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On Civility and Ethics

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On Thursday February 21st, I officially qualified as a candidate for the Coral Gables Commission, Group 4.  I enter this race with great optimism – to give back to this special city, and to help lead our community through new challenges and opportunities.

Unfortunately, not all who run for office share the same positive perspective.  Too often, politicians choose the path of fearmongering and smears -- to mislead voters and tilt elections to their advantage.  Over the past weeks, supporters of another candidate have written opinions containing glaring misstatements (click here for more info).  I believe that voters in Coral Gables deserve better than this from those who aspire to represent us.

As a candidate for our special city, I pledge to run a campaign reflecting the optimism of my platform and the values of Coral Gables.  I also believe that a campaign echoes the character of the candidate, and I pledge to:
 

• Conduct a fact-based campaign to inform voters of our challenges and opportunities

• Focus on issues and the strength of the solutions, respecting our voters by avoiding personal attacks

• Address concerns in my opponent’s records at the upcoming debates, face to face, with civility and professionalism

• Not engage in “pay to play” politics involving deals for support, and to stand up as an independent and professional voice for our residents

I believe we have a clear choice to make for Coral Gables.  We must aspire to civility, ethical behavior, and professionalism in our community, even if outside it there is a climate of divisiveness, opportunism, and pettiness.  For this reason, I support the sentiments expressed in a recent piece published in the Miami Herald, Vote for civility and ethics for better local governments, by former Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason and former Miami-Dade County Manager Merrett Stierheim.  

On April 9th, let’s choose a better local government.