“Victimhood Status Syndrome”

On January 6^th neighbor Dori Zieman wrote on Next Door “same folks bullied an elected commissioner or 2 out of office and has created this special election that is costing us thousands. I remember the pressure for Jenny to resign posted here over and over again. Shameful.”

I also heard several other iterations of the same story… including from candidate Rafael Ciordia (who is no longer on Next Door seemingly… um, interesting) during our Meet the Candidates event. So, I thought it would be prudent to dig a little and get to the bottom of these allegations. For if true, it is something we should all be aware of and make sure those responsible are held accountable. These allegations should be taken seriously!

However… the actual truth tells a different story.

[ASIDE] the following information was sourced through a public records request from our police department. 

Let’s start with former commissioner Betsy Wise (as she was the first domino to fall, so to speak) On 1/13/2020, police Commander Nick Wollschlager writes (excerpts on all reports for brevity) "I responded to manager Manner’s office where former commissioner Wise was meeting with him. I advised Ms. Wise that I had questions regarding possible allegations of threats, etc. Ms. Wise stated that she felt her personal life and home privacy were extremely violated during her campaigning and time in office. (perhaps she should have thought of this before running….just sayin’) Further, that she “felt retaliated" on by individuals reporting her grass overgrown, and by having her information published online,” and so on. Ms. Wise stated that “at no point was she threatened or made to feel in fear for her safety.” No police report was filed.    

Next up is former commissioner Jenny Johnson-Sardella (same date and police officer) Jenny was asked if at any time during her time as a commissioner, or post resignation if she received any threats. She stated that “she could not recall any time she had been threatened or felt fear for her safety.” She went on to say that she “felt bothered and violated by the scrutiny of her personal and professional life,” however that she knows that is not a crime.  No police report was filed.

So, I assume these were the “two bullied out of office commissioners” Dori referred to. However truth be told, their quitting was what caused us the thousands of dollars Dori- not someone reporting “overgrown grass” or that their “personal lives felt bothered.” This is all part of public service. Also, what Dori failed to mention is that Jenny had not shown up to meetings for months, and that Betsy was a bloody nightmare to residents during her 10 short months in office. That's what was shameful. Facts matter Dori. And for the record, both of these women were Tracy’s handpicked choices to further her agenda.  

What say you?

BUT WAIT….THERE’S MORE    

Digging further, I discovered two additional instances of women reporting alleged threats to their safety.

On 1/14/20 Rebecca Rodriguez (former Village attorney) writes to (now suspended Village manager) Krishan Manners that “commissioner-elect Kennedy chased after me yelling at me as I walked to my car repeatedly calling me a coward. I was not escorted out, and his conduct was beyond inappropriate and threatening. I didn’t turn around to engage him and continued to walk to my car. He kept yelling. She states the Village has a security problem and all the women that have been on the dais the last few months are receiving threats, including me. That’s a big reason why the 2 commissioners resigned and are now selling their houses to move out of BP altogether. That’s how bad it is.” (I wasn’t aware that Jenny’s house is for sale- but none the less, let’s move on shall we?)

Due to this allegation, an offense-incident report was issued on 1/17/2020. However, the actual telling of the story is now a little different stating for the record that: “a resident chased after me yelling at me as I walked to my car.” (Oof, did Rebecca forget who the resident was over the past 3 days? But I digress) “There was so much commotion at that time (residents were chanting to drag the mayor from her house and fire her, if I recall) so no one would hear me if I called for help. So, I didn’t engage him and kept walking to my car. I locked the door and called the Village manager from my car. “

Now I find this very interesting as the Miami Herald reported that, “Rodriguez quickly walked out of the cabin and did not answer phone calls from the city manager.”

Is it just me or is something starting to smell fishy here? Are you starting to see a pattern?   

She further goes on to say that “residents attending meetings are being belligerent and agitated (some smelling of alcohol, honestly) with meetings becoming a volatile powder keg. I can’t bring a gun (...gulp) to Village Hall for these meetings. It’s a serious problem.”

