Roberts-
1. Recent and Relevant Experience in Miami Beach Government.

 A commissioner makes decisions on complex issues that affect all the residents sometimes for years to come. These decisions require a thorough knowledge of the city structure, the procedures of government and the ethical code for elected officials. Commissioners represent all the residents in all the areas and all the constituents of business, culture and tourism. I am prepared to be a competent informed commissioner of Miami Beach. Not only have I been active in the community as a condo president, and member of Save Dade, ECOMB, the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, Temple Emanu-El, The Miami Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Lambda Legal, I have also served on the City Beach Preservation Committee. I am currently a member of the Board of Adjustment. Appointed by Saul Gross and elected unanimously by the Commissioners, I will complete my first two-year term in December, on this quasi-legal board that makes decisions for the City. During 2006 and 2007 I was on the Beach Preservation Committee serving as chair in 2007. My experience is recent and relevant.

2. Independent voice with fresh ideas, common sense and a commitment to common purpose and civility to the Commission.

I was not selected by one commissioner or another to be a candidate. I filed to run a year ago in October 2008 to run as an independent voice to truly represent the best interests of Miami Beach without a preconceived agenda. I believe that Miami Beach is best served by my philosophy that business and residents must find common ground so that our tourism flourishes, our beaches are protected and our streets are safe. 

Sometimes it seems that the commission is split into two camps and with this election each side is attempting to ‘count to four” that is build a coalition of like-minded commissioners. I promise that I will never vote along a “party line” but will independently assess each issue and vote on the merits. 

3. Passion for the Preservation of Our Way of Life

I am passionate about Miami Beach. We came here on vacation and never left. Our historic buildings and the unique character of our neighborhoods must be protected while fostering our business and tourism industry. The cultural arts cannot be the victim of this recession and I will work to see that our limited resources are distributed fairly.  I want to preserve our past and protect our future.  

SOBEGAYINFO.COM- With the massive flooding that occurred this year, it brought attention to something that has been overlooked for years, drainage and sewer systems needing to be updated.  What will you do as commissioner to address this large scale problem of allowing new development without addressing infrastructure improvements?  

Roberts - First and foremost we must let our infrastructure catch up with our growth. I oppose overdevelopment but I am not opposed to progress. Plans need to be current. Recently I attended a meeting of the residents on Indian Creek. There is a plan to dig up their streets to fix some utility issues. I asked what they were going to do with the drainage while they had access. The answer was “not much” because the plans were 10 years old. I find this unacceptable. Update the plans and coordinate the work. This saves money and inconvenience to the owners and businesses. Money is not abundant, but what we do have needs to be fairly distributed and we need some basic common sense solutions.

SOBEGAYINFO.COM- It seems that Miami Beach has a certain fondness on regulating every aspect of life and business.  For example, the red tape involved in flying a flag including the permits and above-average costs required to do so.  With so much regulation, there needs to be money to pay for the enforcement of the rules as well as money to pay for the people to process the paperwork involved. What will you do to address our city's need to over-regulate? 

Roberts - I believe the city should be protected with reasonable regulations and competent compliance personnel who make fair and consistent rulings. I would advocate a top down staff education so that businesses and residents get accurate and complete information in a timely manner. Permitting is at the top of my list. It took us 6 months to get the permits to repair the pool at our condominium. There are so many horror stories about the process and the seemingly endless requirements. Besides education we need to streamline the process with technology so that plans can be reviewed by several departments simultaneously.    

SOBEGAYINFO.COM- For years now, Miami Beach has outsourced our tourism marketing to the City of Miami (and/or Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce). Miami Beach pays a great deal of money and yet the marketing has been lackluster at best; especially the marketing to gays and lesbians who actually helped make Miami Beach what it is today.  With tourism the lifeblood of Miami Beach, do you feel that Miami Beach should be doing its own marketing and what will you do as commissioner to deal with this issue? 

Roberts- Miami Beach is not Miami and I think that the marketing of this City should be lead by those who live here, work here and are as passionate about the city as I am. We need to form partnerships with those entities that have the capabilities and resources to most effectively accomplish results. I believe in performance based budgeting and the issue is results. We need to establish concrete goals and reward those entities that meet our goals. If Miami Dade cannot do this for us then we need to find ways to make this happen.   

SOBEGAYINFO.COM- Parking has and always will be an issue on Miami Beach.  However, the need for parking is really rooted in the increase in auto traffic.  This again goes back to infrastructure not being updated to deal with new development.  With an environmentalist point of view, what do you propose be done to deal with the lack of parking and the increase of air polluting SUVs and cars?  

Roberts- I believe in leading by example and I have smart car. Parking is being increased little by little. I support public/city partnerships to develop more parking areas. Also we need better public transportation. This is not only an environmental issue but also a quality of life issue for our workers and seniors. I believe that lasting change occurs best through education and incentives. Enforcement and sanctions might produce short-term changes but lasting changes for the right reasons are in my opinion the best public policy. I support education programs with our young ones helping them understand the dangers of emissions and pollution. I support expanding the loop bus routes to all areas of the City.

SOBEGAYINFO.COM- Traffic enforcement:  Understanding that you cannot have a policeman stationed on every corner, what do you feel can be done to make Miami Beach a better place for pedestrians? Motorists seem to believe they can disregard all traffic laws because they know they will rarely be cited.  I myself was nearly hit by a woman running the traffic light in front of CVS on Alton Road. 

Roberts- As I was walking Alton Road and Mid Beach I listened again and again to angry and frustrated residents who could not even park their cars in front of their homes because the cars were repeatedly hit sometimes even totaled. Speeding cars are a very serious hazard. Our senior community of activists just had a very personal tragedy when one of our citizen activists in her 80s was a pedestrian fatality on Collins. We need to use more technology, and more citizen safety education. For example, the traffic signals that count down give more feedback to pedestrians than the lights. I support cameras to identify offenders who run red lights. Police priorities need to include traffic calming. Penalties should be strictly enforced and more signage and education should be considered.  

I want to thank Sherry Roberts for taking the time to answering what we feel are some very important questions on just some of the issues facing the residents of Miami Beach.

For more about Sherry, visit her campaign website at http://www.sherryroberts.com