Miami appeals ruling that found city had racially gerrymandered voting districts
Last edited Tue May 14, 2024, 03:28 AM - Edit history (2)
A judge invalidated the boundaries of the city's five districts and ordered they be redrawn earlier this month
Demian Bio Demian Bio @bio_demian / Published May 13 2024, 6:51 PM EDT
Miami authorities are appealing a judge's ruling that ordered the redrawing of the city's voting districts, the Miami Herald reported on Monday.
The decision, which is set to extend a lengthy and costly legal battle, comes after the judge concluded the city's five district had been racially gerrymandered and ordered they be redrawn.
The city seemed to be on track to accept the ruling, which included voting on a new map with minor changes and paying for the legal fees of the plaintiff, the city's ACLU chapter.
However, Commissioners Joe Carollo and Manolo Reyes said they were concerned over the new map and stressed the need to ensure diversity on the commission.
The commission voted 4-0 to defer the settlement approval until its next meeting, with Carollo saying the city has an "excellent chance of overturning this."
More:
https://www.latintimes.com/miami-appeals-ruling-that-found-city-had-racially-gerrymandered-voting-districts-554102
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A Brief History of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo's Craziest Moments
Joe Carollo. Even uttering his name can raise the blood pressure among those who have followed Miami politics since the early '90s. Miamians tend to shrug off political lunacy, so it takes a special kind of elected official to earn the moniker "Loco Joe." Remember when a shark rode Metromover in 2009 and most locals simply shrugged and moved on?
By Jerry Iannelli
May 14, 2018
Joe Carollo. Even uttering his name can raise the blood pressure among those who have followed Miami politics since the early '90s. Miamians tend to shrug off political lunacy, so it takes a special kind of elected official to earn the moniker "Loco Joe." Remember when a shark rode Metromover in 2009 and most locals simply shrugged and moved on? Even those people think Carollo is crazy, and not in a funny way.
After taking a brief break from politics, the former Miami mayor was elected to the city commission last fall, because there are apparently only six political candidates in South Florida and they all get to return to office eventually. Carollo was back in the news this week after making a racist remark comparing Ken Russell, Miami's first Asian-American city commissioner, to Kim Jong-un.
When Carollo was campaigning last year, it was pretty obvious this type of nonsense would happen again if he won. Just consider this brief history of "Loco Joe" being, well, himself.
1. He allegedly threw a teapot and/or cardboard container at his wife's head.
Joe Carollo was arrested in 2001 for hitting his wife so hard he left a golf-ball-size welt on her head. One of the then Miami mayor's young daughters called 911 and begged, "Help, my dad is hurting my mom! Please come now, please!" as a woman's screams were heard in the background. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office eventually dropped domestic violence charges against Carollo because he agreed to attend anger-management courses.
Now, "Crazy Joe" Carollo — one of Miami's most infamous political characters who has somehow kept his political career alive for decades despite acting like a Trumpian lunatic long before the Orange One ever entered politics — is back. He's preparing for a runoff election Tuesday, November 21, against challenger Alfonso "Alfie" Leon for Miami's District 3 city commission seat, which his brother Frank currently occupies. Joe Carollo is the likely frontrunner against Leon and received a fairly glowing Miami Herald profile today about his return to local politics and vampiric ability to survive character assassination after character assassination.
More:
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/joe-carollos-five-craziest-moments-as-a-politician-10342796
You may well remember Mayor Joe Carollo was out front grandstanding continually in Miami throughout Elián González' time as a Miami Cuban "exile" hostage, trying to portray himself as the King of Miami! He and the Miami Cuban Congresspeople revealed in the non-stop presence of national reporters camped out in Miami daily for many months, while the US wrestled with exile demand to keep the little boy forever, and the legal position he belonged back with his father, brother, mother-in-law, four grandparents and a crowd of cousins, aunts and uncles in Cuba. It was show-time for them every day!
