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I, Denny Wood, on Oct. 17, 2011, filed the paperwork to run for the Miami-Dade County Mayor in 2012. Here is why: I, Denny Wood, after seeing huge salaries given to Department Heads, Deputy Mayors and others in the Mayor's team, I just said "Enough!" The Mayor, Deputy Mayors, Department Heads, Commissioners and Commission aides and all other county administrators and county employee’s can work for $100,000 annually, and I said "Enough!" We can get better for a lot less! Government Service is not supposed to be "hitting the lottery". And to the huge County Employee Club of over $100,000+ I just say give it back. Put it in the General Revenue Fund because we will need it this year coming up in 2012. When elected, it will have to be given up. The $100,000+ annual salary club for County Employees is over. "Wake up and smell the daisies, we can't afford you!" However, if an employee could demonstrate innovation in writing that saved the county money then I would support bonus pay. I do not see any such innovation, but it might be there, somewhere. "When classic Americans With Disabilties Act (ADA) ADA violators were retained as Department Heads or appointed as Department heads by the new Mayor, I just said "Enough!" After seeing my requests for an appointment to discus the Status of Disability in County Government, and many other important issues presented to the Mayor and mayoral staff go unanswered I just said "Enough!" After listening to Commercial Property Owners on their Property taxes, I just said "Enough" When I see "our" government employees and consultants wanting to make the busway loaded with more tolls, when I advocate doing away with all tolls I just say "Enough!" In regards to ADA County Compliance, required in 1990, it has not happened under all of the Mayors and Commissions since that date. 21 years of failure. I will fire all the department ADA coordinators and have just one, working out of the Office of the Mayor. Department Directors and only department directors are responsible for ADA compliance within their departments. For over 30 years the County bureaucrats have run us advocates and me around and it is time just to say "Enough!" Ultimately, in a Charter County it is the Mayor who is the Chief Code Enforcement Officer of all Florida Laws and Building Codes. That is where the buck stops. We have 12 County swimming pools, two have been "under construction" for 2 years. Half of these pools close when school begins. WHY? Some of the pools are heated and NOT SOLAR heated. We need to keep the pools open, 9 AM to 9 PM, every day and operate as a business. Privatization may be the answer. Infants, toddlers, pre-K, Kindergarten, grade school, college students and all other adults need to learn how to swim. I just say "enough of this nonsense!" I invite every reader and taxpayer to join in the building of this, our Mayoral platform. I did not stutter. I said "our" Mayoral platform. Yes, this will be a real "grass roots" Mayoral platform. And yes, I can be mayor for less than $100,000, do at least 40 hours a week, and work on many of the "government worker" holidays. More to follow. I filed to run on October 17, 2011 and this is just part one of us, not me, building the Mayoral platform. Updated: October 25, 2011. Denny Wood 305-253-2563
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Denny Wood Campaign Account for Mayor
P.O.B. 570136, Miami, FL 33257
a block from One Stop Service by Denny Wood
9855 E. Fern Street, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157
And see www.dignity4disabled.net, a site I publish with a lot of help from Paul Kruger of www.stuffdone.com.
Paul has tried to teach me how to do the updates of this web site and the dignity web site. That is why you
can see a lot of room for improvement.
Resume is at www.dignity4disabled.com, left side, "Publisher's Resume".
