Spat between Miami commissioners leads to meeting being adjourned early

Joe Carollo, Keon Hardemon trade barbs at City Hall

MIAMI – A Miami commission meeting got heated Thursday, and things got so out of hand that the meeting was abruptly adjourned.

There was a plethora of items on the agenda for the meeting that led to a power struggle regarding what would be discussed first, who would get to decide and who was making the rules, which led to utter chaos, the adjournment of the meeting and then a fiery exchange between Commissioner Joe Carollo and the commission Chair Keon Hardemon.

“What the problem is here is that you don’t like majority rules. You don’t like democracy. You want it the way it was,” Carollo said.

“This won’t work, sir. It won’t work,” Hardemon responded as the two men continued to talk over one another.

Carollo asked Hardemon how much money the city manager has raised for him, tacitly alleging the chair was protecting the city manager, who Carollo wants fired.

“There may come a time when I’m not here. You know, God bless the person who replaces me because this is what they have to put up with,” Gonzalez told Local 10 News.

Last month, after a failed vote to fire manager Emilio Gonzalez, Carollo moved to have him investigated, a move Mayor Francis Suarez vetoed.

“This manager wants to hold onto power no matter what,” Carollo said.

That item was at the top of the commission agenda Thursday, with Gonzalez scheduled to speak.

Carollo wanted to take up other items first. Instead it led to a discussion, which added fuel to a power struggle already underway.

Since the meeting was ultimately adjourned before any business was handled, the issues on the agenda will likely move to the next meeting scheduled for Jan. 23.


About the Author
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Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."

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