The Rending of a Recall: The Chairwoman

Not long ago, I would have been reluctant to devote an entire post to Maria Cruz. (I am dropping my beloved moniker Missus Cruzchev on this one occasion, as I believe what is to follow should land squarely on the real person rather than the caricature.)

Sure, she’s always been a goon in gadfly’s clothing, but one that was always careful to keep at least one foot planted in civilian territory, all but guaranteeing her a kind of Geneva-Convention-like protection from my vantage point. Moreover, her nutty and quasi-comical fecklessness invariably made the prospect of anything more than mild lampoonery seem…unsporting.

But, oh, how the only constant is change. Not only has Maria plunged herself into KFC’s political war as an official belligerent, she’s become the field marshal for its most ambitious campaign to date. Maria Frigging Cruz, thanks be to the Gods of Irony, is the chairwoman of End the Corruption, the political campaign behind the effort to recall Mayor Lago. Therefore, all’s fair.

It’s nice to see the kids getting involved. Mayoral recalls have always been wholesome, family affairs. I’m sure the little girl holding the Lago Must Go sign in the background can help us all better understand the legal distinction between misfeasance and malfeasance.

The things that matter

Allow me to first embrace a premise that was established by End the Corruption (ETC) and Maria herself, to wit: that the credibility, integrity, and legitimacy of any entity or movement is inextricably dependent on the credibility, integrity, and legitimacy of its leaders. You might have noticed, after all, that ETC does not identify the specific unlawful or wrongful act that Lago supposedly committed. Rather, it insists that the mere and very weak implication of wrongdoing on Lago’s part is sufficient grounds for his removal. I’ll plumb this more thoroughly in another post, but suffice it to say that ETC is relying heavily, perhaps entirely, on second-order effects here, i.e. even if Lago technically did nothing wrong, the mere appearance of wrongdoing on his part, the ugliness of it, constitutes a threat to the City Beautiful. In fact, here is Maria Cruz via Gables Insider (emphasis mine):

Anyone following media coverage on Vince Lago cannot but wonder what is going on. He certainly is not a good example of the gentility of the City Beautiful.

So, the leader of the recall effort is actually admitting that she doesn’t know “what is going on” with Lago’s dealings, but that it doesn’t really matter because he is not a “good example” of “gentility.” (Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we don’t really know what crime, if any, the defendant committed. But you should deliver a guilty verdict anyway because, I mean…just look at him!).

Alrighty then.

“Gross Immorality” and “Moral Turpitude.”

While Maria’s checkered past is in the running for the worst-kept secret among the uber-engaged, my sense is that few have seen the gritty details of Maria Cruz’s past run-in with the law. Therefore, I invite you to peruse the following documents:

To summarize, back in 2006, the state’s commissioner of education hit Maria Cruz with an administrative complaint as a result of her conduct while she was employed as a teacher at Miami Beach Senior High and in charge of the school’s booster club. The material allegations listed in the complaint include misappropriating and mishandling school funds, failing to pay invoices when due, and altering checks(!). Her actions, per the complaint, resulted in approximately $69,000 flowing through the booster club’s account rather than the school’s internal account.

The complaint goes on to accuse Maria of, among other things, using institutional privileges for personal gain, failing to maintain honesty in all professional dealings, and submitting a fraudulent document in connection with professional activities.

Interestingly, Maria Cruz, Mrs. I stand on principle in everything I do and will not be intimidated and will never back down from a fight ever, elected not to contest the allegations of the complaint. Instead, she accepted a settlement agreement that resulted in her receiving a formal reprimand, being placed on probation for three years, having to take ethics courses, and paying a $1,000 fine. The reprimand, by the way, admonishes Maria for lessening the reputation of all who practice the profession [teaching].

Charming, isn’t she?

L'état, c'est moi (I am the State)

In the event you think Maria’s ethical troubles as a teacher were a one-off, an anomalous lapse of judgement or even a misunderstanding, I urge you to speak with virtually anyone who has worked for the city over the past decade. Talk to the people who have had to deal with Maria, and you will soon realize that her sense of impunity is as strong as her sense of entitlement:

Or, perhaps, submit a public records request for all information pertaining to the ongoing code-enforcement brouhaha that is liable to see Maria land once again in hot water with ethics authorities. Ponder, if you like, the appropriateness of a member of the city’s code-enforcement board skulking around the city to identify potential code violations that have been committed by the mayor’s close friends and allies. Consider how problematic it can be when that violation is brought before the board but said member (the one who reported the violation) opines at length on the matter despite supposedly recusing herself. All of this, by the way, is the subject of a complaint that was allegedly filed with the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics. Savor the sheer Joe Carollo-ness of it all.

Maybe you should sit this one out

I don’t take any pleasure in this. In fact, I’ve been aware of Maria’s shady past for years and have held my tongue. To an extent, I continue to hold it. What I have revealed is only the tip of the iceberg with regard to Maria’s troubling behavior. I would have been perfectly happy to never write a word on any of this.

But let’s be clear, Maria is not engaging in mere political opposition. She is actively trying to destroy a man’s life. She is accusing him of being a criminal without offering a shred of evidence. She is (ostensibly) leading an effort whose central message is that Lago is not just a bad mayor, but a corrupt one; that he is so inimical to the well-being of our community that his being defeated at the polls next April would not be enough, and that, as was the case with the Great Satan, Peter Iglesias, he must be relieved of his post in disgrace.

So says the noxiously vile personification of malice and hypocrisy who was run out of the teaching profession in disgrace.

Summation

Each post in this series will conclude with a sort of updated summation of what we have learned about the recall. Here is where we stand:

An individual who was found by the state to have mishandled a large sum of money, who has been condemned for gross immorality and moral turpitude, and who is regarded by many in the community thoroughly corrupt is leading a recall effort that accuses without evidence a mayor who is currently up for reelection of being corrupt, and that said recall effort may have already violated state law by using paid canvassers to circulate and witness petitions.

More to come…