Republican Mayor Who Acted Like a Democrat Gets Fired

The mayor of Miami was a Republican. I say was because yesterday they held a recall election and the citizens of Miami fired him. In the two-page article I read there was no mention of his political affiliation and I assumed he was a Democrat, but needed to verify it and, lo and behold, he is a Republican.

You can understand my confusion when you see some of the reasons the citizens of Miami were fed up with him.

The campaign to recall Alvarez was launched in October by billionaire businessman Norman Braman after Alvarez successfully pushed for a property tax-rate increase to help plug a gaping budget hole. At the same time, Alvarez pushed for labor contracts with employee unions that included pay hikes for most county workers this year.
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In March 2009 Alvarez successfully pushed through a controversial deal to use hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to build a new ballpark for the Florida Marlins. Then in August 2009 The Miami Herald disclosed that as Alvarez was calling for shared sacrifice amid the searing economic downturn he handed large raises to close aides, including Chief of Staff Dennis Morales, whose 11 percent pay hike put his yearly salary at $206,783.
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In May, Alvarez came under fire for shopping for a new BMW 550i Grand Turismo sedan subsidized by an $800-a-month car allowance. He got the new car even as he already had two Chevy Suburbans to ferry him around on official business. Alvarez — earning a $233,123 salary and $92,187 in benefits — refused to get rid of the car allowance, saying he wasn’t “going to do something that is symbolic.”

I dare anyone to tell me that doesn't sound like any Democrat you know from Charlie "Taxes are for the little people" Rangel to Nancy "I'll use the plane any damn time I want" Pelosi. Raising taxes, pay raises and benefits for your cronies and free-wheeling spending of taxpayer dollars.

Good riddance, and I hope Miami chooses wisely in the next election.