Opinion: Proposed Charter Changes Deserve Our Support

The City of Miami’s government is broken, but it can be fixed, former City Commissioner Ken Russell says. 

Editor’s Note: Former Miami District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell is a candidate in the November election for City of Miami mayor. He wrote this opinion piece for the Spotlight.

Everyone knows that Miami’s government is broken. Most believe it can’t be fixed. Some have differing ideas of how to fix it. Only a determined few get off the couch to do it. 

A group of civic minded individuals and organizations called Stronger Miami have leapt off the couch to make a big change – sweeping amendments to the City of Miami’s Charter. They deserve our scrutiny, support, and advocacy. This is no easy task, and it will take all of us to get it done. 

If they are successful, the city’s governance will have more local accountability, generate better turnout in elections, and attract better candidates for office. 

Bottom line, this group has put forth a petition that, when signed by enough residents, will force the City Commission to put the Stronger Miami proposal on the ballot for a vote of the entire city. 

A positive vote will mean a change to our City Charter – an amendment to our constitution. The amendment calls for a larger dais of nine commissioners and even-year voting for selecting them. I will get into the specifics of both of these in a moment.

Full disclosure: While I am a strong proponent for these changes and will champion the campaign to sign petitions, get it on the ballot, and pass it in November, I am not affiliated with the Stronger Miami group or their campaign.

That being said, their cause aligns with my return to politics as I believe the only Miami worth governing is one that has gone through systemic reform. Inserting a new name in the old system will simply give us more of the quagmire of compromise that incentivizes and excuses bad behavior by elected officials.

Let’s discuss the roots of our problem. 

First, Miami is the largest city in the country with only five commissioners. This means that decision making policy-power rests with a simple majority of three votes on any issue. The democratic process erodes when even well-intentioned legislators need to draw votes from such a shallow pool. 

Too much power in too few hands leads to small factions that rule the dais. A single bully can intimidate the entire body, turn discourse to dysfunction, and kill good policy for bad politics. I know, because I was there. 

My initial objective when I got elected as commissioner was to write good environmental legislation for the city. Although I was successful in doing so, I learned that the true contamination was in our system of governance that attracted all the wrong sorts, over and over again. I had to get along with them to pass my legislation or risk being sidelined as an outspoken potted plant. 

With an expanded dais of nine commissioners, the power of any one commissioner is diluted in a good way. Each commissioner will seek support for their initiatives from a larger pool of votes, which means a small faction cannot take over the dais or drive a single agenda. More options for votes mean that commissioners will not be held hostage for the support of a small group. 

It’s so bad on Miami’s small five-person dais that commissioners are willing to pay each other’s legal bills and settlements for bad ethical behavior rather than hold each other accountable. They’ve even been willing to redraw the district lines around a fellow commissioner’s house to protect it from federal seizure! 

As the chair of the Stronger Miami political committee, Andy Parrish says, “the solution to pollution is dilution.” Furthermore, smaller districts will ensure more local representation and an easier chance for a grassroots candidate to win by knocking on doors over big money advertising. Imagine Coconut Grove having its own commissioner instead of sharing a commissioner with Brickell, Downtown, and Edgewater.

The other root of our problem is that the turnout in our elections is dismally low. City Commission districts have just under 100,000 residents, but only 6,000 or so turn out in those elections. The mayoral race for nearly half a million residents will be decided by under 30,000 voters. This is because our elections happen in odd-numbered years when there are no presidential or midterm elections happening. The only people who turn out to vote are those who are tuned in to the local elections specifically. 

Aligning our elections with the presidential and congressional cycle will make our elected officials reflect the community better because more people are organically coming to the polls. 

The way it is now, the power of incumbency overwhelms the small turnout. Well-funded incumbents who have unequal access to senior centers and well-funded absentee ballot campaigns ensure that the elected chooses the electorate – it should be the other way around. Anyone who wants LESS people to turn out in an election clearly knows that they are not aligned with the majority of the voters and shouldn’t be in office.

The activists’ temptation will immediately look to punch holes in these amendments, suggest edits, or discussion of a better way. This group has stepped forward to make this change and we should support them. 

No change is perfect, but this one is so much better than the system we have. The Stronger Miami proposal is also supported by the Miami Herald Editorial Board who called for this change nearly a year ago: 

As for who they are, the Stronger Miami group has proven their merit and intent. Many of those involved were part of the lawsuit to undo the commission’s recent redistricting mess, referenced above. 

That was the vote that split Coconut Grove into three separate districts. The hard-won settlement has forced proper lines, a reunification of the Grove, and a better process for future redistricting.

I trust this group and I believe in the amendments.

Are you ready to sign on and tell a friend?  Visit www.strongermiami.org/

Ken Russell
Coconut Grove