Dear Friends & Colleagues,

This last month, on the legislative front, the Ethics Commission was engaged with local ethics commissions from across the state in responding to bills introduced in the Florida Legislature, that if enacted into law, would change the manner in which the Commission has handled ethics investigations for the last twenty-five years.

House Bill 1597/Senate Bill 7014, as originally drafted modified the manner in which the Florida Ethics Commission investigates and prosecutes complaints filed with that agency. As the bill progressed through the legislative process, it was amended to preempt local ethics agencies from being able to self-initiate investigations or file complaints in their own name. 

As applied to the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, our agency would only be able to investigate alleged ethical misconduct by local elected officials, board members, and employees, if a third-party filed a sworn complaint based on personal knowledge.

With our sister agencies from Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Palm Beach, Broward County, and Naples, the Ethics Commission mounted a public education campaign on the importance of self-initiated investigations into credible allegations of misconduct, particularly those referred by whistleblowers who fear retaliation for reporting on supervisors or elected officials. 

Special thanks to Commissioner Nelson Bellido and Broward Inspector General Carol Jodie Breece for appearing on local television with me in an effort to explain the ramifications of the amended bill.

Regrettably, the bill with the local preemption language passed both chambers and is now with the Governor awaiting his action. 

A second bill that would have preempted local registration of local government lobbyists would have also removed the Ethics Commission from enforcing compliance with local lobbyist registration and training requirement. That bill ultimately died in the legislative committee process.

Regarding ethics opinions and guidance, at its February meeting, the Ethics Commission again considered a proposed formal opinion in response to a request for guidance from a local elected official that operates a construction permitting support business in her city. The Ethics Commission deferred on providing formal guidance and instead requested to hear from an expert in the local government permitting process. Charles Danger, the former chief building official for Miami-Dade County is due to present as an expert before the Ethics Commission in the March meeting.

On the training front, I was privileged to lead a discussion at Miami-Dade College, North Campus, regarding best practices for public administrators when it appears that officials may be exploiting their public positions. Special thanks to Miami Beach Inspector General Joe Centorino, Aventura City Attorney Robert Meyers, and Broward Inspector General Carol Jodie Breece for serving on the panel and to the South Florida Chapter of the American Society of Public Administrators for hosting the day-long event.

Also, on the training front, I was privileged to collaborate with Assistant State Attorney Johnette Hardiman and the entire staff of the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Professional Compliance Bureau in Miami Gardens. We spent time discussing the Ethics Code’s various provisions and their application to police practices. We also discussed when it is appropriate to address alleged police misconduct as a possible ethics violation, a police procedure or rule violation, or a criminal matter. Special thanks to Major Adrian Cummings and his staff for hosting us.

Looking forward to next month, look for us in North Miami, where we will be providing clean campaign training with our partners from the Elections Department, and in Coral Gables with training on the Good Government Initiative in that city.  

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.

The Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), a professional organization for government agencies and other organizations working in ethics, elections, freedom of information, lobbying, and campaign finance, recently held a panel discussion about the state of journalism and how it relates to the public trust. COE Staff Attorney, Susannah Nesmith, who began her COE career as an ethics investigator and previously had a career as an award-winning journalist, took part in the panel dubbed, “Journalism & Ethics.” 

The panelists discussed the ethics of journalism, common dilemmas, the credibility of news media, the phenomenon of “fake news”, journalists privilege, “unidentified sources” and political spin. The panelists shared their firsthand experiences reporting on government corruption and local ethics cases.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lieutenant, Jairo Rodriguez, stipulated to a finding of Probable Cause and entered into a settlement agreement for violating the Exploitation of Official Position, Conflicting Employment, and the Prohibition of Outside Employment sections of the Miami-Dade County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance.

