Thursday evening, the North Miami Beach Mayor and Commissioners will hold another special meeting to choose someone to fill the seat vacated by the ousted Frantz Pierre. They received applications from eleven individuals who hope to take his place. Regardless of which candidate is selected, the seat will be up for grabs in this November’s municipal election.
While several excellent candidates applied to be the seat filler, the choice is obvious.
Or, at least it should be.
In case they need a reminder, let’s do the math.
Here’s the full list of candidates:
- Vladimir Bugera
- Henry Dube
- Debrah Ennevor
- Maariefrance Jeanrisca
- Ketley Joachim
- Michael Joseph, Esq.
- Joseph A. Litowich
- Evan Scott Piper
- Tracy Pons
- Uzias Sibillia
- Pradel Vilme
Using a “scientific” process of elimination, the Mayor and Commission should immediately throw out applicants who have never bothered to show their faces at City Hall, either to attend meetings or to serve on at least one of the many citizen boards. This criterion automatically narrows the list down to five candidates.
Of those five, Pradel Vilme should be immediately eliminated from consideration. This carpetbagger from Miramar is Frantzie’s long-time crony and fellow con artist.
Although Vilme still owns his home located at 16843 SW 50 Street, Miramar, which he purchased in 2001, he gave up his homestead exemption in 2015 when he allegedly moved to NMB when Frantzie tried to get him to run for office.
This would be the same Pradel Vilme who, you may recall, aided and abetted Frantzie in his theft of a total of $14,000.00 from the NMB Police Department’s Law Enforcement Trust Fund through various fake non-profit organizations all conveniently located at his office, 1733 NE 162 Street, North Miami Beach, FL 33162.
Do you want more Frantzie? Well, that’s how you get more Frantzie.
Another concern is that three of the applicants live in the Eastern Shores neighborhood. While all North Miami Beach Commissioners are “at-large” (they are elected city-wide, not just from one district), four out of the seven elected officials already live in Eastern Shores.
Over the years, many residents who live west of Biscayne Boulevard have complained that Eastern Shores wields outsized clout, at their expense. These residents have called for district elections in which candidates must live in certain parts of the city where only voters in that district elect their commissioners.
But here’s the thing. If the Commissioners were to do something so stupid (yes, Phyllis, we’re talking to YOU!) as to appoint an Eastern Shores resident to the dais, they will give their critics one more reason to cry foul. We strongly suggest they refrain from doing so.
So, that leaves only three viable candidates left:
- Ketley Joachim, a North Miami Beach resident and homeowner since February 1, 1995;
- Michael Joseph, resident and homeowner since December 13, 2013; and
- Joseph A. Litowich, resident and homeowner since December 4, 1997.
Of these three, two have already run for office in North Miami Beach: Ketley Joachim and Michael Joseph.
Ms. Joachim twice tried to unseat Frantz Pierre, the first time in 2011 and again in 2015. Mr. Joseph ran against Phyllis Smith in 2015, and in 2014 he also ran for Florida State Representative in District 107, albeit unsuccessfully. Neither Ketley nor Michael are strangers to the rigors of campaigning for office.
While it’s certainly admirable that Mr. Litowich has served on the Planning and Zoning Board for the past six years, if he had an interest in representing the residents of NMB, he’s had plenty of opportunity to run for office. After all, campaigning is not easy. Earning the respect and trust of the electorate is a Herculean task. Being duly elected by the citizenry is a privilege, not a right.
Both Ketley and Michael have paid their dues.
Unfortunately, despite all their hard work, both of them “lost” their respective races to Frantz Pierre and Phyllis Smith in 2015 because of absentee ballot fraud shenanigans.
Although Ketley Joachim handily won at the polls in early voting and election day voting, she was down by 122 absentee ballots, and “lost” by only 92 votes in total.
In the run-off election between Michael Joseph and Phyllis Smith, Michael “lost” by only 70 votes, of which 61 were by absentee ballot.
After the election, Michael promptly filed a lawsuit contesting the results of the election and amassing certified proof of well over 100 fraudulent absentee ballots. Aided and abetted by State Rep/Shady as F**k Lawyer Joseph S. Geller, Phyllis was able to delay the proceedings long enough for Michael to run out of enough money to keep the lawsuit going. The case, however, has never been dismissed and is still open. Just saying.
That being said, however, of the two highly qualified applicants, we believe that Ketley Joachim deserves this temporary appointment.
During the 2015 election, we supported and endorsed both of these individuals. We firmly believe that they deserve seats on the dais.
In the five years he has been a North Miami Beach resident, Michael Joseph has contributed to the city by serving on the Public Utilities Commission and the Code Enforcement Board. We hope he will continue his service and run again for a Commission seat in the future.
Ketley Joachim has been a resident and community activist for over two decades. She has literally dedicated her life to the City of North Miami Beach. One only need to read her resume to gain a full appreciation for her commitment to her community by serving on the following city boards and civic organizations:
- City of North Miami Beach Education Committee, member (2017-present).
- City of North Miami Beach Code Enforcement Board, member (2009-present).
