I ENDORSE DAVID HAIGHT FOR

DOTHAN CITY COMMISSION DISTRICT 3 ENDORSEMENT

Perhaps it is not my place to endorse David Haight. I do not live in Dothan, Alabama – I’m from small town Ohio and currently live in a very urban part of Miami.

 

David doesn’t even know I’m writing this – he most certainly did not solicit it.

 

But I want voters to know that David Haight is man of high character. Having worked as a journalist covering politics and having worked for the Chair of the Miami City Commission – I have seen more than my share of folks who run for office for their own benefit.

 

My friend and colleague David is running to serve. He brings virtually unmatched experience as a town planner. His very hard work and dedication has improved hundreds of cities in Florida and far beyond.

 

I’ve known David for the better part of a decade. He came into my life when I was transitioning from marketing urban design to writing and speaking about creating a better built environment for people with disabilities. He experienced the disability of a family member firsthand.

 

David has been a wonderful mentor and coach to my labor of love – teaching planners and leaders about Universal Design and creating places where people young and old can move about safely.

 

As a professional with a career spanning a half century, David has taught countless planners – diverse folks from all backgrounds – who have gone on dedicated their lives to making cities places that serve everyday residents.

David Haight will listen, draw from his experience, inject his strong moral/ethical character and flat out do good things for the good people of Dothan.

P.S. For the record, David and I would probably never agree on who should be in the White House or how it should be led. But that doesn't matter in a local election. He is a good man and a consummate professional.  

A GREAT MENTOR, A GREAT MAN

REST IN PEACE HUMBERTO ALONSO

It was the first month on the job with Commissioner Joe Sanchez.

I was 35, but so new to Miami, I felt about 16.

There was a meeting with the Miami Roads neighborhood group and I walked into a buzz saw over historic designation.

I did my best to listen, but was so flustered, I was questioning my competency and career choice as a walked to my car outside the Simpson Park meeting place.

A person I didn't know from any of the others walked up, smiled and told me what a good job I'd done representing my boss and dealing with angry people while listening and being fair.

Of course it was Humberto. I think he was the chair or second in charge.

I'd run into him at City Hall when He was Still the South Florida Water Management District leader.

He always remembered that night and told me I had "done good."

H (and I call him that because that's how he always signed his private emails: dash-H) would weave in and out of my life for nearly two decades.

He met me on Coral Way for breakfast when I needed to re-invent myself when my boss was termed out of office. He mentored, advised and reinforced.

H even took a chance on a small firm I was marketing and gave them a big boost to work as a sub with Atkins on the portfolio-building Smart Plan project.

It seems like he would always cross paths with me when I was challenged by a new project, pursuing a new opportunity or just being a fellow core of Miami (me next door in Shenandoah to his Roads) neighbor.

I could fill 10 screens and not be halfway into sharing all the times when H taught me something, introduced me to someone who could help me, served as a sounding board -- in person and over the phone -- for some big idea that I had.

Always the smile, always the laugh.

Always a story about the old times in Miami, always a gentle, father-figure friend -- who also was the consummate pro in every job he ever held.

All my love to your family and rest in peace, H.

One part of me is weeping, but the other one cannot stop smiling for all the happy memories of a bright and kind man who lived life well.