Following a joint investigation by the Commission on Ethics and Miami-Dade Office of the Inspector General, the Public Advocate filed a complaint against Lt. Rodriguez, alleging that he intentionally used his official position on four different occasions at the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department to purchase thousands of dollars in equipment company, FireTec1, Inc. for which he served as president. Additionally, the complaint alleged that Lt. Rodriguez outside employment as president of Fire-Tec1, Inc., conflicted with his County employment and impaired his independence of judgement in the performance of his public duties when he repeatedly caused MDFR to purchase products from his company. Furthermore, the complaint alleged that Lt. Rodriguez failed to file, under oath, an annual report indicating the source of his outside employment and any amounts or type of money or other consideration received as required by the Ethics Code.

"What this gentleman did was one of the most egregious violations I have ever seen during my time serving on the Ethics Commission," commented COE Commissioner Nelson Bellido.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Lt. Rodriguez will be required to pay a fine of $13,000, investigative costs of $3,500, and will be issued a Letter of Reprimand.

This past month, the COE partnered with Global Ties Miami, by hosting a visiting delegation of officials, attorneys and public integrity advocates from the African Continent. During the meeting, attendees and COE staff discussed the local ethics opinion, compliance and enforcement model and shared ideas on how COE's experiences might be applied in different government settings in their home nations.

Global Ties, is a not-for-profit, U.S. Department of State supported organization, that brings international visitors and South Florida communities together to foster global understanding, cooperation, goodwill, and friendships through citizen diplomacy and international exchange.

Special thanks to Global Ties Executive Director Athena Passera for bringing the COE together with such a distinguished group. 

Summary of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust Meetings Held on January and February.

The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust held a public meeting on January and February 2024. The following actions took place:

Commission Directs COE Staff to Draft Formal Opinion for City of Coral Gables Commissioner

After hearing from interested parties, including land use subject matter expert and former Miami-Dade County Building Official, Charles Danger, the Ethics Commission directed Commission staff to draft a formal opinion regarding prohibitions on elected officials’ outside employment when the employment involves contacts with the official’s city.

Letter of Instruction Ratified in Complaint Involving Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Employee

C 24-01-01: A Letter of Instruction was unanimously ratified in a complaint involving Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department employee, Walter King, who previously stipulated to a finding of Probable Cause and entered into a settlement agreement for violating the Exploitation of Official Position, and the Prohibition of Outside Employment sections of the Miami-Dade County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance. In addition to the Letter of Reprimand, Mr. King was also previously required to pay a fine of $1,500 and $2,000 in restitution.

Complaint Filed Against Miami-Dade County Department Director Found Not Legally Sufficient

C 23-57-11: A complaint filed against Miami-Dade County Community Action and Human Services (CASHD) Director, Sonia Grice, was found Not Legally Sufficient and dismissed. The complaint alleged that Ms. Grice violated several provisions of the Miami-Dade Citizen’s Bill of Rights including the Convenient Access, Right to be Heard, and Notice of Actions and Reasons sections. The complaint specifically alleged that Ms. Grice led an effort to prevent the respondent from participating and voting in the elected Community Advisory Committee for the Hialeah Blanch Morton Center by allowing her staff to not follow the CASHD guidelines, protocols, directives, and rules.

Complaint Filed Against City of Miami Commissioner Found Not Legally Sufficient

C 24-03-01: A complaint filed against City of Miami Commissioner, Miguel Gabela, was found Not Legally Sufficient and dismissed. The complaint alleged that Commissioner Gabela violated several sections of the Miami-Dade County Ethics Code, including the Exploitation of Official Position and Further Prohibition of Transacting Business with the County Sections, when Commissioner Gabela voted on a resolution that allegedly involved a personal and financial benefit.

Complaint Filed Against City of South Miami Commissioner Found Not Legally Sufficient

C 24-04-01: A complaint filed against City of South Miami Commissioner, Josh Liebman, was found Not Legally Sufficient and dismissed. The complaint alleged that Commissioner Liebman violated Miami-Dade County Ethics Code when he allegedly made threats of violence and assault against the complainant.

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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