Latest news with #CityCommission
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
GRU sends city of Gainesville letter, opposes vote for special election
Gainesville Regional Utilities on June 4 sent a letter to the city of Gainesville's attorney asking that city officials reconsider voting June 5 in favor of a referendum that would take place during a special election later this year. GRU attorney Derek Perry wrote to city attorney Daniel Lee that a proposed ballot initiative by city officials on who should control the city-owned utility violates a section of the Florida Constitution and its limitations on municipal power, and that he doesn't see a reason for a special election as both sides wait for a ruling by the First District Court of Appeals. "It makes little sense for the City Commission to reengage in a process that is already proceedingthrough the courts," Perry wrote. "The City adopts the ordinance; the Authority challenges; the City is enjoined;and both parties end right back where they are now, albeit having squandered taxpayer/customerdollars and precious judicial, legislative, and local government resources." Local news: Florida higher ed board stuns UF, blocks Santa Ono from becoming president Judge George M. Wright of the Eighth Judicial Circuit ruled in April to nullify a ballot initiative that passed overwhelmingly in November 2024 to delete the article of the city's charter that created the authority due to "misleading language." He also ruled, however, that the city of Gainesville has the right to amend its charter to regain control of the utility. Wright cited Florida Statue 116.031, which states "a municipality may amend its charter pursuant to this section notwithstanding any charter provisions to the contrary." "I don't know how I can get around that," Wright said. The City Commission's planned June 5 vote on the ballot initiative will be the first of two before a special election can be called. Mayor Harvey Ward in a text message to The Sun wrote that the GRU Authority's decision to appeal the judge's ruling is in contradiction to the will of the people. "I believe we should listen to the voters and I guess that puts me at odds with the GRUA's misunderstanding of Florida law, I'm ok with that," Ward wrote. City Commissioner Bryan Eastman in an email to The Sun wrote that the circuit court has already rejected GRUA's arguments and hopes the board will take a breath and choose reason over reflex. "The people have spoken, the courts have spoken, and more litigation will only waste additional GRU resources instead of helping ratepayers," Eastman said. "Working with our local community — rather than against it — is the best path forward for both the utility and the people it serves.' This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: GRU sends city of Gainesville letter, opposes special election
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Owensboro City Commission digest, June 3, 2025
At its meeting Tuesday, the Owensboro City Commission took the following actions: • Recognized the retirement of Sgt. Whitney Adamson-Payne, Owensboro Police Department. • Approved appointing Meaghan Woodruff to the Dugan Best Neighborhood Alliance; reappointed Katherine Zboril to the Owensboro Sister Cities and Regions board; appointed Landon Tong to the City Utility Commission; and reappointed Harry Roberts Jr. the the Regional Water Resource Agency board of directors. • Approved an ordinance adopting the city budget beginning July 1, 2025. • Approved an ordinance establishing the compensation for city employees and non-elected city officers. • Approved an ordinance amending the 2024-25 city budget to include $600,000 to purchase property (Colonel House Motel); to appropriate $400,000 for cold food storage; for construction of bus shelters; to provide a $375,00 incentive payment to TS Enterprises; and to transfer $462,000 to the Debt Service Fund. • Held first reading of an ordinance amending the fiscal year 2024-25 city budget to receipt of and appropriations for funds from Daviess Fiscal Court toward the construction of a senior center. • Approved a municipal order authorizing the mayor to apply for a Cops Hiring Program funding grant through the U.S. Department of Justice for $125,000, with a possible match of 25%. • Hired Teresa Jarrett as probationary, full-time, non-civil service bus driver with the Public Works Transit Department. • Hired Allison M. Maier as probationary, full-time, non-civil service administrative aide with the Police Department. • Promoted Michael J. Knight to regular, full-time, non-civil service instrument technician with the Public Works Engineering Department. • Promoted Danny J. Prater to regular, full-time, non-civil service mechanic with the Public Works Garage Department.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ralph Rosado defeats Jose Regalado in Miami special election
