4 OctOber 16-22, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | SURVEY SAYS…! New poll illuminates Miami-Dade residents’ stances on hot-button issues. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN M iami-Dade County voters do not support giving up prime land in downtown Miami owned by Miami Dade College to build President Donald Trump’s presidential library, or allocating public dollars for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a new survey reveals. The poll, which was conducted by the Bendixen & Amandi International consulting firm between September 30 and October 3, asked 600 registered voters in Miami-Dade their thoughts on a variety of local and na- tional issues, including the end of vaccine mandates, the use of military force to remove Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, and the future use of the current Miami Seaquarium site. The firm polled voters via phone calls and online interviews. More than 70 percent of the voters polled said the land next to the Freedom Tower should remain with Miami Dade College rather than be handed over to the state for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library. Only 14 percent of voters say they support the new library. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet unanimously approved transferring the parcel of land, valued at $66 million, to the Donald J. Presidential Library Foundation. The Miami Dade College Board of Trustees, which owned and used the lot for employee parking, handed the parcel over to the state the week prior. Among other issues, fifty percent of voters said they do not support ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled for the sec- ond time that the Trump administration could strip deportation protections from 300,000 Venezuelans. Fifteen percent were undecided. More than 40 percent of voters do not support the Trump administration using military force to force Maduro out as Venezuela’s president. Thirty-five percent support the move. When it comes to local issues, nearly 70 percent of voters disagree that public dollars should be spent on the World Cup matches at Hard Rock Stadium next summer. The county has committed to spending $46 million on the tournament. After the county revealed a $400 million budget deficit, residents voiced con- cerns about proposed cuts and the millions slated for the World Cup. Nearly 60 percent of voters reported that they are actively consid- ering moving out of Miami-Dade due to the affordability crisis and high cost of living. Here is a list of the survey results: Do you support the Trump administration’s efforts to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans? Yes, I support: 35 percent No, I don’t support: 50 percent Don’t know/no answer: 15 percent Should the land stay with Miami Dade Col- lege or be taken by the state for the Trump Pres- idential Library? Stay with Miami Dade College: 74 percent Taken by the state for the Trump Presi- dential Library: 14 percent Not sure: 12 percent Do you agree with the decision to end vac- cine mandates in Florida? Strongly agree: 28 percent Somewhat agree: 12 percent Somewhat disagree: 11 percent Strongly disagree: 44 percent Don’t know/no opinion: 5 percent Do you support ending the addition of fluo- ride to the county’s drinking water? Strongly support: 30 percent Somewhat support: 17 percent Somewhat oppose: 13 percent Strongly oppose: 27 percent Don’t know/no opinion: 13 percent Do you support arresting and detaining un- documented immigrants with no criminal record who currently reside in Miami-Dade County and deporting them to other countries? Support: 32 percent Oppose: 60 percent Don’t know/no answer: 8 percent Have you actively considered relocating out of or moving from Miami-Dade County due to cost of living and affordability issues? Yes: 56 percent No: 39 percent Don’t know/no answer: 5 percent Are you in favor of continuing the issuance of automatic cameras ticketing fines for vehicles speeding above the 15-mile-per-hour maximum speed limit around school zones in Miami-Dade County? Continue: 54 percent End: 42 percent Don’t know/no answer: 4 percent Would [you] prefer to see the land in Key Bis- cayne that is currently home to the Miami Seaquarium continue to be a tourist attraction or should Miami-Dade County explore other uses for the property in the future? Yes, continue to be a tourist attraction: 54 percent No, Miami-Dade County should explore other uses for the property: 36 percent Don’t know/no answer: 10 percent Should President Trump attempt to use mili- tary force to get Nicolás Maduro to step down as Venezuela’s President? Yes: 35 percent No: 42 percent Don’t know/no answer: 23 percent Do you agree with the allocation of Miami- Dade County public dollars to support the World Cup soccer matches coming to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami-Dade County in 2026? Agree: 25 percent Disagree: 66 percent Don’t know/no answer: 9 percent Trump Approval Rating Strongly approve: 32 percent Somewhat approve: 14 percent Somewhat disapprove: 9 percent Strongly disapprove: 40 percent Do not recognize: 0 percent No answer: 5 percent DeSantis Approval Rating Strongly approve: 28 percent Somewhat approve: 19 percent Somewhat disapprove: 12 percent Strongly disapprove: 36 percent Do not recognize: 1 percent No answer: 4 percent Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Rating Strongly approve: 23 percent Somewhat approve: 31 percent Somewhat disapprove: 12 percent Strongly disapprove: 16 percent Do not recognize: 8 percent No answer: 10 percent [email protected] President Donald Trump waves to attendees at the memorial for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr | METRO | with Breece to correct protocol issues she found in the department, she said. City officials didn’t return New Times’ request for comment. Rodgers’ attorneys didn’t return a request for comment. The OIG investigation determined Plantation lacked critical procedures to mitigate misman- agement, leaving the city vulnerable to financial loss at the hands of inattentive or ill-intentioned staff, Breece wrote in her findings. Supervisors weren’t checking the time punches of hourly employees, leaving the responsibility to three of- fice workers who would be physically far re- moved from the public works’ roving job sites, Breece tells New Times. For at least the four years Rodgers was in charge, “the timecard editors inherently ap- proved paid time off, deducted unpaid time off, and approved time worked for these employees with ADP for every pay period,” according to the report. “And they did so despite no one having cross-checked, verified, or approved the time- card editor’s work.” While it’s unclear exactly how many employ- ees benefited from questionable timecard punches, evidence indicates Plantation might have spent two years paying an electrician for work no one verified, Breece says. The arrest affi- davit described a man who would sporadically show up at the office and did no discernible work. “The three timecard editors would take turns punching in his time for the week,” Breece says. “Whoever’s turn it was would put in 40 hours a week.” In all, Breece’s investigation found the city paid about $92,000 to the man for work no one verified, she said. According to the arrest affidavit, several em- ployees said Rodgers enlisted them in schemes that appear to have extensively benefited him and those close to him, including: 2018: Took a 2002 Emerson trailer after sign- ing off for it to be disposed of or sold. 2019-2022: Ordered a fleet supervisor and others to steal and sell catalytic converters from at least 12 city vehicles. 2022: Sent a city employee to buy doors for his house in Davie twice. Ordered another city employee to pour a slab of concrete at a private home. Sent a city employee to buy steel in Fort Lauderdale and deliver it to his Davie home. February 2022: Sent a city employee to paint his girlfriend’s Pembroke Pines apartment at $20/hour for two eight-hour workdays. July 2022: Ordered a city employee to unload seven five-gallon buckets of dirt at his mother’s house in Davie. Ordered a city employee to bring the city’s scrap metal to his mother’s house. Rodgers’ criminal case is ongoing, with a court date set for later this month. [email protected] Public Works, Private Perks from p3
