A Times Editorial

Yes on Miami-Dade home rule

Thanks to a county charter written into the state Constitution in 1957, voters throughout Florida are being drawn into a heated intramural fight in Miami-Dade County. The question is this: Should state lawmakers from Miami-Dade be able to ask county voters whether they want to change their charter?

This may draw a yawn in most parts of the state, but the Miami-Dade County Commission is paying a Washington, D.C., consultant $1.8-million to wage a campaign against it. The commissioners make a valid argument. They say the amendment would remove a measure of control now vested solely in the county. They also note the unseemly politics at play -- that the sponsor of this constitutional amendment was Rep. Carlos Lacasas, who wants the county to change to a strong mayor form of government.

The problem with the commission's hysteria, though, is that no other county can identify with it. In Miami-Dade, the charter can be changed in one of only two ways: the commission votes to put the issue on the ballot, or voters petition to put it on the county ballot. In every other Florida county, there is at least one more option: the local legislative delegation can file a bill to put the issue on the ballot.

That third option does not devastate local government rule and can sometimes serve voters well. For example, in Pinellas, the County Commission adamantly refused for years to consider a single-member district form of representation. The legislative delegation stepped forward to place the item on the ballot. In 1999, voters approved it.

Stripped of the political hyperbole, this amendment amounts to one more way that county voters can have a voice in their government. We recommend YES.

Ballot summary

Proposing an amendment to Section 6 of Article VIII of the State Constitution to authorize amendments or revisions to the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter by special law approved by a vote of the electors of Miami-Dade County.

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