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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South Dade News Leader Interviews Candidates for Mayor

The South Dade News Leader interviewed four Mayoral Candidates.  Incumbent Steven Bateman and Challengers:  Mark Bell, Jeffrey Porter, and Reverend Dr. Joseph Sewell.  Read all about it on the link below.

Let the Political Season Begin | South Dade News Leader - The Pulse of the Community

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Mayor Bateman Goes Rouge; Accused of Vandalism

The story below is not hard to believe.   The La Ley Baseball Stadium debacle is an all too common  theme in Homestead.  City Council makes a deal, Deal goes bad,  Council gets upset but can do little besides access the Courts.  Mayor sits on dais and does nothing.  However, in this case the Mayor went over and cut the lock on the gate.  Vandalism?  Possibly but who cares.  La Ley owes this city a lot of money.  They need to vacate the Baseball stadium.  They are in no position to make any demands or get us to honor a contract they're already breaching.   The damage is done and a better background check next time on who the city does business with would go a long way to avoiding these circumstances.  At this point the Mayor's reputation is already at an all time low so adding vandal to the list of adjectives is actually an uptick from his all time worst:  corrupt. 

Excerpt from Miami New Times

A dispute over a locked gate prompted Miami attorney John Ruiz, operator of La Ley Sports Complex in Homestead, to call the police on Mayor Steven Bateman this past March 7. According to a recently released investigative report, Ruiz accused Bateman of cutting the lock to the northwest gate of the complex at 1601 SE 28th Ave. so that students and parents could access a road that leads to the neighboring Keys Gate Charter High School. Ruiz, who had locked the gate, claimed the city had no authority to allow the school to use the road, which is part of the complex's property.

Read the rest of the story on the link below:
Homestead Mayor Steven Bateman Accused of Vandalism - Miami New Times

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Homestead Mayor Corruption: Too Cozy? State Attorney's Office may need Special Prosecutor

Miami Bridge is a not-for-profit whose "mission is to promote positive youth development, and strengthen and support families to enable children to actualize their full potential to become productive community members."  Corruption not being one of the potentials we want our youth to develop, it would behoove this organization to keep its distance from the Mayor of Homestead.

 The Annual Gala 2013: Bridge to the Stars - A Starry Night,  featured Mayor Steven Bateman and his wife, Donna Bateman, as well State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle (KFR).  It's ironic that this event's theme was "Starry Night", which may refer to the "Stars" at the Gala, of the human variety, and not Van Gogh's depiction of the view outside of his sanitarium room window during his hospitalization in Arles, France.  Perhaps it was just a coincidence that could imply a depiction,  a prophesy of sorts, of a prison cell window in the not too distant future for the Mayor, if the allegations of corruption are found to be true.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but then again Mayor Bateman has been know to schmooze and glad-hand for photo opportunities.   We hope these pictures don't reflect a special relationship where exceptional considerations needs to be taken with Mayor Bateman's corruption investigation.  Otherwise, there will be calls in the community for the State Attorney's Office (SAO) to appoint a Special Prosecutor, effectively having KFR recuse herself from this investigation.  We truly want to believe that this is  a  mere happenstance and a photo-op apropos for the occasion.

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Homestead City Hall: New Leadership Needed Apply Within

City of Homestead a town on the southern mainland tip of the Florida peninsula between two National Parks.   A place where one can raise a family or conversely retire  in peace and tranquility.  Except of course for the scandal ridden City of Hall, which is in need of new leadership.  Finally the State Attorney's office is zeroing in on Mayor Steven Bateman for facilitating a land grab in Historic Downtown Homestead by one of his main campaign contributors.  This election season will be a roller coaster ride depending on the different scenarios that may develop.  No matter the outcome the the City's reputation is sullied with what has already transpired.
If the allegation brought forth by the State Attorney's Office are true, Mayor Bateman will be removed by Governor Rick Scott soon enough.  However, deposing the Mayor from his position may not stop him from running in the Mayoral election in November.  This story could turn out to be a similar scenario of when Governor Crist removed Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones after her arrest for corruption in November 2009.  If Steven Bateman is once again re-elected as Mayor in November, he can still be removed once more if new charges are filed, plea bargain, or a conviction occurs.   Stranger things have happened in South Florida so don't think it would be odd if this is one of the unfortunate outcomes.  The victims of course in this sad turn of events are the residents of Homestead who will have to endure this mess along with the Mayor and his band of cronies supporting his corrupt endeavors.  We can only hope the voting citizenry of Homestead wise up and give the Mayor a pink slip come November, better yet, the Primary could put this issue to rest.  The corruption charges will continue for the Mayor. Nevertheless, the citizens may be able to turn the page on another dramatic stain for the history books of Homestead on its 100th anniversary.

Reference Links:
Homestead Mayor Bateman at center of Corruption Trifecta 

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Homestead Mayor Bateman at center of Corruption Trifecta

The Miami Herald broke this story on Saturday night!

The mayor of Homestead, Steven Bateman, who is running for reelection is under criminal investigation for allegedly pushing Ernesto Perez’s project to build the for-profit college, Dade Medical College, on city-owned land in the historic downtown district.  Mayor Bateman lobbied relentlessly through backdoor deals while maintaining a poker face in the public eye.  

According to public records Mayor Bateman manipulated the bid process and hounded Homestead city employees to essentially give away city-owned land at a bargain basement price.  But wait a minute there's more! Not satisfied with this level of egregious corrupt behavior, the Mayor also had  his wife act as the real estate agent for the transaction.  It's no wonder the State Attorney,  Katherine Fernandez-Rundle,  has the Mayor under the microscope.  

The complete article is available on the link below:

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/08/3441091/homestead-mayors-ties-to-downtown.html#storylink=cpy

Homestead mayor’s ties to downtown redeveloper probed - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

Stay tuned for more.

The photo was taken at the 45th Annual Miami Heart and Stroke Ball showing City of Homestead Mayor Steven Bateman, Donna Bateman, his wife, and Event Chair, Ernesto Perez.

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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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Bateman Fundraiser: A List of South Dade Movers and Shakers

The long list for the sitting Mayor's fundraiser is full of glad-handlers and sycophants lined up to eat at the trough of taxpayer handouts.  The "Baitster" as he is euphemistically called by some of his most ardent critics, is revving up the political machine.  He'd better launch an offensive quickly as Mark Bell, husband of County Commissioner Lynda Bell, is getting ready to mount a political assault on City Hall. Eye on Miami (EOM) has provided the list.

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Steven Bateman: No Sense or No Nonsense Mayor? You Decide

1. The Mayor has short fuse, so he apologized, but on this issue he is correct   $30M for a new City Hall at the Washington Ave and Civic Court site is unaffordable.  It's been a bad idea all along that has not gotten better with age.



2. Though he owes thousands in fees to the City he hires Debt Collectors to go after residents that owe money to the City.  The irony doesn't go unnoticed as reflected by the Huffington Post article.  When you get recognized by the big time bloggers you must be famous or infamous, you be the judge.

3.  Notwithstanding #2 all debts may be forgiven by a City Manager.  Instead of paying the past due electric bill to the city you may make a political campaign contribution. You can read all about in our archives or head out to the Miami New Times.   Good news travels fast but bad news as with gossip and innuendo travels much faster.


Reference Links:
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2013/05/homestead_mayor_steve_bateman_1.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/steve-bateman-homestead-debt-collectors_n_1647572.html

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/10/steve_bateman_really_knows_how.php

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