aGameOfThrones
03-15-2011, 04:46 PM
(Reuters) - Voters in one of the most populous counties in the United States went to the polls on Tuesday for a recall vote, spearheaded by a billionaire anti-tax crusader, aimed at toppling a once-popular Republican mayor.
The Cuban-born Alvarez came under criticism last year when Miami-Dade, saddled with record high 12 percent unemployment and the same budget deficits faced by many local and state governments, introduced a property tax increase to help fund vital services including police and public schools.
The 14 percent tax hike was imposed despite double-digit declines in real estate values as south Florida was hammered by the U.S. housing and mortgage foreclosure crisis.
"We've been hit hard," he told Reuters in an interview in January. "The federal government is cutting taxes, state governments have cut taxes to stimulate the economy. But here we're doing the opposite -- we're raising them," he said.
Alvarez, who is 58, has also faced criticism for raising salaries for some county employees and for backing a deal to use nearly $350 million in public funds to build a new stadium to house the Florida Marlins baseball team in Miami's Little Havana district.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-usa-florida-election-idUSTRE72E80U20110315
The Cuban-born Alvarez came under criticism last year when Miami-Dade, saddled with record high 12 percent unemployment and the same budget deficits faced by many local and state governments, introduced a property tax increase to help fund vital services including police and public schools.
The 14 percent tax hike was imposed despite double-digit declines in real estate values as south Florida was hammered by the U.S. housing and mortgage foreclosure crisis.
"We've been hit hard," he told Reuters in an interview in January. "The federal government is cutting taxes, state governments have cut taxes to stimulate the economy. But here we're doing the opposite -- we're raising them," he said.
Alvarez, who is 58, has also faced criticism for raising salaries for some county employees and for backing a deal to use nearly $350 million in public funds to build a new stadium to house the Florida Marlins baseball team in Miami's Little Havana district.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-usa-florida-election-idUSTRE72E80U20110315