Miami-Dade Mayor Thrown Out of Office in Recall Vote After Raising Taxes

Mayor Carlos Alvarez was thrown from office last night in a recall vote. 88% of voters agreed they were fed up with the tax-hiking mayor.
The revolt was spearheaded by billionaire car dealer Norman Braman.

It wasn’t even close.
(Click to enlarge)

NBC Miami reported:

A rise in taxes raised the temperature of many Miami-Dade County voters.

Tuesday they got a chance to express their anger in historical proportions, ousting Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Commissioner Natacha Seijas from office in the first successful recall vote in the county’s history.

Oust might not be the right word gauging from the results. Thrown out on his rear end might be the more accurate description.

With about 75 percent of the polls reporting, more than 88 percent of the voters agreed that they were fed up with Alvarez, who was overwhelmingling voted in for his second term in 2008.

More… Ramus sent in this on the vote:

The commission voted to raise the millage rate to pay for the rise in the salaries of county employees (including the mayor’s staff) and for police and firemen. People who saw the value of their properties decline by as much as 30% since 2008, were now seeing their property taxes rise. All the commissioners who voted “yes” to the rise are being subject to a recall vote. The petitions to recall them have been approved and court challenges by the mayor and commissioners have failed. The Mayor and this one commissioner were the first to be voted out. Others will follow in special elections to be held later. What the Herald also fails to mention is that this is fundamentally an anti-union vote, not an anti-Alvarez vote (even though he lost a lot of support after the tax millage rate rise.) The unions have come out en masse to support these two. They failed. The people won.

#1 March 16, 2011 at 5:39 am
a former democrat commented:

I notice the website linked on this story does not mention the party affiliation.

I am guessing this was a democrat? and I am guessing if this was a repub, it would be blaring on every line of the story?
#2 March 16, 2011 at 5:40 am
TiminPhx commented:

A lot of Democratic mayors this morning are going to have a little something extra in their coffee due to this news. What a dilema it poses. How do you avoid alienating the producers in your city and yet rake in enough money to bribe the worthless? And that doesn’t even begin to cover how you are going to give contracts to your cousin, JJ, of JJ Paving, those big ole contracts.

What to do, what to do?
#3 March 16, 2011 at 5:46 am
squeaky commented:

he’s republican and checking fund race braman is a rebulivan donor with a smattering of dem contributions – vast majority republican.
#4 March 16, 2011 at 5:48 am
squeaky commented:

Born 1952?[1]
Cuba
Political party Republican
Residence Miami, Florida
Website MiamiDade.gov/mayor
#5 March 16, 2011 at 5:48 am
squeaky commented:

rebulivan = republican
#6 March 16, 2011 at 5:54 am
Zilla of the Resistance commented:

Too bad we can’t have a recall vote for Obama!
#7 March 16, 2011 at 5:59 am
BigAlSouth commented:

Oh yeah. And the Tea Party is just a passing political fad. Get a clue, politicians or suffer the same embarrassing slap in the face as old Carlos.

88%? Might I be so bold as to call this a MANDATE????????
#8 March 16, 2011 at 6:06 am
bobdog commented:

I’m sure we can expect a similar recall in the Illinois governor’s office after raising the state income tax rate by 65% and then deciding to tax internet sales for all companies having any “presence” in Illinois. Sometime real soon.

I wonder if New Jersey could spare Mr. Christie for a while…
#9 March 16, 2011 at 6:34 am
RedBeard commented:

Maybe the Howard Beale in a lot of previously passive people is bubbling to the surface, and they’re not going to take this anymore.
#10 March 16, 2011 at 7:07 am
jerrylud commented:

yay for the people finaly rising up against this stuff from both parties seems we have all had enough
#11 March 16, 2011 at 7:07 am
Militant Conservative commented:

Does not matter what party. Ignore your constituents at your own peril.
Powder is dry
#12 March 16, 2011 at 7:35 am
JB commented:

That’s as close to tar and feathers as fed up Americans are going to get (we’re too civilized for that.)
#13 March 16, 2011 at 7:40 am
donh commented:

Outstanding timing for the TEA Party to flex some muscle….The Diemanic Duo of Boehner and Can’tOr prefer to be OWNED by Chuckyyy Schumer than work with the TEA Party. When Rinos are passing their socialist budgeting with 1/3 democrat votes, they need to be shown more tomb stones etched with Rino names.
#14 March 16, 2011 at 7:51 am
tarpon commented:

Miami … surly not a Republican who is hiking taxes while hiking pay for his government stooges … LOL

West said he was open to a Senate bid to replate what’s his name??? Oh yeah pasty Nelson.
#15 March 16, 2011 at 7:54 am
Karl Jones commented:

This has nothing to do with the tea party. I live in Miami-Dade county. This guy was Republican but with the things he did while in office even if he was a democrat he would have been recalled.

