1639-20 Politics TUE NOV 01 1983 ED: FINAL
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: 1D LENGTH: 632 MEDIUM
ILLUST:
SOURCE: CHARLES WHITED Herald Columnist
DATELINE:
MEMO:
NEVER-ENDING SQUABBLES HURT MIAMI BEACH
Miami Beach politics is no place for the squeamish, the thin-skinned or
the seeker of longevity in public office, especially in the mayor' s job.
Nowhere, I 'm convinced, is there a more contentious and fickle electorate
than in this seven-mile-long city of 96, 000 people, most of them older than
65 . As a political wag told me recently: "To run for anything in Miami Beach,
you 've got to be a glutton for punishment. "
Today, the 42 , 000-odd Beach voters will again exercise that noisy
biennial rite of selecting a mayor and several commissioners. As in years gone
by, the effort crackles with squabbles over candidates and issues, some of
them bizarre.
Here, in the onetime "Playground of America, " we've seen old folks
circulating leaflets saying "Tourists Go Home. " in their wrath over moves to
curb proliferation of elderly-congregate living homes. And here, ex-Mayor
Murray Meyerson, once staunch against casino gambling, fuels a new bid for the
mayor' s chair by envisioning a glittering city casino chock-full of slot
machines atop the Convention Hall.
One expert on Beach politics was saying to me Monday: "In recent years,
divisiveness and bitterness have increased. There are tremendous differences
between interests: senior citizens, homeowners, condominium owners, hotel
owners. The community needs to start bringing its factions together. "
Jay Dernier speaking. He ' s not running for anything. I called him because
he is the only living man to serve two consecutive terms as mayor of Miami
Beach in the past 20 years. In those two decades eight mayors have come and
gone. In the same period, Metro, Miami and Hialeah have each had three mayors.
So much for leadership continuity in Miami Beach.
The Beach commissioners, however, have fared better. Most notable for
staying power has been Leonard Weinstein, whose decision not to seek
reelection now closes out 16 years in office.
In addition to Dermer, two other mayors managed to serve more than two
years in a row. Chuck Hall died midway in his second term in 1974 . Harold
Rosen completed Hall ' s term and was reelected to a full term. Rosen did not
choose to run a second time. Earlier, Kenneth Oka served two nonconsecutive
terms as mayor, once in the late 1950s and again in the early ' 60s.
Says Rosen: "I loved the job, but economically I couldn't handle it. With
three kids in college, I was spending 90 per cent of my time on city business
and not earning a decent living. "
Beach mayors, and their terms, in the past two decades: Melvin Richard,
1963-65; Elliott Roosevelt, 1965-67 ; Dermer, 1967-71; Chuck Hall, 1971 to
mid-1974 ; Rosen, 1974-77 ; Dr. Leonard Haber, 1977-79; Meyerson, 1979-81, and
Norman Ciment, 1981-83 . Ciment withdrew from this election amid furor over his
opposition to elderly board-and-care homes and his vow to keep out of Miami
Beach Cuban exiles freed from federal prisons.
Why so many changes in mayors?
"Voters tend to be impatient, " reasons Dermer. "If a mayor doesn 't
accomplish everything in two years, they will put him out. Some mayors try
their best, but experience such vicious infighting of Beach politics that they
decide they've had enough. "
Dermer himself declined to run for a third term, but challenged veteran
U.S. Rep. Claude Pepper (D. , Miami) for Congress and was defeated.
Today' s election comes at a time of historic depression for Miami Beach.
Dermer feels that lack of leadership continuity has aggravated conditions.
Rosen does not necessarily agree. Both former mayors, however, acknowledge one
point: It' s time to bury the hatchets.
"Miami Beach is turning around, " says Rosen. "We've got big things going.
Political leadership is important. "
Dermer hopes the new mayor, whoever he is, will marshall a blue-ribbon
committee to end factionalism, stress conciliation and compromise. "The mayor
needs to say, 'Let ' s start working for the betterment of Miami Beach. ' "
Personally, I 'm not optimistic.
ADDED TERMS: mi mayor history namelist
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