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One of the great things about the First Amendment is that newspapers like ours are free to write about candidates and the issues. The First Amendment gives us the right to take a stand and make endorsements.
This election season, Community Newspapers has made a number of candidate endorsements and we intend to make a lot more. We don’t have an ideological tilt. We’ve endorsed both Republicans and Democrats — liberals and conservatives. We look to the quality of the candidates as opposed to the party they belong to.
However, we’ve made a decision about endorsements in the elections being held in Palmetto Bay. We’re not making any. Take this column to be our un-dorsement. There are five candidates split among two separate races for Vice Mayor and the Council Member who must reside in District 2. We’re not directly endorsing any of them.
The three candidates in the Vice Mayor election are Ed Silva, Leanne Tellam and Alan “AlJohn” Farquharson.
Silva understands the process and knows his way around,, as he was the Palmetto Bay Village Manager for some five years and before that spent a few years as the Planning Director.
Tellam, a local attorney, has stayed in race despite the recent death of her husband, Doug. (Our condolences go out to the Tellam family and Leanne has our admiration for remaining a candidate despite this tragedy.)
Farquharson is an artist who held an exhibition last year at the Perrine Community House, showcasing pieces sculpted from copper pipe and sheeting. He also owns an air conditioning repair company.
The election in District 2 in Palmetto Bay looked to be a shoo-in for David Singer.
Although there were rumors that someone would step up to run against Singer, it wasn’t until the qualifying clock ticked down to almost its final hour when Steve Cody showed up at Village Hall with the paperwork and the $220 filing fee.
Singer is a CPA( Certified Public Accountant) and the CFO and COO of a real estate development company and enjoys speaking his mind. Some folks like that, while others just shy away from it. We’ve gotten to know David over these last four years and he actually has a great sense of humor.
Steve Cody is a first-time candidate, but has a long history in national, state, and local politics. As a young attorney, he single-handedly led the fight for almost a decade to bring single-member districts to both the Miami-Dade County Commission and School Board. He has also worked on numerous political campaigns as both an attorney and an advisor.
Although Mayor Karyn Cunningham is not on the ballet, it seems as though she just might be the most important player in this election. As it turns out Cody and Tellam are friends of Karyn’s and they just might be her natural allies should they get elected and then some folks just might call them Team Karyn.
On the other side is Singer and Silva, who worked together for several years when Silva was the Village manager and it seems as though they have a good relationship with one another.
Community Newspapers also has a good relationship with Singer, Silva, as well as Cody, which is why we’re not making any endorsements in either race.
Our un-dorsement is that the people of Palmetto Bay should make this choice.
It’s that simple.
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