No phone calls, no door-knockers on Saturday. Just three mailers: a four-pager from Tom Korge, and giant cards from Frank Quesada and from the “Accountability Project” (Police unions et al.) for Gonzalo Sanabria (but it’s a positive mailer for a change).
Let’s get to the scans:
Korge’s four-pager says on the cover, “We need a CLEARER VISION for Coral Gables.” And then it has a photo of City Hall that is out of focus (geddit?).
Page two is negative, but not below the belt, as it is about the incumbent’s record:
Page three has promises, including the promise to “lower property tax rates” — not just freeze them, lower them. I wonder how realistic that is?
Page four doesn’t say much, just tells you to look inside, but overall a nice-looking piece of mail.
Quesdada’s pitch is that he’s running a positive campaign. Nothing substantive here, but could be effective.
The letter format on the flip is a nice touch, about how he promised to be positive and he’s sticking to it.
Of course, this is a form of negative campaigning, but a relatively subtle one. Relatively.
The Sanabria mailer was paid for by his supportive PAC (see Coral Gables Police Union Paid for Attack Mailers). But this time it’s the velvet glove.
Not much going on at the flilp.
It’s an OK mailer, nothing wrong with it, pleasant to look at, but not a wow either.
The police union paid for the first attack mailer against Brad Rosenblatt, according to Keith Donner as reported in the Miami Herald. Who is to say that they paid for all the mail that followed? After all, where does the “Accountability Project” report their contributions and expenditures?
It sure isn’t at Coral Gables City Hall, where all the candidates must file reports very frequently.
So I ask Mr. Donner and the Coral Gables Fraternal Order of Police UNION (i.e. the bargaining agent of the police rank and file) just how much money have you spent in this campaign season? And how much of it has gone to positive electioneering for your endorsed candidates?
And why didn’t you mail it under your own UNION name?
Candidate Gonzalo Sanabria, the FOP’s pick, you should be ashamed to allow this campaign season in Coral Gables to have declined to this level. You may not be behind it, but you sure are allowing it to happen.
I would say that these smear tactics are worse than those negative and unfair attacks leveled in 2009. I cannot imagine that you carry this with a badge of honor–Gonzalo.
I wonder what the voters make of this?
The FOP has shown its lack of respect for transparency and ethical behavior by hiding behind the “Accountability Project.” How is the FOP accountable by using a 527 for electioneering?
Will this campaign style win the union points at the bargaining table, before the city commission and before the residents of Coral Gables, whose taxes pay your salaries and pensions. I think not.
Miss Secada, with all due respect, go fly a kite. Any paid staffer that posts without disclosing is not to be believed, keep trying, but it aint working.
Cannot let the above go so easily, you can try all you want to imply or state that Sanabria is sold to the FOP, it JUST AINT SO, just wait and see., starting on April 13th.
Your smear campaign to save your
Candidate Brad Rosenblatt does not work anymore., Your golden boy is the only one responsible for his problems, no one else., Miss Secada, it is just not going to work anymore, voters in Coral Gables could not care less about your political spins. IT is what it is, your golden boy is no longer a viable candidate, through no ones fault but his one., spin it as you will.
If Ms Secada is a paid Rosenblatt staffer THEN she is the one doing the smear and hiding her employer relatioship with Rosenblatt which is an election law violation subject to severe penalties and fines.
Any written comuniques fro Rosenblatts campaign have to have “paid and approved by Rosenblatt campaign”. She should be reported and fined for lying and failure to disclose
HHMMM, very interesting, thanks for the legal info.