Pinecrest nominees go before Metro

Five Pinecrest residents have been nominated to form the commission that will write a charter for the proposed municipality.

Metro commissioners will decide today on the nominees, who are listed in an ordinance authorizing the creation of the village of Pinecrest and its boundaries.

The ordinance, sponsored by Metro Commissioners Maurice Ferre and Katy Sorenson - whose districts include parts of Pinecrest - would validate the election last month in which a majority of residents voted to form their own city.

None of the charter commission nominees are newcomers to government. They are:

• Roger Carlton, former city manager of Miami Beach and president of Town and Beach Estates Homeowners Association. Carlton now works in the information management services division of Lockheed and Martin, a firm that helps state and local governments collect bad debts.
• Lynn Dannheisser, former city attorney for South Miami, a former partner at Holland & Knight and now of counsel with her husband’s firm, Rasco and Reininger.
• Sandra Diaz, a lawyer and activist.
• Gary Matzner, a lawyer who was one of the original leaders of the Pinecrest incorporation movement.
• Merrett Stierheim, president and chief executive officer of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and a former Metro-Dade county manager.

The nominees had to pledge that they would not run for political office in Pinecrest, Matzner said.

“We wanted to keep politics out of the charter commission,” he explained. “I also didn’t want anyone to think I did this for a personal gain.”

Ferre said he nominated Carlton and Stierheim because of their experience in government. The two worked together for nine years in county government when Carlton was Stierheim’s assistant.

Ferre called the creation of the charter group “a great move forward” and said he expected the ordinance to be approved by his colleagues on the Metro Commission without any problems. The ordinance must be read at two public meetings before going into effect.

Between 25 and 30 names were submitted for the charter commission, he said.