For the three Miami Lakes mayoral candidates, incumbent Michael Pizzi, Councilmember Manny Cid and former mayor Wayne Slaton, one depicts himself as a fighter, the other a people-friendly man and the third a hopeful who represents the future of the town.
During last week’s debate at Town Hall, hosted by the League of Women Voters , the 11 candidates running in the November 8 election took center stage in a last-ditch effort to reach the voters of Miami Lakes with their political and business proposals to reshape the town in a way residents would like to embrace for the next five to 10 years.
While traffic congestion continues to be the residents’ top priority, the town council’s biggest decision is picking the next town manger in two years to carry out the policies lawmakers will set.
Town Manager Alex Rey is retiring in 2018 and lawmakers will need to select the best person to lead the town.
“I look forward to that challenge,” said Luis Collazo, a health care administrator running for Seat 5 against retired government administrator Esther Colon and attorney Nayib Hassan.
Said Councilmember Tony Lama, who’s running against attorney Elizabeth Delgado, “Alex Rey’s contract is up in two years and he’s retiring and we will have an important decision to make with residents input.”
The public forum, moderated by long-time county administrator and Miami Lakes’ former interim town manager Merritt Steirheim, gave residents an opportunity to hear the candidates’ responses to their questions and address the issues affecting Miami Lakes.
For traffic congestion, Cid said the town is working on several solutions that include the new mobility fee for developers, synchronizing traffic signals and creating two east-west corridors through the town.
“We are completing mobility all over the town,” he said.
Pizzi said the town must control development before the traffic gridlock gets worse.
“I want to reduce traffic by at least five percent,” he said. “We must control overdevelopment.”
Slaton said the town’s strategic plan should provide a short-term and long-term solution.
He said after the town completed its first strategic plan in 2006, Miami Lakes didn’t have another one until he was elected mayor in 2013. “When I got back into office, I started one right away,” he said.
Slaton said synchronizing traffic signals is a good solution but he is proposing one for the short term. “It is coming but let’s do something now,” he said. “Have our police officers direct traffic at the intersections.”
Code enforcement was also another issue for residents.
Cid said when he took office in 2012, the town had about $4 million in property liens for residents violating the town’s code. He said with the lien amnesty program, most violations were brought into compliance.
Slaton said code compliance is about better communications and not enforcement.
“We’re talking about standards versus quality of life,” Slaton said.
Councilmember Nelson Rodriguez, who’s facing attorney Alex Dehghani and Xiomara Pazos, owner of a private health care transportation company, for Seat One, said since he took office, he has lowered property taxes, started the EKG program for kids participating in sports and activities in the town’s parks, and helped organize the first traffic summit with Lama that included the county’s MPO and FDOT.
Dehghani said his vision for Miami Lakes is to bring back the town reminiscent of his childhood here. “It was time you could leave home to go to Main Street, truly a small town,” he said. “But now the town is divided, and with the traffic, you now have to wake up a lot earlier and come home a lot later.”
Delgado said residents are frustrated with the leadership and want a change.
“Public officials putting special interests money in their pockets is a mistrust to the public,” she said.
Slaton complimented his two opponents, saying Pizzi is a fighter and Cid loves politics.
“We need good people who love politics,” he said. “We need good fighters. But we also need a people-friendly government.”
Cid said his accomplishments include the town being on the verge of getting its own zip code, and spearheading an initiative to keep the residents’ tax money for the town’s branch library.
“That’s the leadership you will see from Manny Cid,” he said.