and it’s been publicized well enough where my heart is, that I couldn’t turn back if I wanted to, and I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the support of the West Grove and, despite advice I received early on, I could see that there was a community here with a lot to lose, that would turn up at the polls if they felt they had an advocate.
NNS: And, you’re going to be that advocate?
KR: Absolutely. I’ll be the best that I can.
NNS: One of the things I did during the elections is I did door knocks with you in various neighbourhoods. Where do you think your biggest support was coming from overall?
KR: I knocked [on] over 2,000 doors during the 10 month period, all the from the South Grove to the West Grove to Morningside. It was very difficult to knock doors in Brickell and downtown, but we found other ways to reach the community there. The largest support was from the Grove as a whole, all parts of the Grove together. There was nearly a two-to-one margin in my favor at almost every major precinct in the area.
NNS: Do you have any job you want to do on Day One?
KR: Day One is learning for me because I don’t pretend to have all the answers, especially within process. I have the intention of what I’d like to accomplish and, as you can see here today, just the conversation, the conversation that we’re having even today with folks, is part of the first step; is part of that first step of giving them a trust [and] a feeling of comfort that their Commissioner is going to be open with them.
NNS: Is there any big project you’ve got in mind? Something you want to try to do while in office.
KR: Yeah, I would like to see something good come of the Trolley garage. I’d like to see that building serve the community. And, I’ve heard a lot of good ideas, but not in a formal setting to where I could say what should be done with it, but it’s a symbol of how this part of town’s been treated and, I think, in the same symbolic gesture should be converted into something that builds up the community.
With that Ken Russell was off to a meeting at Miami City Hall, where the learning curve for a new potential Commissioner-elect is steep.
1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his “Nero Decree” ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed.
1954 – Willie Mosconi
sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss
during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands today.
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today’s open thread.
When the Not Now Silly interns began agitating for Christmas off, I decided to grant their request. I fired the whole lot of them. However, I ain’t going out into the innertubes and getting my hands dirty. That’s why I have purchased the very latest technology in headline collection, specially designed drone robots. Today’s Headlines Du Jour are the very first to be picked by the new bots. Not only do they work cheap, but they won’t demand time off.
Headlines Du Jour is a leisure-time activity of Not Now Silly, home of the Steam-Powered Word-0-Matic, and your rest stop on the Information Highway. Use our valuable bandwidth to post your news comments in today’s open thread.
Miami once loved Coconut Grove enough to place its City Hall
there. Now it puts Coral Gables’ diesel bus garage there.
Trolleygate was the topic of a heated Town Hall meeting at Miami City Hall last night, pitting David against several Goliaths. In this corner the citizens of West Coconut Grove. And in that corner, the cities of
Miami and Coral Gables and Astor Development. It’s a grudge match with a lot of history.
Representing the City of Miami was District 2 Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff, whose district covers Coconut Grove. “Some people say” Sarnoff only represents developers and the rich White folk, while the concerns of Black West Grove residents come last. Mr. Sarnoff was buttressed last night by a phalanx of City of Miami government lackeys, a fancy slide presentation, and, at least, one hired gun.
Coral Gables sent a lawyer. Astor Development went unrepresented. West Grove residents came out in force, filling the chamber with standing room only in the back. This blog was represented by me.
“Ready for my close up.”
Before the meeting starts, Marc D. Sarnoff poses for a reporter.
Marc Sarnoff — who once falsely claimed a heritage with General David Sarnoff (who is actually a relative of mine) before he was forced to admit he made it all up — took the wind out of most sails as he started the meeting. He advised the residents that because a law suit had been filed that afternoon by West Grove residents to stop the diesel bus maintenance garage, there were two subjects the city (himself) could not address on the advice of city lawyers: the issues of zoning and that of notification.
On this, Sarnoff was as good as his word. However, while he never discussed zoning and notification, the assembled residents and lawyers couldn’t get enough of those two topics when it came their turn. But first, it was time for the Dog and Pony Show.