- City of North Miami Beach Beautification Committee, member (2003-present).
- City of North Miami Beach Caribbean Affairs Committee, member (2004-2010).
- City of North Miami Beach Gang Reduction Program Steering Committee, member (2003-2004).
- Uleta Neighborhood Association, member and co-chair (1998-2005).
- North Miami Beach Voters’ Council, member (2011-present).
- Club Law & Order — North Miami Beach Police Department, member (1998-present).
- Uleta Neighborhood Crime Watch, member (1998-present).
- Uleta Residents Core Group Committee, member (1998-2005).
None of the other applicants have done as much service for the City of North Miami Beach and its residents.
Also, Frantz stole the 2015 election from her by stealing absentee ballots from voters.
So there’s that.
As we said, this one’s a no-brainer. The North Miami Beach Mayor and Commission must do the right thing by appointing Ketley Joachim to fill the vacated Commission seat.
Stephanie
Michael Joseph has only served as an alternate on the Code Enforcement Board, and when he was on the dais, he usually was fiddling with his phone. He only took interest when he saw something outrageous and actually was asked to participate more.
He may be a good candidate in the future, but he needs to show more activity in the community besides being on the boards.
Ketley is the best candidate and will represent the Haitian Community a lot better than Mr. Pierre.
Ketley will represent not only the Haitian community, but ALL residents of NMB.
I read that Michael Joseph sits on a lot more boards than just the code enforcement board. He’s on the city utilities commission and a few county boards. He also has a great professional background as an attorney and MBA.
I hope he stays involved.
As I mentioned, Michael sits on the NMB Code Enforcement Board and Public Utilities Commission, as well as three county boards. Since this appointment is for Commissioner of North Miami Beach, I limited my comments to the candidates’ city involvement. By the same token, I did not list all the other organizations of which Ketley is a member, including her term as a Guardian Ad Litem advocating for children who end up in the family court system.
Like I said, there are plenty of great applicants, but only a few stand out. You don’t need a be a lawyer to be qualified to represent the citizens. This isn’t about about law degrees or having one’s name on the roster of multiple boards. It’s about the amount of time and effort one exerts to help improve the lives of the people who live in the city one represents. Ketley works tirelessly, day after day, and her own expense I might add, to do advocate for the residents of NMB.
Ironically, she also spent countless hours, days and weeks, running all over NMB to help Michael collect evidence of the absentee ballot fraud committed by Phyllis (and Frantz). I know this because I did, too, along with others who were outraged that he “lost” to her.
Maybe he forgot what she did for him. I didn’t.
I agree. She should get the nod, it’s a no brainer.
For me, the Commissioners should narrowly focus on the most qualified candidate who is willing to serve UNTIL the voters make their selection. Race, ethnic background, neighborhood residence, gender, or civic involvment are not necessarily good indicators of who is most qualified.
For better or worse (for others to decide), and regardless of whether the selection turns out to be a great choice, I think the process is sadly flawed.
Whomever is selected will be our Commissioner and we will work with her or him to make NMB a better place for all.
Why is the process “sadly flawed’ Mr. Templer? Is it because you wouldn’t get a single vote to be appointed? Even Ms. Smith isn’t stupid enough to vote for you and she is pinned on the stupid-meter red zone side.
The “process” is clear cut and simple. The remaining commissioners appoint someone who stands for election this November. Sounds like a perfectly fine “process.”
Don’t delude yourself about how appointing someone from Eastern Shores wouldn’t boomerang. All it takes is a charter amendment to have voting districts for NMB, and cut the number of Commissioners to five. Then Eastern Shores would only have one guaranteed vote on the Commission.
If it ever were put on the ballot (via the City Commission or petitions), it would pass 60-40 at a minimum.
Mr. Templer, you are free to run against whomever is appointed on Thursday. But you won’t, because you know you would be humiliated at the polls. So you keep tossing out BS about how residents are imploring you to run, to serve, blah, blah, yada, yada. I’m calling out your BS. Name 10 of these people, please. Have them attend the Thursday meeting and speak on your behalf. Of course not.
You ran out of hot air for your trial balloons long ago. Move on already. Stop sounding like a whiney, pathetic bitch. Basta ya!
I would vote for David Templer. I hope he runs for Mayor. Also at least he doesn’t hide his name like NIMBY ES.
NIMBY ES is a guy that doesn’t live in NMB and doesn’t own property here. He has never met me or spoken to me. He was never present when I spoke to anyone else. He is a coward who hides behind various aliases. He throws virtual sucker punches, online, by robocall and in mud mail, at people who he thinks may run against commissioners who vote for his clients projects, and against commissioners who don’t. He has no clue about my position on things. He doesn’t know my family, my value system or my friends. He is our local equivalent of Russian meddling into the election process.
The whiney, pathetic bitch is NIMBY ES, the coward who hides behind an alias so that they can never be identified.
This isn’t about me. It’s not about Eastern Shores. You’re merely a whiney, pathetic bitch who took an opportunity to hijack a conversation about one thing and make it about another.
So, how about it loser? Got a name or are you just another crying coward?