Mayor Jimmy Weekley and three of the six Key West City Commissioners are up for reelection this year. The Commissioners are Percy Curry, Carmen Turner and Tom Oosterhoudt. We don't have any special inside information as to who might do what, but here are some likely scenarios.
You can certainly look for Weekley to run again for another two-year term. He's already been on the Commission for more than 15 years. This is his life. And he is very good at carrying water for his Bubba pals. He will again be heavily financed, which could discourage opposition. He may not be able to con the transient rental landlords again, however. You may recall that, when he was running for mayor in 1999, he soaked the pro-transient rental folks for thousands of dollars— only to have to recuse himself, once elected, from voting on this issue because his family's grocery store has a lucrative deal to stock many of the rental units on a regular basis.
Also, expect to see Carmen Turner run again. She, too, has found a home— and a steady income. We predict she could become the Wilhelmina Harvey of the City Commission.
We hear that Curry may not run again— but he may get pressure from his Bubbas who like the fact that, with Curry on the Commission, Harry Bethel has two votes. But whether Curry runs or not, expect to see retired Attorney George Maurer make a run for that seat. We hope so. Maurer made a fun run for the mayor's chair in 1999. But since that time, he's gotten serious. He has attended virtually every City Commission meeting, as well as many meetings of the various boards. He does his homework and— if you read his regular column in this newspaper— you know that he cuts to the heart of even the most complicated issue. Imagine that asset on the City Commission.
Also, if Maurer runs, he may not have to solicit a single political contribution. A few months ago, he won a high-profile lawsuit in Detroit with a payoff of more than $11 million. He won't tell us how much of that bundle he got personally, but we do know that he handled the case on a contingency basis. It's a safe bet that he got at least enough to run a well-financed campaign for the Key West City Commission.
Oosterhoudt will run again, this time for the full four-year term. The reason he has to run again so soon is that, in 1999, he ran for the remaining two years on the Commission seat Weekley gave up to run for mayor.
It should be really interesting to see what happens here. The establishment Bubbas, including City Manager Julio Avael, want the outspoken Oosterhoudt off that Commission. They want it bad. They don't like him because they can't control him.
You may recall that, early on, Avael sent his hired henchman, Paul Clayton, to try to bully Oosterhoudt into line. It didn't work.
A problem for the Bubbas is that the qualities they hate in Oosterhoudt are the very same qualities that just may give him a lock on the District 1 seat. Keep in mind that, to win that seat in 1999, he had to beat two of the strongest Commission candidates to come along in years— Michael Ingram and Art Kara.
Speaking of Avael, did you see the headline in the Citizen Wednesday? Our City Manager is interviewing for the job of Miami-Dade County Manager. Many people here hope he'll be offered the job and that he'll take it and get the hell out of town. He would fit right in up there.
Many here are still disgusted at Avael's dishonorable performance in forcing former Police Chief Ray Peterson to retire. With the departure of Avael, maybe we could entice Peterson to come back.
As you may know, Peterson did come down (he's living in Jupiter, Florida) during the recent election campaign to help State Attorney candidate Mark Kohl defeat longtime incumbent Kirk Zuelch. And we know that Kohl discussed with Peterson the possibility of Peterson coming down to work in the State Attorney's Office as a special investigator. Peterson said he was happy being retired.
But it would have been interesting to see Peterson in that role— just to see the cockroaches in City