(actual meeting footage) 

Now, here’s the kicker. “It’s my understanding that there had to be a police detail assigned to Betsy’s house due to what residents were posting online. (yes- #blametheinternet) It isn’t lost on me that these threats are being directed towards women, two of which are African American."

(So, when all else fails, pull out the race card. Well played Rebecca. SMH)

Also on 1/17/2020 an email was sent to Commander Nick Wollschlager from Rebecca. She starts off with, “a resident has emailed my law firm colleagues (her bosses really but, aw...never mind) a link to a blog which states I have karma coming to me “very very soon” and that she considered that to be a thinly-veiled threat to my personal safety.” Ok, this sounds familiar- and it should as this was one of MY own comments. But here is that comment verbatim, “But as one who believes in karma, I believe it is coming for them all.” So... where was the “very very soon” part, eh? Also, how in any way/world could this be described as a threat- thinly-veiled or otherwise being that Rebecca and I have only been in the same room twice (as I remember) with one of those times being at the downtown Courthouse? So... how could her "personal safety" possibly be compromised from such a distance? Seems a bit melodramatic doesn’t it? 

On 1/22/2020 our police detective contacted the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Pursuant to explaining the details of the two incidents, they stated that we have no crime, no suspects, no witnesses. Furthermore, they described this as a disgruntled resident. No other information.

3 DOWN…1 TO GO- HANG IN THERE READERS

On 1/31/2020 Tracy Truppman fires off an email to The Village manager, Chief of police AND Rebecca Rodriguez (who’s firm had already resigned and seemingly pulled her from further participation- so why then was she included?) stating “as discussed more than one time,” she’s concerned about her safety and “as both are aware, it has been reported that several residents smelled of alcohol” (heard that one before- right? Funny in that I have attended more meetings than both of these women combined and never smelled alcohol on anyone. And how did she/they determine this- are they both human breathalyzer tests perhaps?) Tracy goes on to mention that an audience member called to “drag the mayor (um...her) from out of her house and I take this as a clear threat.” And as of 1/30/2020, “the threat to me has not been investigated.”

 

So, natch, Krishan communicates back stating that he has brought the Chief into the loop (and Christina from code too for good measure- as she's like not in the field doing her actual job or anything) and they all listened to the recording and were STILL not able to determine the speaker. Further, that our Detective would further investigate this, etc. (who knows what Tracy had in store for this alleged offender that faux threatened her- at a meeting she didn't even attend? Oh, the horror!)

In closing here is the report from the Detective on 2/5/2020. (Excerpts for brevity)  He had spoken with David Hernandez, the Village manager, and all commissioners present that night.

·         David stated: “he did not hear the chant nor witness any disturbance or anyone out of line.”

·         Krishan: “Everything went smooth. (lol Krishan, just lol) there were no disturbances.” He also didn’t hear the chant.

·         Dan Samaria: He never heard anyone calling or chanting. There was no disturbance only people disappointed that Tracy was not present.

·         Will Tudor: states he thought he heard some say “drag the mayor out of her house.” But he follows with, “multiple people were talking and it was kind of loud." As such, he didn’t take that as a threat, but as a common phrase to get the person there. Lastly, he did not see or witness any hostile individual.

SO, HERE WE HAVE IT

I realize that this report went long, but don’t they always?

Moreover, how much time and human resources did Tracy demand be spent on what turned out to be a BIG nothing burger?

This is the reason why “we don’t believe all women" or anyone frankly without proof and evidence Rafael. I hope you understand that now. These women all spun their version of the same story, which was overblown and exaggerated for effect trying to play the victim. But, moreover, it's simply not true. And that’s a Charter violation people coming from elected and employees.

So, who spread this rumor originally? Dori?? Naw, she's just a mouthpiece for others. I have no proof- but can connect the dots for myself. I encourage you to do the same.

In looking at the facts, none of these women were actually threatened; and there is no proof that anything out of line occurred. But the disinformation flowed just the same.  

Standing Watch,

Milton Hunter

The Biscayne Parker