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DENNY WOOD was invited for a signing by Gov. Askew, one of 12 bills in 1974, that I was the pro bono prime "lobbyist" on. My job was to usher them through the legislative process to the desk of the Governor. This bill would change the way commercial buildings and homes and duplexes and larger residential buildings would include facilities for people with disabilities, i.e. ramps,restrooms etc. I, Denny Wood, would returned to the Legislature 12 more times, in 75, 76, 85, 86, 87, 89, 93, 94, 04, 05, 06, each time leaving more statutes, appropriations for people with disabilities, all "Pro Bono" efforts. Often, but not always, my expenses were paid by people with disabilities not for profit organizations across Florida. In 2006 I, discovered a great void in the Officer Down Memorial erected in 2000 in the Capitol Courtyard. Police Officers killed in the line of duty got their names added to the base of the memorial. In 2006, I saw that people rarely noticed the memorial. And I decided to fix this with a life size statue. On March 9, 2009 the statue was unveiled. The Governor was the keynote speaker. I, Denny wood, sat in the back row and was recognized verbally that day by the Director of the Police Benevolent Association, John Rivera, as the concept designer of the statue. The story about this unveiling ran in Florida newspapers. The Miami Herald was the only major newspaper in Florida that chose not to run the story and photo of the Officer Down Memorial. The statue unveiling story was put out by the Associated Press and the Herald reporters based in Tallahassee knew about the unveiling of the statue on March 9, 2009.See more photos and story at www.dignity4disabled.com. Statutes get amended the next year,statues stay
In 1993 and 1994, l passed meaningful legislation at the Florida Legislature, and laid low, knowing the capitol building was loaded with ADA violations and barriers. Retaliation at the Capitol is a real entity to be avoided. During the Jeb Bush administration I attempted to get the Department of Justice to step in and sue the State of Florida. Brother Bush, kind of made such a suit not possible. This suit was pursued up until a year ago with the Department of Justice. Giving up, our Florida Paraplegic Association, Inc. sued. No lawyer would take the case. I ended up doing it pro se. The first judge dismissed the suit without prejudice as I was not a "lawyer" and could not represent our corporation. Still no lawyer would take the case. I eliminated the FPA and filed the suit pro se as myself as the plaintiff. The State decided "not to fight the suit" and began removing barriers at the Capitol building. The state wasted 120 days with extentions to do the settlement. The case will go to mediation. There is a lot more more to this lawsuit, including the state acknowledging the retaliation I experienced in 2005 and 2006 for publishing the ADA Capitol Report in 2004 on www.dignity4disabled.com a web site I also publish. When the suit is concluded, the state buidings in Florida will have an ADA transition plan, even though it was supposed to be created in 1992. And barrier removal will follow. The City of Miami, was also sued for this missing ADA Transition Plan, and by the Florida Paraplegic Association, Inc. ADA barrier removal is a tough business and Miami-Dade County is over ripe for an ADA lawsuit. Too many parks, new facilities, and older buildings just keep being put aside on the ADA barrier removal. This is a result of historically excluding people with disabilites in County hiring practices. When you don't get hired, you do not move up the ladder into policy making positions. People with disabilities are included in words in the County Affirmative Action Ordinance but in annual reports, not a page is written on people with disabilities. Updated 10-29, 2011
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2012 PLATFORM STATEMENT Keep the 12 county swimming
pools open all year. Run the
pools like a business. Privatize
the pools if necessary.
And
Erect signs so every tourist and
taxpayer can find these well
hidden county tax supported
pools.
*******
Heat the county swimming
pools with solar panels.
**********
End the over $100,000 county
administrative salaries. We can
get better administration, for less.
You must visit this web site:
http://factreal.files.wordpres...
to see the 3000 employees taking
over $110K, plus benefits. This is
where salary and job cuts are
neededto keep policeon the streets,
givedetectives backtheir cell phones
and find policecontinued education
courses,especially in forensics to
catchand put away the bad people
who successfuly prey upon us
Many of these over $100K positions
are justnot needed to run the
government efficiently.
updated 1-7-2012
*********
Finish the Americans With
Disabilities rennovations, in
county buildings and facilities
(ADA) that were required
beginning in 1992.
*********
Work with the legislature to cut
commercial taxes by 20% to to
reflect current economy.
************
Work with the legislature to
change Commercial Buildings law
to require 40 year old buildings
to 50 years be inspected.
********
Change law to begin Commercial
Building Inspection to 50 years
rennovated after hurricanes so
that the 40-50 years begins at
hurricane rennovation date,
not the original permit date.
********
Stop Water and Sewer &
Public Works from
erecting signs, sign posts and
fire hydrants on the public
sidewalks. Are obstacles for
the blind. Palmetto Bay just got
more fire hydrants along S.
Dixie Hwy. Some are not on the
sidewalks, many are. I guess it
takes hiring blind staff into the
Water and Sewer Department and
Public Works, who just find ways
to erect more signs on the sidewalks
when there are ways to erect the
signs so they are not anchored
in the middle of the sidewalks.
Historically, Miami-Dade has not
hired or recruited people with
disabilities even to be receptionists
much less policy making people.