Raise taxes (12%)during the worst recession and afterward gives his top staffers and most county employees raises.
Pushed through a 600 million dollars Marlins stadium subsidized with taxpayer money.
purchases a 550i BMW to be paid for with 800 dollar a month car stipend even though he is driven around in two SUV with body guards.

The list goes on and on.

Google him from 2007 on.

We trusted him to clean up the mess. He turned on us and made it worse.
#16 March 16, 2011 at 8:09 am
Millitant Conservative commented:

Can you hear us now??
#17 March 16, 2011 at 8:17 am
TiminPhx commented:

Still a joy to see the GOP get a good reminding that lip service isn’t going to cut it anymore.

You can go whine and cry about mean ole people while at the country club with your democrat buddies. Rinos and Dems are about the same. Rinos are worse because they pretend to be something other than what they are, i.e. Elitist Statists.
#18 March 16, 2011 at 8:31 am
Ginger commented:

Recall John Boehner!
#19 March 16, 2011 at 8:42 am
mercador commented:

I never trusted the Tanned Guy.
#20 March 16, 2011 at 8:44 am
mercador commented:

Now I know why he is always crying. Guilt, because he is not a truthful person. I believe Washington does that to them becasue they see how they can fleece people.
#21 March 16, 2011 at 8:53 am
L.E. Liesner commented:

What I find amazing is that people will throw local politicians out of office that raise their taxes, but will continue to re-elect the same national politicians that do the same thing. My guess is when local taxes are raised you have to reach into your back pocket and pay them, and when the Feds raise taxes they take it out of your pay and you never see it. My suggestion is stop payroll deductions and make people pay their quarterly. I’ll bet that there would be a vast turn over of politicians in Washington DC.
#22 March 16, 2011 at 9:11 am
burt commented:

Tea Party got another one! Professional politician are professional politicians. A RINO IS RINO. Politician are all in favor of tax and spend.
#24 March 16, 2011 at 10:00 am
Rock commented:

Regardless of his party his strong progressive leanings meant he needed to go. A plus is that the TEA Party has again put a mark on the political landscape. Republicans and Democraps wake up, we are watching and Socialist are not well received by the American people.
#26 March 16, 2011 at 10:47 am
Interesting commented:

This is a RINO who promised fiscal restraint and turned into a big spender like all the Dems who was recalled. Good for the people, freedom at work. C’mon Tea Party, get a candidate in there to do the work this man would not do!!
#27 March 16, 2011 at 11:16 am
RedBeard commented:

Party affiliation doesn’t help us if we’re conservatives. Dems are hopelessly lost, owned by the radical left. Republicans range all over the spectrum, from decent conservatives to liberal jerks like Bloomberg of New York, so we can’t take any comfort in the “R” label.

Tax-and-spend liberalism is the problem, no matter what party affiliation the offender might claim.
#28 March 16, 2011 at 11:48 am
Ruebacca commented:

We are just all tools of the Koch brothers.
#29 March 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
BS61 commented:

BobDog – Unfortunately, Christie is not a conservative.

http://conservativenewjersey.com/the-myth-of-christie-conservatism-intro

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/governor-christies-islamist-problem/
#30 March 16, 2011 at 1:15 pm
BS61 commented:

DonH #13 – Could not agree more!! I hope Boehner is primarie and Cantor is scum.
#31 March 16, 2011 at 2:23 pm
DANEgerus commented:

(D)emocrats insist on recount.
#32 March 16, 2011 at 2:42 pm
ogee commented:

The wife and daughter encourages to raise taxes? Jeebus. That’s all they know what to do. They need to hold a bake sale and sell off the state buildings.
Stop taxing the people to death. People are not ATM’s. This kills the economy. Less money to keep in paycheck = less moeny to spend into the economy. Deal killer.
#33 March 16, 2011 at 2:55 pm
ogee commented:

Get someone younger in there. 88 years old is not effective.
#34 March 16, 2011 at 3:12 pm
RedBeard commented:

Wife and daughter of whom? Who is 88 years old?

Man, this series of internet tubes sure can be confusing sometimes.
#35 March 16, 2011 at 6:15 pm
befuddled commented:

now if this would only happen in democratic controlled cities and states, we might be able to start purging and bring about some fiscal stability. it takes a lot of personal pain, apparently, before people will get involved. let the cries and gnashing of teeth begin.

Boehner was mandated to put a complete stop to all this reckless spending. all these piecemeal cuts are ineffectual, if not laughable. the only reason i can think of is that he is waiting us out until 2012. right now, he’s not going to put obama’s feet to the fire. rather, he seems contented to keep watching it all burn down. well, i agree with Palin, 2012 can’t come fast enough.