Sarnoff introduced Tim Ogle (SP?) an environmental engineer with Stantec, a company hired by Miami to put on a yadda, yadda, yadda slide presentation that said, essentially, having diesel buses running through the neighbourhood was no worse than licking ice cream, or something. Quite frankly the MEGO factor [My Eyes Glaze Over] set in pretty quickly. I looked around the room and, while people were polite, they appeared skeptical, especially after it was determined that Stantec had been hired by the City of Miami for this very presentation.
I couldn’t help but think that I was watching a presentation normally
given to residents when a project is still on the drawing board, not
when it is already a fait accompli and residents are trying to get it
stopped. However, to be fair, Miami got its money worth. It was a very good presentation and throwing good money after bad to save a developer’s project isn’t a crime, is it? Who knows this better than Commissioner Marc Sarnoff?
Pierre Sand making his points.
After the environmental presentation, Sarnoff opened the floor to questions and statements. First up was Pierre Sands, president of Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association. Despite Sarnoff saying people would be limited to 2 minutes, Sands was given much more than that and even allowed to rebut Sarnoff at one point.
This allowed Sarnoff to cut him off twice later, once when he tried to call bullshit on Sarnoff’s rebuttal and later when Sands wanted to address comments made about him from one of the residents who spoke. Sands made the points [paraphrasing] that the local residents get nothing out of the diesel bus maintenance garage and the City of Miami gets nothing out of it, but it’s clear what the city of Coral Gables gets out of it: It gets rid of a diesel bus maintenance garage and gets a multimillion dollar development. The unasked question hanging in the air was, “What does Marc D. Sarnoff get out of it?” but Sands didn’t go there. Sands closed by expressing extreme disappointment in how Sarnoff has ignored the West Grove since taking office, insisting that Coral Gables’ diesel bus maintenance garage be located “in the City Beautiful,” another name for Coral Gables. He ended on a round of applause.
Sarnoff is a clever man. He anticipated every single one of Sand’s points and was able to rebut them with his own Dog and Pony Show slide show presentation, which had already been prepared. First Sarnoff claimed there was no way he could have stopped the project. Astor Development bought the land fair and square and the building met all city requirements. Once Sarnoff realized the developer had the right to go ahead, he was able to get $200,000 to fix up a football field at Armbrister Park. Sarnoff claimed the developer did this out of the goodness of his heart because he didn’t have to do anything for the community. Sarnoff’s slide show included facts and figures about the football field. As for Sand’s contention that Sarnoff has done nothing for the community, he showed slides of happy builders and residents saying they have, or will be, building up to 80 homes in the area.
Sarnoff’s unspoken message seemed to be, “Screw with this bus garage and not only do you lose these improvements to the football field, but also your biggest champion at city hall to improve the neighbourhood.” This seemed to be a shot across the bow of the Coconut Grove Collaborative Development Corporation, which has several projects on the drawing board that will need to get City Hall approval.
Some of the back-and-forth between Pierre Sands and Marc D. Sarnoff, discussing the football field at Armbrister Park:
None of this mollified the residents, who had a litany of objections that hardly touched on diesel fumes and football fields. For West Grove residents it was all about the subjects Sarnoff wasn’t allowed to address: zoning and notification of residents. Two members of the Coconut Grove Village Council said they felt blindsided when the heard the garage was already being built and neighbourhood residents said Sarnoff just did an end run around them after they stated their objections. According to Jenny Staletovich of the Miami Herald, Sarnoff claimed:
“This particular developer, his wife is very charitable. He’s very charitable,” Sarnoff said. “They agreed to approximately a quarter million (dollars) to improve the football field.”
But residents say when he encountered opposition, Sarnoff simply moved on to another group. In April, he attended a meeting of the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance and, in October, a gathering of football coaches at Armbrister Park, according to those in attendance.
“He wanted us to say it was a good project and we were behind it, considering they were going to renovate the playing facility,” said Rondy Powell, a coach at the park for 20 years. “I kind of figured when they came, it was kind of like a back-room deal.”
A spokesman for the Ministerial Alliance said the group neither approved nor objected, but did vote to have UM look at environmental hazards.
Sarnoff said he never brought it to the Grove’s elected body, the Coconut Grove Village Council, which was created in 1991 to give residents a voice at City Hall. “I would rather go directly to the community,” he said. “I don’t think the Village Council is very good at dealing with that type of issue.”