Ralph Rosado has defeated Jose Regalado in Miami's District 4 race, concluding a special election that promises to tip the scales of power on the City Commission. Preliminary election night results show Rosado led with about 55% of the vote. 'It's completely surreal,' Rosado told the Miami Herald. Rosado celebrated his victory Tuesday night at the Salvadorian restaurant El Atlacatl. In a victory speech, he thanked Mayor Francis Suarez, who is away on vacation in Italy, and Commissioner Joe Carollo. Carollo backed Rosado's campaign, and Carollo's political committee, Miami First, paid for a flurry of anti-Regalado mailers. Rosado said Tuesday night that he thinks Carollo's support helped him, but he emphasized that he will be his own man on the commission. 'I am my own person, and I get to prove it very soon,' Rosado told the Herald. Other guests included former City Attorney Victoria Méndez, who is a friend of Rosado's, as well former Mayor Xavier Suarez and current Commissioners Christine King and Damian Pardo. The winner of the special election was slated to be sworn in on Saturday, according to the city clerk, but Rosado said Mayor Francis Suarez has been 'insistent' that he be present for the swearing-in and that he may not be available Saturday. 'The mayor wants to be here, so I got to see when he's back,' Rosado said. Rosado will succeed Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who died in April, and will serve out the remainder of Reyes' term, which runs through late 2027. Rosado, 52, is an urban planner and former North Bay Village manager who previously ran for the District 4 seat in 2017, losing to Reyes. Regalado, 40, is a former assistant building director and interim building director in the city of Miami. He resigned from his position in the city to run for the District 4 seat. Regalado had the backing of the Reyes family, as well as Reyes' staff, whom Regalado promised to retain should he be elected. He was also supported by former Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla. While Regalado had never run for elected office before, he likely benefited from name recognition on the ballot. His father is former Miami mayor and current Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado, and his sister is Raquel Regalado, a county commissioner who was also Jose's campaign manager. Rosado took aim at Regalado's position as a member of one of Miami's political dynasties, whereas Regalado has argued that a Rosado win would 'ensure Joe Carollo keeps his grip of power.' Speaking to the Herald after his loss, Regalado said he was proud of the campaign he ran, which he said honored Reyes' legacy. 'I stayed to my principles, I spoke to the issues, and I didn't let any of the falsehoods trip me up or sink to that level of intimidation,' Regalado said. On the other hand, he said his opponent went 'negative' by attacking Regalado's character and not denouncing attacks from Carollo, who Regalado said 'fabricated, distracted, intimidated, retaliated against those who supported me.''That is the only way he knows how to operate,' Regalado said of Carollo. 'And that has unfortunately now been given an outsized voice in the city of Miami.' READ MORE: Political dynasties battle behind the scenes in Miami special election Standing outside Rosado's watch party, Carollo celebrated Rosado's win and took aim at Regalado. 'I feel good for the city of Miami,' Carollo said. 'And I feel very proud of the District 4 voters. ... They saw through how fake the Regalados were. They saw how they've been lied to for so many years by this clan. They saw who the real people behind the Regalados are, and were.' Rosado has little time to rest now that the brief 43-day special election cycle has concluded. After being sworn in, he will attend his first City Commission meeting next week, on June 12. That meeting's agenda is expected to include controversial items, including a proposal to create stricter term limits for elected officials. The item would need to pass two City Commission votes in order to go on the November ballot for Miami voters to give final approval. Another item that could go before the commission on June 12 is an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would deputize city police officers with immigration enforcement powers. The commission was scheduled to vote on it in April but decided to wait until after the special election when there would be five commissioners instead of four. There is also a proposal circulating City Hall to push the upcoming November 2025 election to 2026. The stated reason behind the proposal is to align the city with the national even-year election cycle, but the fine print is that it would extend the city commissioners' terms, as well as the mayor's term, by one year. That item may not go before the City Commission until the following meeting on June 26 or a subsequent meeting in July.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What to know about Tuesday's special election in the city of Miami
On Tuesday night, a new face will be added to the Miami City Commission to replace the late Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who died in April. Voters in District 4, which includes parts of Flagami, West Flagler and Shenandoah, will choose between two candidates: Ralph Rosado, a former village manager in North Bay Village, and Jose Regalado, a former assistant building director in the city of Miami. Rosado, 52, is an urban planner who previously ran for the District 4 seat in 2017, losing to Reyes. Rosado has the backing of Commissioner Joe Carollo, whose political committee has funded a flurry of anti-Regalado ads. Regalado, 40, left his position with the city to run for the District 4 seat. He has the support of the Reyes family, as well as Reyes' staff. Former Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla threw his support behind Regalado over the weekend, joining his campaign at early voting sites. Díaz de la Portilla also gave Regalado $1,000, according to campaign finance reports, and his political committee sent out at least one mailer in