1-7-2012
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Speaking of exclusion. The
hiring practices of people
withdisabilities is so bad that
annualor semi-annual reports
on hiringof minorities does not
even haveone page regarding
this class.People with disabilities
in CountyGovernment do not
even fit into"Last to be hired,
first to be fired".
When government figures out that
it is cheaper to make taxpayers
outof tax recipients to keep them
underthe poverty line, then
governmentwill really help all
taxpayers out.
Posted1-7-2012
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On police fire fighter salaries: When
they decided to become police or
fire fighters, theyknew what the
salary ranges were:
Salary range for MDFR is:
$35,000 to $65,000
Salary range for MDPD is: $40,932 - $68,827
They were told about the benefits and
pension plan.
They also knew that their situation was
also at the hands of legislative bodies.
Like the job, some employer-employee
risks.
The fire fighters and police have every
right to expect that their employment
deal be kept. And these deals must be
kept.
The future deals offered may not be so
rosy, thanks to a very difficult new
economy that has been forced onto
America.
*********************************
Reduce wait time for 311 by
listing county employees phones,
fax and e-mail addresses at
create 311.com, where county offices
can be accessed on line quickly:
Name, phone, fax, e-mail, address.
AND
reduce the bus complaints to 311
(12,000 every 6 months) by fixing
the bus system. I have already
submitted the fix the bus system
document to the County government
and can e-mail it to you on request.
It is clear that no one in the County
is going to try to fix the bus system
as of 1-7-2012. They have only taken
one suggestion, to repeat the lift
requested message in Spanish. But not
the other audible messages, like which
street is next. Dumb. Or the in English
only messages on bus windows about
seating for the elderly and disabled.
Still English and no Spanish. The
majority of the riders who take these
seats speak Spanish only. The
administration in power just does not
care. Solution: Change the
administration. Look at the site:
http://factreal.files.wordpres...
See the big, bloated salaries of
these tranist employees and ask
why all this personnel cannot fix the
bus system. Posted 1-7-2012
***************
I will work with the Legislature to
remove all tolls in Miami-Dade by
collecting the same money at the
gas pump.
Tolls are bad for tourism, and
taxpayers are fed up with the
tolls, and new tolls being proposed.
MDX even wants tolls on the South
Dade Busway that goes to
Homestead.
**************
I will fight the State and the Fed
on creating bicycle lanes on S.
Dixie Hwy, when we already have
a bicycle path along the busway.
**************
Require crime victims rights
information for elderly and
disabled, up to $500 restitution,
be given by police to these crime
victions. Current Police Director
is fighting this action.
Withholding this valuable
information is like
being double victimized.
Once by Criminals
and once by the Police.
**************
I will replace Police Director
Loftus, Building Director Danger,
Parks Director Kardis, Director
Sola, ADA "Co-ordinator" Johnson,
Transit Director Llort, and all ADA
violators not listed.
*****************
I will eliminate the political, who
you know, "gets the grant" Mom and
Pop "Grant" Program that allows
Commissioners to dole out $4,000
grants, not loans, of our taxpayer
money to small businesses. One
woman at the budget hearing
supported the program and told how
he had gotten two such grants
and thought this give away of our
tax dollars was a wonderful
program. This dole program
money would be better used
feeding elderly and homeless.
**************
The illegal ADA and State Building
Code violations in the Building
Department would also vanish with
the new Director. Our Building
Department Director is a classic
ADA violator. His Counter does
not have the 36 x 36 inch area for
short people per State Law.
****************
The Building Department needs a
complete overhaul from plans
processing, inspections, to final
inspections from the zoning
department to the cashier process.
An Accessibility Section will be
created to enforce the access laws.
The Buioding Department in house
NSF collection agency will vanish
and the best collection agency in
the county would be used,
which is the Office of the State
Attorney Bad Check collection section
which businesses use at no cost and
the State Attonrey always collects,
with interest.
*************
As mayor I would terminate the
"contract lobbyists" who are
hired for political reasons. This
includes Ronnie Book and his
influence peddling, the "buying" of
legislators and county elected officials.
Giving Ronnie Book $250,000 plus
expenses for "part time" lobbying for
the county, and representing other
corporate clients does not "wash" or
mix. Miami Dade employees adequately
lobby for the County at the legislature.
