Even for prospective candidates who haven't taken office yet, perceived corruption hangs like a cloud over Miami City Hall.
At a Tuesday night candidate forum at the Woman's Club of Coconut Grove, candidates for Miami's District 2 — which includes Coconut Grove, downtown, and much of the city's waterfront — were asked a slew of questions pertinent to their would-be Grove constituents:
What would they do about the long-shuttered Coconut Grove Playhouse? How would they support the historically Black community of West Grove? How would they preserve the "Bohemian vibe" of Coconut Grove amidst rampant development?
But no question dominated the conversation among the seven candidates present more than the first one, asked by moderator Don Finefrock.
"Something is rotten in the City of Miami," Finefrock said. "Even by Miami standards, the cloud of corruption over City Hall his shocking... how do we fix this mess?"
READ MORE: The City of Miami’s legal woes continue to mount
In the past five months alone, Miami elected officials have faced a number of scandals and legal battles — from the recent arrest and removal of Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portillafor alleged money laundering and official misconduct, to the investigation of Mayor Francis Suarezfor alleged undisclosed gifts of expensive sporting event tickets.
The candidates offered a number of possible solutions to regain public trust in the city government.
Damian Pardo, a financial advisor and former head of a nonprofit, said he'd like to see the creation of an independent public corruption unit to investigate city officials, as well as campaign reform to keep out special interest lobbyists.
Eddy Leal, former legal counsel to Mayor Suarez, said more transparency is needed, adding that the District 2 commissioner needs to bring forward city employees during commission meetings to explain why certain scandals occur.
Incumbent District 2 Commissioner Sabina Covo, who was voted in during a special election this February, said in no uncertain terms how untenable she finds the situation on the City Commission.
"It's embarrassing what’s going on at City Hall. And when you’re sitting there seeing a commissioner that sits next to you arrested, that’s when you say, 'Oh my god. Miami cannot be on the map for this situation,'" Covo said at the forum.
The other candidates who attended the forum were Michael Castro, Alicia Susan Kossick, Christi Reeves Taskerand James Torres. Candidate Gabriela Ariana Chirinos did not attend, nor does she have any campaign materials available online.
All of the candidates said that they would support making the city mayor a full-time position, after moderators brought up recent reporting that Mayor Suarez recently disclosed 15 consulting arrangements and jobs, including an arrangement with a developer who had business with city hall.
Notably, incumbent Covo said she would support asking City Attorney Victoria Méndez to step down. A lawsuit filed in March in county civil court accuses Méndez and her husband of committing real estate fraud against a man who sold his family home to Méndez's husband. The man alleged he approached Méndez to deal with code violations on the property, and that she referred him to her husband, Carlos Morales, who buys and flips distressed homes.
Méndez denies the allegations.
When pressed by WLRN about asking the city attorney to step down, Covo said she would wait until more information is available after she is potentially re-elected before taking any action regarding Méndez.
"We've been trying to see what exactly is going on. She is being investigated and she needs to have her day in court or whatever exactly the process would be. But of course I've seen a lot of discontent from my constituents regarding the way that the city is operating right now," she said.
Early voting for Miami's Districts 1, 2 and 4 begins on Oct. 28. Election Day is Nov. 7.