However, one of the contentions of most everyone who spoke last night said Sarnoff never went directly to the community with this project, merely factions within the community.
Several residents making their points about the diesel bus garage:
However, the biggest surprise, was Coral Gables’ lawyer Craig Leen [not captured], who spoke the most sense all evening. He first said that he too had to be careful of what he said because Coral Gables, which is not currently party to any of the court actions, could be dragged into the lawsuit at any time. However, in a nutshell, he said Coral Gables was blindsided by the controversy. Its contract with Astor Development is for the company to locate a diesel bus garage somewhere, anywhere, provided it complies with all local laws. Coral Gables thought it was all a done deal and everyone had signed off on this diesel bus garage. Unless Astor complies with all local laws the City of Coral Gables will not take possession of the diesel bus garage, therefore it would not be able to redevelop the current diesel bus garage for its multimillion dollar development.
West Grove’s Lawyer: “Who would like a bus depot next to their house?”
The current state of the diesel bus garage as of January 31, 2013
Nothing was decided last night, but the West Grove’s lawyers are asking for an emergency injunction that all work on the diesel bus cease. Furthermore, they are asking the court to rule on 3 issues:
• Did Miami give proper notice to West Grove residents under all City of Miami ordinances?
• Does the Miami 21 code of ordinances truly allow for a lack of notification to the community, as Commissioner Sarnoff contends and, if so, is that even constitutional?
• Does the use of a diesel bus maintenance facility at that corner contravene the the Miami 21 city plan?
Coconut Grove Village Councillor Renata Samuels-Dixon sure thinks so. She found language in the Miami 21 plan that would specifically rule out a “government vehicle maintenance facility” as proper for the corner of S. Douglas Road and Frow Avenue. Since Coral Gables is a “government” under the law, and a diesel bus is defined as a “vehicle,” and the structure was defined at that very meeting as a “maintenance facility,” the case for West Grove residents looks pretty strong. However, you can never tell what will happen in court.
The only thing last night made clear is that the citizens of the West Grove, the City of Miami, the City of Coral Gables, and Astor Development are embroiled in a conflict that is going to cost money, no matter what is decided. West Grove’s lawyers are working pro bono. Miami taxpayer money is being spent to help Marc Sarnoff support another developer, this time in Coral Gables, the next town over.
Anyone who has studied the history of Haiti will know the name François-Dominique Toussaint L’Ouverture, sometimes known as the Black Napoleon. L’ouverture led the only successful slave revolt in the western world, back in 1791. Rather than go into the long and complex history of Haiti here, I suggest you visit the Toussaint Louverture Historical Society, and these other links, for a much fuller explanation of his life and the times he lived in than I can give here.
The City of Miami has seen fit to honour L’Ouverture with a stature in a rough little parkette at the corner of NW 62nd Street and N. Miami Avenue. The park is not very big, occupying an irregular wedge of land that would have been difficult to develop. However, the stature of Toussaint L’Ouverture is impressive. His pose is similar to the painting at left, showing L’Ouverture dressed in western refinery after the revolt. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that sculptor James Mastin used the painting as a source for his larger-than-life sculpture. There are only so many images of L’Ouverture.
However, if one views the statue from one particular angle it looks as if L’Ouverture is holding a handgun, ready to go into battle all over again:
Optical illusion of Toussaint L’Ouverture packing heat.
While presumably accidental, it seems entirely appropriate that L’Ouverture appears to be holding a weapon. When news of the revolution in Haiti reached the shores of ‘Merka it had slave owners quaking in their boots. The news was kept from slaves, lest they get the idea that they could throw off the yoke of slavery and free themselves.
And, while L’Ouverture may have won the war, Haiti lost the battle. Eventually, the island was split in two, with Haiti occupying the western half and the Dominican Republic the eastern half. Forced reparations, international isolation, and years of ‘Merkin occupation explain why the western half of Hispaniola has languished to this very day.
After kicking around several ideas we both had — and various formats we could shoe-horn them into — Russell agreed to collaborate with me on a book. That’s when we signed the non-disclosure agreement that said I couldn’t reveal anything I learned from Russell until an eventual book came out. He couldn’t reveal anything I told him either, but what could I tell him?
