One piece of troubling news is that Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina continues to tout himself as a respectable businessman; however I stumbled across this case from the State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in 1994. During this time Mayor Robaina was a real estate broker for Univest Realty and Management Inc. According to this it seems as though he pleaded no contest to 10 counts of fraud.
Mayor Julio Robainas actions are the same kind of flagrantly undemocratic "Tyrannical rule" used by military dictators to oppose any semblance of democratic opposition to their policies. While no one expects Mayor Julio Robaina will be rounding up dissidents any time soon, the fight in Hialeah is about crushing unions leaning towards communistic rule and how he may further his political career on the backs of the working class. The Mayor is attempting to wrestle from the hands of every citizen of the city of Hialeah, the right to a democratic process and “Democracy” itself.
ReplyDeleteHis actions to date have declared an immediate end (with no projected restoration) to the founding principles of our democracy: that public officials may govern ONLY at the consent of the governed, AND NO MORE FREE SPEECH. I do believe that is communism…… It seems that it is “DO AS I SAY OR ELSE” He has surrounded himself in a manner that no other elected official will challenge him no matter how ethically and morally wrong his actions are.
There is no moral, philosophical, legal or practical justification for Mayor Julio Robainas claim that a "MAKE BELIEVE budget emergency" gives him the right or the power to order the suspension of democracy in his city. Those who support his radical agenda will argue that this is not what they intend, that they are merely trying to be "expedient" due to this imaginary shortfall which has been proved time and time again to be false. This is always the argument of statist profiteers who seek to centralize power; this was the argument of Italy's fascists.
The process which allows the people to govern their government is absolutely sacred in our democracy. There is no way for us to be the free society we claim to be, if that process does not remain sacred. The budgetary discomfort and long difficult days of work that some public officials might face are absolutely not a justification for eliminating the democratic process or establishing unilateral executive rule. The working class of this city shares no responsibility at all for the “MAKE BELIEVE” shortfalls. When power was transferred in 2005 the city was left with a surplus of 41 million dollars CASH ON HAND. Since that time taxes were raised twice, by Mayor Robaina, generating an additional 54 million in revenue and amazingly enough……… It is all gone….. This Mayor has continued to waste money on frivolous pet projects that do not necessarily benefit the taxpaying citizen but rather his corporate buddies and former business partners. 70 million dollars in reserves located in the Water Department and currently collecting a million a month due to illegal impositions of contracts SHOWS THERE IS NO FINANCIAL PROBLEMS HERE IN HIALEAH.
Mayor Julio Robainas actions are an insult to, and a viscous assault on the founding ideals of our democracy and a betrayal of everything the City of Hialeah is supposed to stand for. This power grab is one of the most egregious and unashamed we have seen in any legislation in our nation’s history, and a very real threat to the basic civil liberties of the people in this city.
Eric Johnson
.