Dear Friends & Colleagues,

This last year, 2023, marked the 25th anniversary of the commencement of the Ethics Commission’s work in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As the Commission Chairperson notes in her annual message in our Annual Report that you can view below, the Ethics Commission was established in 1996 through a vote of the electorate amending the County Charter.

Our work began with the agency’s first ethics opinion, RQO 98-01, that was issued to a county employee’s spouse who asked whether he could enter into a contract with the county through a company in which he had a financial interest. He was advised that he could not bid on a county contract. The first complaint filed with the Ethics Commission, C 98-01, was a complaint by Fisher Island Developers against members of a Miami-Dade Community Council.

In the twenty-five years since, the Ethics Commission has issued almost 1,500 formal opinions. Additionally, Ethics Commission legal staff has issued over 4,500 informal ethics opinions. Each one of these 6,000 opinions is the result of public officials, board members, and employees seeking conflict-of-interest guidance, before they acted.

Commission staff have also conducted hundreds of training sessions to help officials, board members, employees, and the general public understand the ethical rules that guide our local government.

Also, each year since 1998, the Ethics Commission has successfully prosecuted complaints against elected officials, board members, and employees. Perhaps most relevant, in partnership with police and prosecutors, over the years, our investigations have resulted in arrests and prosecutions of elected officials and caused their removal from public office.

This past year has been no different. In addition to over 90 training and outreach engagements, the Commission issued in excess of 300 opinions, successfully prosecuted several ethics enforcement cases, and an agency-originated investigation led to the felony arrest and charging of an elected local government official, and his removal from office by the Governor.

In the last twenty-five years, the Ethics Commission has evolved from a good governance initiative with one employee, whose full authority had not yet been established - or accepted - to a mature agency staffed by seventeen employees, legal, enforcement, and outreach sections, and a budget of approximately 3 million dollars. It has become an essential component of local county and municipal governance.

With your support, the Ethics Commission, as reflected by its work product in the last year, will continue to be a force for transparent and ethical local governance.



Regards,

Jose 

Commissioners

Dr. Judith Bernier, Chair

Wifredo Gort,

Vice Chair

Nelson C. Bellido Esq.

Lourdes B. Fernandez, Esq.

Dava J. Tunis, Esq.

Executive Director

Jose J. Arrojo, Esq.

Advocate

Radia Turay, Esq.

General Counsel

Loressa Felix, Esq.

Commission on Ethics and Public Trust staff will take part in four upcoming career/informational fairs with the purpose of engaging with current law students to discuss internship and post grad opportunities. These events will also serve as an opportunity for law students to learn of the ethics commission’s mission to ensure the integrity of the governmental decision-making process and the electoral process, as well as to restore public confidence in government and to serve as the guardian of the public trust.

The first of these events will take place at the St. Thomas University School of Law on February 7th followed by others in the month of February.

As part of the Ethics Commission’s continuing collaboration with the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA), COE Executive Director, Jose Arrojo, will moderate a panel on February 23rd at the annual ASPA Conference dubbed, Navigating Between Right and Wrong: Contemporary Ethical Challenges. The panel will consist of other government ethics professionals such as Miami Beach Inspector General Joseph Centorino, Broward County Inspector General Carol Breece, Municipal Ethics Counsel Robert Meyers, and Public Corruption Chief of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Timothy Vandergiesen.

ASPA's Annual Conference is the premier event of the profession, taking place each spring as it brings together a cross-section of public administration including public servants, nonprofit professionals, researchers, scholars, students and more

For more information on the COE's participation in this year’s conference that will take place at Miami-Dade College North Campus click here. 

Ethics Commission staff delivered a more than two-hour training session for several declared Miami-Dade County Sheriff candidates and to others working on their campaigns. The training focused on providing information on election law and procedures, the Ethical Campaign Practices Ordinance, campaign contributions, post-election audits, prohibited uses of public funds, and other requirements related to expending public funds.

In November of 2018, voters adopted Amendment 10 to the State Constitution. As a result of Amendment 10 requiring all 67 counties in Florida to have an elected Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Clerk of Courts by early 2025. The 2024 Primary Election is Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.

Click on the report cover above to view the recently released

2022-2023 fiscal year COE annual report.

Summary of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust Meeting Held on January 10, 2023.

The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust held a public meeting on January 10, 2023. The following actions took place:

COE Defers on Adopting Formal Opinion Regarding Municipal Districting Vote

After an extensive presentation by the Executive Director, the requesting elected official, his chief of staff, and private counsel, the Ethics Commission deferred on adopting the proposed RQO 2024-01, a draft formal opinion regarding City of Miami Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela’s ability to vote on a prospective veto override that would reinclude Commissioner Gabela’s family home into district one. The Commission decided to defer on the matter in deference to pending federal voting rights litigation arising in part from the same fact pattern supporting the requested opinion.

City of North Miami Beach Commissioner Stipulates to Probable Cause Finding

C 23-10-02: City of North Miami Beach Commissioner, McKenzie Fleurimond, stipulated to a finding of Probable Cause and entered into a settlement agreement for violating the Exploitation of Official Position section of the Miami-Dade County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance when he used his City issued purchase card and city funds to pay for expenses related to his attendance at a partisan event.

Complaint Filed Against County Inclusion Officer Found Not Legally Sufficient

C 23-55-11: A Complaint filed against Jason Smith, an Equity and Inclusion Officer for the Office of the Miami-Dade County Mayor, was found Not Legally Sufficient and dismissed. The complaint alleged unspecified ethics violations related to the complainant’s dissatisfaction with Mr. Smith’s responses and a general dissatisfaction with Mr. Smith’s performance in his County role.

Complaint Filed Against Former North Miami Assistant Police Chief Found Not Legally Sufficient

C 23-60-11: A Complaint filed against Donald Blanchard, a former Assistant Police Chief for the City of North Miami and Board Member for the North Miami Police Pension Plan, was found Not Legally Sufficient and dismissed. The complaint alleged that Mr. Blanchard violated the Exploitation of Official Position section of the Miami-Dade County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance when he violated his fiduciary duty by prioritizing his own interests over other plan members and failing to consider the financial impact on other plan members.

Complaint Filed Against Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners Found Not Legally Sufficient

C 23-61-12: A Complaint filed against Oliver Gilbert, Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, was found Not Legally Sufficient and dismissed. The complaint alleged that Chairman Gilbert violated the Right to be Heard section of the Citizen’s Bill of Rights when he did not provide a resident her full two minutes to make a public comment at a recent Commission meeting.

Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics & Public Trust

Phone: 305-579-2594

Email: ethics@miamidade.gov

Website: www.ethics.miamidade.gov

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