2013 City Council Election: Show me the Money!

In support of transparency in the political process HIH is providing insight into the campaign finances of the candidates for the City Council next November.  If the cash on hand is an indicator of who will be in office you will readily discern who will win.  While money by itself wont sweep candidates into office it surely helps to get them there.   Click on the names of the candidates to see the Campaign Treasurer's Report Summary for Quarter 2.
We figure there is more money yet to be doled out by the campaign contributors but may be waiting on the sidelines until after the Primary that will be necessary for the Mayor and Council Seat 4 (Southwest).  We're also still waiting for Jeff Porter's and James Wyatt's to file their respective reports.




Mayor:
Steven Bateman
Mark Bell 
Jeff Porter (not available)
Dr. Joseph G. Sewell

Council Seat 1 (Northwest)
Stephen Shelley
James Wyatt (not available)

Council Seat 4 (Southwest)

Jimmy L. Williams III 

Rochenel Marc

Ezzard C. Horn

Norman L. Hodge Jr.

Council Seat 5 (Malibu Bay/Waterstone)

Elvis R. Maldonado

Nazaria (Nazy) Ramallo Sierra

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Homestead City Council Election 2013: Seat 5 - Waterstone/Malibu Bay

This post is dedicated to providing the links to the candidate websites for Seat 5, representing Waterstone and Malibu Bay.


Seat 5  http://elvismaldonado.com/
Seat 5  http://nazysierra.com/

Nazy Sierra

Elvis Maldonado

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City Council Disavows Supporting Dade Medical College - However, Evidence Speaks for Itself

The Homestead City Council in their infinite wisdom and transparently duplicitous way are disavowing having supported Dade Medical College.  The scandal that is shaking the Homestead political scene in an election year has the incumbents running for cover.  Except, we have photographs that prove otherwise. 

First we have Elvis Maldonado being home schooled by CEO Ernesto Perez.  Then we have Mayor Steven Bateman and Vice Mayor Judy Waldman holding up a check from Ernesto Perez.  Looks like support to me.  Interestingly enough there are no books on the bookshelves at this college.  Must be an e-book college, impressive! 
Then we have Mayor Bateman shaking hands with Mr. Perez again.  While the picture looks like they posed, they appear to be like Best Friends Forever (BFFs).  Last, we have the grand avert of all.  Similar to those runway pictures famous people take when they're promoting a product or charity. The Mayor's jolly face infront of the Dade Medical College wall sure does look like he support the college a lot.  You can opt to believe them in spite of the evidence though.

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Young, Dumb, & Full of Comeuppance: Joe Garcia’s Chief of Staff Implicated in Absentee Ballot Fraud

Jeffrey Garcia, 40, Chief of Staff of Congressman Joe Garcia took responsibility for the plot to perpetrate Absentee Ballot Fraud.  Basically he is toast along with Communications Director Giancarlo Sopo, 30, and Campaign Manager John Estes, 26.  One would ask:  What were these relatively young professionals thinking?   Not much apparently or too much depending on who you ask.  HUBRIS tends to get the best of people since it's the result of  EGOTISM+ARROGANCE.  It appears little oversight was happening during the campaign but it's too early to tell how deep the ballot fraud goes.  So far Joe Garcia is not implicated.

For Homestead officials,  Mayor Steven Bateman and Councilman Elvis Maldonado featured in this photo at this year's Rodeo, it behooves them to stay clear from this investigation because nothing good can come of it. Same goes for Councilman Jimmy Williams who's featured on Joe Garcia's Instagram account.

However, this unfortunate event should not come as a surprise since the 2012 campaigns for Florida's 26th US Congressional District were riddled with ethical and legal violations from the get go.  David Rivera the incumbent that lost the seat to Joe Garcia is still under investigation by the FBI for campaign improprieties and for allegedly funding the campaign of Justin Lamar Sternad to run in the Democratic Primary against Joe Garcia.  The web of deceit is so convoluted one needs an Ishikawa Diagram to figure out this mess.

Of course let's not forget the true victims of these scandals: The citizens of Florida's 26th US Congressional district. This distraction may surely cripple Congressman Joe Garcia's ability to effectively represent his constituency.  It's hard to imagine the Congressman coming out of this unscathed.  Never mind there are Republican candidates, such as Carlos Curbelo already lining up to challenge the incumbent in the fall of 2014.  This can only add fuel to the fire though they shouldn't be gloating too much, Republicans are just as susceptible to Absentee Ballot Fraud as it appears to be standard fare of politicking lately. We'll soon know more as the investigation continues to shed light into another shady dealing of Absentee Ballot Fraud in South Florida.

Reference Articles:
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Congressman-Joe-Garcias-Chief-of-Staff-Resigns-Over-Probe-209756721.html
Congressman Joe Garcia’s chief of staff implicated in phantom absentee-ballot requests scheme - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/21/3246700/suspect-in-congressman-david-rivera.html
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/05/heavy-hitters-line-back-school-boards-carlos-curbelo-to-unseat-us-rep-joe-garcia.html
A little background:

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