support of Regalado. Regalado is the son of Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado and the brother of County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who is operating as his campaign manager. READ MORE: Political dynasties battle behind the scenes in Miami special election On the five-member City Commission, where just three votes are needed to pass legislation, the new commissioner could become an important tiebreaker vote. Regalado is a vocal Carollo adversary, and the pair would likely find themselves on opposite sides of split decisions should Regalado win. While Rosado's candidacy is backed by Carollo, Rosado has said he would be an independent voice on the commission. Rosado is also close friends with former Miami City Attorney Victoria Méndez, but Rosado has said he would abstain from any votes related to Méndez and that he would not seek to bring her back to the city in any capacity. Early voting in the special election took place Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Election Day, voters must go to their assigned voting location. A sample ballot can be found on the city's website. The Miami Herald will have election results after the polls close at 7. READ MORE: Dynasty city: How three Miami families may extend their decades of political power Money poured into the candidates' campaign coffers in recent weeks, with Regalado reporting $190,000 in contributions and more than $150,000 in expenditures in the latest report, which runs through May 29. Rosado raised just under $80,000 to his hard money account and spent $60,000, according to his campaign reports. Most of Rosado's fundraising power rested in his political committee, Citizens For Ethics In Government. The most recently available campaign finance report, which runs through the end of March, shows Rosado's PAC has raised about $270,000 since October, when it was formed. The second-quarter reports won't be available until after the election. Meanwhile, Tomás Regalado's political committee, Proven Leadership for Miami, has been fundraising for Jose. The PAC reported having about $60,000 on-hand in early 2025. Campaign finance reports for the relevant months won't be available until after the election.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
What to know about Tuesday's special election in the city of Miami
On Tuesday night, a new face will be added to the Miami City Commission to replace the late Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who died in April. Voters in District 4, which includes parts of Flagami, West Flagler and Shenandoah, will choose between two candidates: Ralph Rosado, a former village manager in North Bay Village, and Jose Regalado, a former assistant building director in the city of Miami. Rosado, 52, is an urban planner who previously ran for the District 4 seat in 2017, losing to Reyes. Rosado has the backing of Commissioner Joe Carollo, whose political committee has funded a flurry of anti-Regalado ads. Regalado, 40, left his position with the city to run for the District 4 seat. He has the support of the Reyes family, as well as Reyes' staff. Former Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla threw his support behind Regalado over the weekend, joining his campaign at early voting sites. Díaz de la Portilla also gave Regalado $1,000, according to campaign finance reports, and his political committee sent out at least one mailer in support of Regalado. Regalado is the son of Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado and the brother of County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who is operating as his campaign manager. On the five-member City Commission, where just three votes are needed to pass legislation, the new commissioner could become an important tiebreaker vote. Regalado is a vocal Carollo adversary, and the pair would likely find themselves on opposite sides of split decisions should Regalado win. While Rosado's candidacy is backed by Carollo, Rosado has said he would be an independent voice on the commission. Rosado is also close friends with former Miami City Attorney Victoria Méndez, but Rosado has said he would abstain from any votes related to Méndez and that he would not seek to bring her back to the city in any capacity. Early voting in the special election took place Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Election Day, voters must go to their assigned voting location. A sample ballot can be found on the city's website. The Miami Herald will have election results after the polls close at 7. Campaign finance Money poured into the candidates' campaign coffers in recent weeks, with Regalado reporting $190,000 in contributions and more than $150,000 in expenditures in the latest report, which runs through May 29. Rosado raised just under $80,000 to his hard money account and spent $60,000, according to his campaign reports. Most of Rosado's fundraising power rested in his political committee, Citizens For Ethics In Government. The most recently available campaign finance report, which runs through the end of March, shows Rosado's PAC has raised about $270,000 since October, when it was formed. The second-quarter reports won't be available until after the election. Meanwhile, Tomás Regalado's political committee, Proven Leadership for Miami, has been fundraising for Jose. The PAC reported having about $60,000 on-hand in early 2025. Campaign finance reports for the relevant months won't be available until after the election.
