Ethics Watchdogs Hold Surfside Public Forum After ‘Significant' Amount of Complaints

The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust held a public forum Wednesday in the Town of Surfside, spurred on by “a significant volume of inquiries" from residents about the actions of their city leaders.

In short, people in the town have filed many, many ethics complaints against their new mayor and commissioners, at times cc’ing the county ethics board on emails.

“I can say that there has been, in the past, and there continues to be, a significant volume of inquiries from Surfside residents about municipal transactions,” said Jose Arrojo, executive director of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.

County ethics watchdog wanted to go over what’s an ethics violation or not with community members and city leaders. They hope to educate the community so people in Surfside don’t overwhelm the commission. The newly elected mayor Shlomo Danzinger believes the number of complaints could be in the hundreds spurred on by a small but active group of people.

The commission on ethics focused on the ethics codes and the citizens' bill of rights, including voting conflicts, prohibited actions against private business, and exploitation of official position.

The ethics commission reviews every email they receive and determines if it fits the legal definition of an ethical complaint. Several people in Surfside told NBC 6 that they have been interviewed for investigations into their elected leaders.

Danzinger told NBC 6 that the complaints come from a group of residents who just disagree with the direction they’re taking the city policy-wise.

“You can’t please all of the people all of the time,” Danzinger said.

Four of the five people on the commission this year are new, voted into office after a turbulent couple of years where meetings often devolved into insults and shouting matches. Some of the scuffles come from the condo collapse — which killed 98 people in 2021 — but not all of them.

“It stems from the commission just being very dismissive over what residents want,” said Robert Lisman, a Surfside resident who filed several ethics complaints against commissioners.

A series of controversies popped up in the small community in the past two years.

Lisman felt misled after past and present commissioners said residents would not have to pay for undergrounding Florida Power and Light utilities but will now pay through a thirty-year bond.

Earlier this summer, commissioners moved forward with an ordinance to allow hotels to have more beach chairs on the beach. Some people in town started a petition opposing the measure, worrying increased crowds will change the beach environment and interfere with sea turtles.

“That again is a policy change, not an ethical issue,” Danzinger said

Then, there was the decision to remove an LGBTQ Pride flag over city hall after Danzinger worried the town would have to put up other flags to be fair.

Lisman said he feels the new leaders are acting in their own interests and beliefs instead of in the best interest of the town. Earlier this summer, Danzinger had police escort a woman from the commission meeting for not speaking on agenda topics.

“Silencing us just because they disagree. That’s not ok,” Lisman said.

Another of Lisman’s concerns is one commissioner, Nelly Velasquez, posting comments on the community website Nextdoor. Lisman worries her posts on commission issues are a violation of the Florida Sunshine Law.

Velasquez is the only commissioner remaining from the former commission. She told NBC 6 she posted on Nextdoor to talk about items the previous commission accomplished. She said she detailed how the current commission only talks about walkability and “changing the code to favor friends and personal business.”

“I don’t see how that would be a potential sunshine violation,” Velasquez said.

Danzinger told NBC 6 that he and the other commissioners must be careful not to respond or comment on her posts, which would open them up to a violation. To him, it reminds him of the past few years when city leaders would lash out against each other on social media.

“This is bad behavior that has to be unlearned,” Danzinger said.

Danzinger says the ethics commission is coming to Surfside to “educate the public on what constitutes an ethical violation versus just not agreeing with policy in the hopes that they can reduce the volume of emails they are being sent.”

To the idea that people can vote the commission out of office next election, Lisman said, “That’s dismissive. Elected officials should be representing all residents of Surfside.”

For context, the town of Surfside is small. Less than 1,500 people voted in the last election where a person doesn’t need the majority to win; they only need the most votes. For example, Danzinger ousted the incumbent mayor with just 35% of the vote. Only 35 votes separated all three candidates. No commissioner received more than 21% of the vote.

It creates a contentious situation where the incumbents are not the first choice of most of the town.

The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust provides ethics training for elected officials, board members, employees, lobbyists, vendors, and staff for local governments. Arrojo told NBC 6 it is “far less” common to do training for an entire community.

Arrojo does say the county ethics code does not ban actions creating “an appearance of impropriety.”