Elian saga rocks popular mayor's career

MIAMI - Viewed as a rising star in Florida politics, Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas has been prominent among patrons and politicians orbiting Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez.

In a metropolis sharply divided over what should happen to the young castaway, Penelas has stood fervently with Elian's Miami relatives who feel that hatred of communism should trump Elian's father's wish to raise his son in Cuba.

He donated $1,000 during a fund raiser to pay the relatives' legal bills. He went to Washington to lobby for a meeting between Elian's father and the Miami relatives, who have cared for Elian since his November rescue at sea.

Penelas has been a frequent visitor at the Miami relatives' home, declaring to cheering supporters on April 15 that "While this child remains in this house, there is hope."

His many statements supporting the Miami relatives have led some residents to question his commitment to a battle so far removed from mayoral jurisdiction. "Isn't he supposed to represent all in his county, not just Cuban Americans?" a reader asked in a letter to the Miami Herald.

But nothing cast Penelas' leadership into question more than his March 29 remarks widely interpreted as a license to riot. Flanked by mayors of several south Florida burgs, Penelas said local police would not aid any attempt to wrest Elian from the Miami relatives' home and accused the Justice Department of "provoking" Cuban Americans by trying to send the boy home.

"If their continued provocation in the form of unjustified threats to revoke the boy's parole leads to civil unrest and violence, we are holding the government responsible, and specifically (Attorney General) Janet Reno and the President of the United States for anything that may occur," he said.

Penelas promptly found himself likened to Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus, who called out the National Guard to defy a federal order to admit black students to Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

Time magazine said Penelas "all but tossed a match into the city's powder keg." The mayor won a spot on The Washington Post's "Fools for Elian" list for what the newspaper called "a ringing declaration of nonprinciple."

"He was an up and coming star -- and I use the past tense -- in the state Democratic Party," University of Florida political scientist Richard Scher said. "I think he's tarnished his (star) considerably with his ill-considered remarks."

Penelas, a 38-year-old lawyer and Democrat, was elected mayor of Florida's largest county four years ago, with strong support among predominantly Republican-voting Cuban Americans, as well as support of many blacks and non-Hispanic whites.

Seen as a consensus-building moderate, he is articulate and dapper -- People magazine named him its "Sexiest Politician" in 1999. Once perceived as a future governor or senator, he has been a strong fund-raiser for Vice President Al Gore.

Political experts have said that while Penelas sincerely believes Elian should stay, he may also be acting to retain support among constituents of Cuban ancestry, who make up 40 percent of the county's 2.2 million residents.

Penelas was born in Florida to exiles who fled Cuba after his father, a farmworker and labor organizer, was imprisoned. He has sometimes -- but not always -- sided with exile positions on Cuba-related issues.

He asked the State Department to deny visas that would let Los Van Van perform a second concert in Miami in December 1999, fearing it would endanger the city. The Cuban band's October 1999 performance in Miami spurred a near-riot by a small group of Cuban exiles who believed the band supported Castro.

But he ordered the June 1999 edition of Cigar Aficionado magazine back on the newsstands at Miami International Airport, calling a local sales ban "censorship." Airport officials had banished the magazine, which had Fidel Castro on the cover, because it portrayed Cuba as an exotic travel destination and questioned whether the U.S. embargo against Cuba should end.

Such Cuba-centric politics at the municipal level baffle the rest of the nation, political analysts said.

Penelas has said his comments were misinterpreted and has made numerous appeals for calm and respect for the law.

State Democratic Party spokesman Tony Welch said reports of Penelas' political suicide are mistaken. His role in the Elian standoff may not weigh outside Miami, he suggested.

But Scher said the only way Penelas could regain his former stature is to broker "some kind of miracle solution" that would end the battle over Elian satisfactorily for all involved -- something no one anywhere has been able to do.