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Dear Friends & Colleagues,
Over the last several weeks, Ethics Commission staff have been fully engaged with numerous training and outreach efforts throughout Miami-Dade County.
Elected officials from Miami Shores, Sweetwater, Hialeah Gardens, Miami, Golden Beach, Miami Springs, and Bay Harbor Islands sat for locally required training on the County Ethics Code, the Citizens’ Bill of Rights, and Florida’s Sunshine Law. Special thanks to Miami Shores Village for hosting a training event at the Miami Shores Country Club for elected officials from several jurisdictions.
The Gables Good Government Committee event at the Coral Gables Museum was well attended, and several Coral Gables elected officials were in the audience. I was fortunate to share the platform with Holly Raschein, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives and current Monroe County Commissioner, and Annie Betancourt, also a former member of the Florida House of Representatives. Special thanks to the GGG Committee for hosting us, to former Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick for his attendance and sponsorship, and to Dr. David Doriscar from St. Thomas University’s Institute of Ethical Leadership for moderating the panel.
Our agency partnered with the County Elections Department to provide ethical campaign practices training to candidates for local elected offices and their campaign staff at Homestead City Hall. Special thanks to the City of Homestead for hosting us.
Finally, on the continuing legal education front, I was privileged to join a speaking panel that presented a very well attended webinar event titled Understanding the Risks and Rewards of Social Media Communications for Local Government. Thanks to the partnership of subject matter experts from the Stearns Weaver and Weiss Serota Helfman law firms, and from the City of Weston.
On the enforcement front, the Ethics Commission recently closed a case upon the respondent’s stipulation to probable cause and the imposition of a fine. The case involved an unregistered lobbying allegation against the principal of an engineering firm who was accused of contacting a member of the Board of County Commissioners regarding a Transportation and Public Works contract. In a second case, the Ethics Commission closed an appeal filed by a County lobbyist who failed to file required expenditure reports and was assessed a fine by the Clerk of the Board. The Commission declined to waive the fine entirely, instead reducing it by a percentage, in light of the fact that it was the lobbyist’s first violation.
On the legislative front, the Ethics Commission has been conferring and meeting with members of the County Commission staff regarding proposed modifications to the Cone of Silence Ordinance that limits or prohibits communications during the public procurement process. A position letter has been forwarded to the County Commission Chairperson on behalf of the Ethics Commission. The proposed modifications are due to come before a County Commission committee in July.
To conclude, on the administrative front, Chief Circuit Judge Nushin Sayfie has appointed former Circuit Judge Dava Tunis to the Ethics Commission. Former Judge Tunis has graciously accepted the appointment and over the next several weeks will receive initial training and orientation from the Ethics Commission’s legal staff and will be sworn in as an Ethics Commissioner by the Chief Judge in July. Also, we have concluded our finalist interviews for our open ethics investigator position and hope to have a new staff member on board in July.
As always, thank you for your continued support.
Regards,
Jose
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