Chip Taylor

Just plain wrong

Wrong, wrong, wrong. From the Miami Herald:

A group of Miami-Dade County commissioners want to use taxpayer money to defeat a citizen's initiative that would create an independent airport authority -- a referendum that many civic leaders say is needed to keep politics out of lucrative airport contracts.

At a hastily called commission meeting Thursday -- only advertised a day in advance -- five commissioners agreed to try to persuade the other eight board members to fund a fight against one of the most influential business groups in the county.

Commissioner Dennis Moss, who represents South Dade, called for the special meeting at the end of Tuesday's commission hearing, saying the board cannot wait any longer to plan its counteroffensive.

''Certainly those people opposed have the same right,'' Moss said. ``The business community paints itself as having a corner on the market on morals.''

I think the people opposed have the same right to spend their own money -- but not to use public funds to fight to maintain their fiefdom over the airport.

And it does appear to be a fiefdom:

Thursday's meeting came two weeks after a powerful civic group cobbled out an ordinance to strip commissioners of their power to control the fate of contracts at county airports, including Miami International Airport. MIA has seen its share of problems in recent years, with its former construction chief imprisoned and questionable contracts awarded to lobbyists who contribute to commission races.

Add a generous portion of personal indignation:

Some commissioners say they consider the proposed referendum a personal affront. Seijas said someone recently approached her to sign the petition.

''The verbal message was . . . disrespectful and offensive to anybody that was elected,'' she said.

Said Moss: ``If the BCC [Board of County Commissioners] is as corrupt as we're made out to be, by now someone would have been indicted, someone would have gone to jail.''

Hopefully, those options aren't yet ruled out.