A Day of Surprises...Not Good Ones

Thursday’s surprises began when Commissioner Carollo, who had previously announced that he would be abstaining from voting on redistricting, reversed his position.  Carollo read from a prepared statement that described his "duty" to vote on redistricting, surprising those that believed such a vote would place him squarely in a conflict of interest because he owns a home in the proposed area of a revised district with an anomalous dip that includes the home he owns outside the district he represents.  His statement declared that such considerations were not founded and that the opposite was true—that he must vote.

Public statements were allowed after all—an eye popper—even after the City had made the rare declaration that no public comments would be allowed.  Undeterred Grovites and supporters had once again filled City Hall and registered to speak in favor of Commissioner Russell’s plan that retained unified Grove representation.  David Collins declared that Grovites spoke strongly, passionately and clearly describing the many reasons for their support of Russell’s plan.  No “torch-carrying villagers” appeared among those who spoke for the two hours of public comment…a trifecta of reasoned civic engagement.  (Another first?)

Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla surprised with his declaration that adding two city blocks of west Brickell’s neighborhood to Carollo’s district would somehow  overcome the 88% Hispanic majority and tip the Little Havana to start voting for non-Hispanic commissioners.  Repeating the same statement multiple times made it no more true than the first time.  (Dear Reader, the Hispanic majority of Carollo’s district could shift no lower than 86.3% in absolute worst-case demographics.)  Therefore, the high-minded DLP declared that for the future good of the city he must vote to oppose Commissioner Russell’s fair-minded plan.

Commissioner Reyes surprised (after some back-and-forth) by voting against a plan that shifted part of Coconut Grove to his district.  Spoiler alert: Part of the Grove went to Reyes after all.   Commissioner Reyes actually came out looking like a good guy that stood by his word .   Cynics interpreted the moment as Reyes simply foreseeing the vote’s Grove-unfriendly outcome and exploiting the situation.

Chairwoman King delivered the ultimate surprise when she cast the tie-breaking vote to split  the Grove.  In opposition to  the recommendations of the Grove’s Blacks, the NAACP, the ACLU and 99.9% of citizens weighing in on the matter (a true number), King voted to join Carollo and Diaz de La Portilla and cut up the Grove’s representation into three parts.  Surprising not only because of her shift (She had earlier seconded a motion in support of discussing Russell’s unified Grove plan) but also that the Grove should be split three ways.  It was particularly troubling to see her successfully get back her district—but then vote to slice up Russell’s district into three pieces.

Where did this leave the Grove?  By a 3-2 vote (Carollo, Diaz de la Portilla, King), the Commission voted to split Coconut Grove’s representation between Carollo, Reyes and Russell.  See map.

What now?  Attorney David Winker, who represents One Grove, said “The rapid changes we witnessed at the Commission meeting, the many conflicting statements and directions, and the unexpected boundaries of the final vote have given One Grove and the citizens of Coconut Grove a lot to digest and a lot of opportunity.  We are meeting with the many Grovites and supporters that want to undo today’s  actions and keep the Grove community together.  Our plans will be put into action rapidly and prudently.”

Mayor Suarez has the ability to veto this action. A savvy social media user, the Mayor is identified as @francissuarez #Veto #VetoRedistrict #SaveCococnutGrove #SaveMiamiNeighborhoods.  

Those who wish to support the One Grove legal fund can do so through GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/KeepCoconutGroveTogether, where the average contribution thus far has been $50.  200 new donors are sought.