It’s easy to tell who the serious contenders are in an election just by taking a look at their Campaign Treasurer’s Reports.
Shockingly, some candidates are willing to throw in tens of thousands of dollars of their own money for a chair on the dais. This totally blows my mind. The way I look at it, the best way of judging how much support a candidate has in the community, in this case the City of North Miami, is by the number of residents who live in that community are willing to pull out of their own wallets to get that person elected. It makes no sense to me whatsoever that you would spend your entire savings, or even a good portion of it, if you don’t have any substantial support by the community you hope to represent. The way I see it, financing your own campaign is a lot like masturbating. Sure, it gets the job done, but are you feelin’ the love? It’s a whole lot more satisfying when someone else is in the picture. Just saying.
If most of a candidate’s donations come from sources outside the city, I’m always suspect of the motives behind those donations.
A good example is when Myron Rosner ran for re-election as mayor of North Miami Beach. The vast majority of his contributions came from law firms, construction companies, insurance companies, lobbyists and the like. It was obvious that the lawyers were throwing money at him in order to curry favor from Myron’s wife, CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE SARAH ZABEL. Companies and lobbyists gave in spades in the hopes of being able to do business in our city should he win the race. Myron also squeezed money out of local businesses and city vendors that were afraid not to donate for obvious reasons. Others appeared to give Myron money in exchange for favors or promises of future back-scratching (see Miami-Dade County Politics: Business as Usual). He also paid the amount of $3,000.00 to Social Harmony Club for “consulting.” This would be the same “non-profit” organization that bilked $4,000.00 from the North Miami Beach Police’s Law Enforcement Trust Fund so that councilman Frantz Pierre and his buddies could play soccer. What kind of campaign consulting could a soccer club provide? WTF? In the final analysis, despite blowing over a hundred thousand dollars to try to get re-elected he was humiliated out of office, probably owing a lot of favors that will never get repaid. Especially if he ends up in prison after his upcoming trial for felony charges.
While it doesn’t appear that any of the North Miami candidates have the brazen chutzpah that gave Myron his notoriety, a couple of them seem to be going for broke. Some of them have collected and spent bupkes, making you wonder why they even filed to run. In any event, here are my comments about the latest Campaign Treasurer’s Reports in the race for mayor.
Candidate Gwendolyn Boyd has raised $51,380.32, of which $32,540.00 were loans, and has spent $29,321.78. Much of her donations came in modest amounts from fellow law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers, small businesses, and what appear to be friends and/or acquaintances, or individuals in the community who obviously believe in her ability to lead and serve. Ms. Boyd has not received a dime from any lobbyists or hopeful city vendors that I can tell. Hers is a true grassroots effort campaign. Also, from what I can tell, Ms. Boyd’s spending is frugal and responsible.
In an effort to reclaim his title, former mayor Kevin Burns has raised $19,623.00 and spent $10,825.17, of which $100.00 is a loan. The majority of his donations came from real estate companies, and the rest from attorneys, car dealerships, investors and the like. Several waste and sanitation companies also contributed to his campaign. No lobbyists appear to have donated yet. His largest expense of $2,500.00 was for “data,” and the rest of his costs were usual and customary campaign expenses. I saw nothing unusual in his CTR.
Modira Escarment loaned herself $29,800.00 and collected $1,000.00. She also claims she spent $30,880.00, of which $29,800.00 was listed as “Transfers to Office Account.” I’d love to know where she got the $1,000.00, or how she spent the $1,080.00 that wasn’t transferred to the “Office Account” (including the inexplicable additional $80.00 that’s not accounted for), but her Campaign Treasurer didn’t complete the form. She obviously didn’t purchase a calculator for the campaign, either. I’m not so shockingly unsurprised that I found no accountability either for her “non-profit” organization, Escarment Foundation for the Needy Corp. Someone is in dire need of a clue.
Next.
They say the one with the most toys wins. In the category of “Most CTRs Filed,” candidate Smith Joseph takes the prize. With an intake of $133,700.00, he’s also raised the most money, outdoing even Myron. Dr. Joseph kicked his campaign off last summer with a loan of $30,000.00 and promptly gave $3,000.00 to Volney “4500 Absentee Ballots” Nerette. He then started a spending spree that would rival any drunken sailor, including the rental of a “campaign headquarters” and a ton of money on advertising, printing, events, consulting and radio, radio, radio. The expenses that raised my eyebrows, however, were: $10,000.00 to Island TV for “Event Sponsorship (Haiti’s Carnival),” $7,500.00 to KSE Group for “Soccer Tournament Sponsorship,” and $2,600.00 to El Kiosko Latin Café for “catering.” From January 1, 2013 through April 5, 2013, Dr. Joseph loaned an additional $85,000.00 to his campaign, bringing the total loans to a whopping $115,000.00. (No comment from the peanut gallery.) The remaining $18,700.00 in contributions came from various and sundry businesses and individuals, many with occupations listed as “MD,” “Doctor,” and “REG.” I know what the first two categories are, but I can only guess what “REG” means. Could this be an abbreviation for “Regular Person?” Interestingly, one of those REGs was Volney Nerette, who took $150.00 out of his fee to give back to the campaign. Out of the total receipts of $133,700.00, Dr. Joseph spent $109,326.64. One only wonders if he’ll be so generous with taxpayer money. (P.S. Someone please let him know that “pastor” is spelled with an “o.” Thanks.)
Current councilman Jean Marcellus, who wants to be mayor, raised a total of $26,950.00 so far, $17,500.00 of that in loans. He has spent $20,527.83, most of which appears to be on radio. Other expenses include office supplies, consulting and miscellaneous advertising, including a “park rental for campaign kickoff” to the tune of $820.00. Most of his non-loan contributions came from REGs. Other than the sizable loan, there was nothing really remarkable or out of the ordinary on his CTR.
L’il Miss Shug Cookie, a/k/a Princess Anna Pierre, a/k/a Anna L. Pierre has raised $8,565.00 and spent $8,675.00, obviously not on a calculator. The sum of $1,231.82 were in loans, and the rest came from an assortment of nurses, doctors, small businesses and the like. No REGs here, but no lobbyists, either. Considering that Nurse Pierre spent more than she took in, she’s not exactly frugal or prudent with money. Then again, she probably spent that unaccounted for extra hundred bucks on gas driving from her home in Miramar to campaign for office in North Miami.
The other pretender contender, Lucie Tondreau, raised $31,275.00 from 120 different businesses and individuals, many of whom seem to have no occupation. Stand out contributors from the Circle of Corruption are: Compas Realty, which company is directly connected to Andre Pierre through Herby Dorval; Brutus Law Group, which is connected to North Miami clerk Michael A. Etienne, Esquire; and Louis and Cassandra Cherubin, both of Miramar and possibly related to Pierre cronies, the Cherubin brothers. Of the $31,275.00 she raised, Tondreau only spent $9,998.94 on the usual and customary campaign expenses. Ms. Lucie is obviously “endorsed” by Camp Pierre, and also obviously does not live in North Miami.
There you have it, folks – my very unofficial analysis of the North Miami mayoral Campaign Treasure’s report. This information and five bucks will get you a cup of coffee at your local Starbucks. Take it for what it’s worth.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
