“I know Madam Chair is not feeling well, and there were items that we wanted to bring forward that require a four-fifths.”

Acknowledging Chairwoman King's absence and discussing items requiring four-fifths vote

“No, I'm good. It's important. Obviously, this is an important thing, so I'm glad we touched on the subject.”

Comment on importance of Cuba transition planning in DI4

“I would go ahead and do it to leverage it and to say to him, you know, no, you're not going to get the 1.5. You've already pleased the taxpayer. Enough is enough. That's the message that I would send”

Proposing motion to pursue attorney's fees as leverage against Carollo's pension lawsuit

“If we did the lawsuit and we won, we can offset. If then he prevails on the 1.5, we can offset that, couldn't we? And we can wind up not paying him the 1.5, couldn't we? So in actual fact, there is something there”

Discussing leverage potential if city wins attorney's fees and Carollo loses pension case

“But this bothers me that in light that we were going to be lenient, and not be petty, and now we have a problem that Mr. Carollo himself is suing the city of Miami for 1.5 million”

Changing position based on Carollo's lawsuit against city

“What I said was that if we were going to go after the attorney's fees, we would really be spinning our wheels, collecting a piece of paper, a judgment that we were probably never going to collect on”

Explaining previous position on not pursuing attorney's fees

“So this is a holdover where I presented this about five or six months ago”

Discussing RE7 item on attorney's fees for Joe Carollo defense

“If this doesn't move, I am going to file a lawsuit because it's been over 120 days for the second time in a row, and nobody has responded to us from the county”

Threatening legal action over county delays on Allapattah CRA

“They don't want to give us a win. Somebody in the county does not want to give me or the people of Allapattah a win”

Expressing frustration about Allapattah CRA approval delays at county level

“If 100% of 100 people go in there and we fixed 20 were helped, that's 20 that are not going to be recycling the system”

Discussing effectiveness of mental health facility

“We can't just talk about it and talk about it and not do anything”

Calling for action on mental health services and homelessness

“I also have a close family member that has been dealing with mental health issues. You know, we've been dealing with that for all our lives, my mom, myself”

Personal disclosure about mental health in family

“No, I'm good. It's important. Obviously, this is an important thing, so I'm glad we touched on the subject.”

Responding to discussion about emergency preparedness

“I need to know again that I have a full-time chief on the job. Not thinking of politics, but he is the chief. That's it for me.”

Emphasizing the need for the police chief to focus fully on his duties without distraction from political activities

“Something is happening in my district whether it's coffee with a cop, etc. I would like to be notified for sure. That's one thing. Another thing is that if we are gonna move forward with a new chief, I would like to have a proper process. I would like to start looking for somebody. I don't know if he's gonna stay in October or no. But I would like to have a proper transition and that requires time.”

Expressing concerns about police activities in his district and the need for a proper transition process for the chief position

“I am of the opinion, we know you're leaving in October, okay? And I would like to see some kind of a search sooner rather than later. I do not want to get to October when we know that you are leaving and then all of a sudden we have to rush and find a chief.”

Discussing police chief succession planning in Discussion Item 3

“After careful review, I think it's enough time that we have already, the 10 days. That's going to kind of hamper us. I was going to do it, George. I apologize for that. But on careful review, it's not in our best interest.”

Discussing FR4 regarding the deadline for placing items on City Commission agenda

“Yeah, look, I'm going to be voting no for this. After, you know, careful review, I think it's enough time that we have already, the 10 days, that's going to kind of hamper us. I did say, yeah, I was going to do it, George. I apologize for that. You know, but on careful review, it's not, I don't think it's to our best interest.”

Commissioner Gabela opposing FR4 (extending deadline for agenda items)

“Today we want to recognize a very special organization for the community. They do quite a bit of work in District 3 and District 4 in particular, but really their efforts are citywide.”

Introducing remarks about Kiwanis Club of Little Havana

“I just want to congratulate my colleague, Commissioner Pardo, on his work on the Marine Stadium item. I think this was very well thought through. The outpouring of support for this has been really impressive.”

Personal privilege statement regarding Marine Stadium management agreement

“If something is happening in my district, whether it's coffee with a cop or whatever, you have to notify me. I'm not saying anything is wrong. But I felt there was a disrespect, honestly speaking. Now that we're on the subject, the late Manolo Reyes had to pass a directive that if this sort of thing couldn't happen, that if this was gonna happen, the district office had to be notified.”

Referencing a directive from the late Manolo Reyes requiring notification to district commissioners of police activities in their districts