And they DO NOT get $250,000 for a
sixty day session yearly. They do
the work at the capitol full time, not
with divided corporate interests.
The County Commission should be
ashamed of this annual $250,000, plus
pay out to Ronnie Book. Especially
commissioners who accept campaign
contributions from the Ronnie Book
money machine. The Commission in
January voted to retain lobbyist
Book and his money machine.
Book is still getting $200,000.00
for servicesat the legislature that
are unneeded.The contract is
month to month.
This is just a continuaton of an
annual rip off contract of 2006,
that rolls over annually. The
commission does not even request
weekly reports on what this money
is being spent for.
Disgusting 1-13-2012
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I will institute a program that picks up
all phone books, out of date for the
purpose of keeping such books out of
the landfills. Recycling pays. AT&T
visits offices dropping off the books,
and could as well pick up the old ones.
The program will attempt to keep all
phone books out of the landfills.
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Police take home cruiserswill pay the
off duty mileage a fair rate. Mileage
will be recorded for both on duty
and off duty. The same will apply for
any other take home cars. No other
non police vehicles will be purchased.
They must have oil changes by GSA
every 3,000 miles. That cost is $50.
Because the GSA employees cost so
much says the Budget Director at the
1-5-2012 PBA commission meeting.
Give the police $20.00 a month
to go to Jiffy lube every 2,000 miles.
This cost savings will reduce GSA
personnel costs and keep more police
on the streets. There are lots of better
ways to run the county like a business.
1-7-2012. ("PBA commission meeting":
Chairman Martinez turned over
the meeting to the PBA, several
of which brought food and drink
past the no food or drinks signs,
stood and clapped, forbidden
at other budget hearings, gave
officer down victims unlimited time
to speak and support the PBA
position, and their testimony had
nothing to do with the 5% issue
andthe meeting was capped off
with Police DirectorLoftus
and his two companions
goingout to get drinks and bring
theminto the Commission
Chambers. Chairman Martinez
made it quite clear which side
he was on. He reeked of the PBA
endorsement so bad that his peers
ought to have taken away his
chairmanship of the Commission.)
*******************************
As mayor I would advocate a
charterchange to elect the Miami-
Dade PoliceDirector. Our current
Director gets"wheeled out" at
commission meetingsto support
the current mayor of theday.
And testifies accordingly. We
need an independent Police
Director,who we can deal with at
election time.
1-7-2012.
On1-5-2012 our current director
showed his contempt of decorum
and rules atthe county commisson
by bringing drinkspast signs that
said no drinks or foodinside the
chamber. He and his two
companionshad their drinks in
theirseats while
most of us other observers went
downstairs and ate and drank
outside thecommission. The rule is
quite old andalways enforced,
but not at the "PBA
commission hearing".
This Director serves at the pleasure
of the current mayor. As
Commissioner,the mayor saw Loftus
wheeled out tocall the STS call center
a bunch of crooks.At least as
commissioner the mayor saw
through the mis-use of power over
thePolice Director. Now the Mayor
does thesame thing. And for
$200,000K plusbenefits you "toe
the line for who youwork for".
If elected, you represent the will of
the people, not the will of the mayor.
Posted 1-7-2012
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All significant crime scenes will have
DNA and Fingerprints taken by the
police personnel doing the crime report.
Police, police aides, detectives will all
be trained to collect and process such
evidence. Funding for this training will
be selling the police motorcycles and
making these officers Forensic
specialists.Funding will be sought
from insurance companies. The Federal
Government must have grants for
crime fighting programs.We need
to catch thieves, not just write police
reports for insurance companies.
Example, 5 air conditioners were
stripped for copper in the Perrine
area. (Nov. 2011) No DNA or
fingerprinting.The recycling business,
in walking and shopping cart pushing
distance is required by new regulation
to finger print the copper sellers.
Got a platform issue for my
consideration:
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Unexplained high water bills, these
bills must be forgiven by the County
if there is no explaination by the
County finding a water leak. As mayor
I will see these bills reversed and
all payment plans stopped and refunds
given.
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Last Updated (Tuesday, 31 January 2012 18:48)
