Category Archives: Coral Gables

Tania Valdemoro from the Herald has the scoop: Gables police union is behind flier attacking commission candidate. But the story just raises more questions.

Someone has been sending mailers to Coral Gables homes (I got a couple) beating up on Commission Group 4 candidate Brad Rosenblatt with lines like he’s a “deadbeat candidate out for a paying job” and “deadbeat Brad Rosenblatt is just bad news”. The return address is the “The Accountability Project” which the Herald found out is a group created for this purpose and lavishly funded by the Coral Gables Fraternal Order of Police, i.e. the Coral Gables Police Union.

But the Herald doesn’t address the issue of who paid for the (remarkably similar) push poll. I’d still like to know who’s behind that. Was it the police? I think it’s one thing to have the police union get involved in the campaign and send mailers. We may not approve of their candidate choice, or their judgment in sending out rather over-wrought, borderline sleazy, mailers, or their attempt to avoid accountability behind the name “The Accountability Project,” but that’s their legal right and it’s only more or less routine dirty politics, if still something of a novelty for Coral Gables. It’s something else to run a push poll operation that suggests — in the 21st Century, in South Florida at that — that one might not vote for a candidate because he is gay.

I think someone should ask the FOP if they were behind the push poll. And whether or not they are behind the poll, someone should ask the other candidates in the Commission race, and the Mayor’s race, what they think of the union’s involvement, and of its tactics. And someone should ask whether the other candidates agree that a candidate’s sexuality is irrelevant to his/her fitness for office. (Mr. Sanabria, you may recall, has already stated he agrees that whether a candidate is gay is not relevant; unsurprisingly, Mr. Rosenblatt also takes that view; so too did Mayoral candidate Jim Cason when I spoke to him today. I will ask the other candidates if I get a chance to do so.)

Two other questions that come to mind: Why target Brad Rosenblatt in a six-candidate race? And, who benefits? The answers to these questions, however, seem clearer, at least at first. Mr. Rosenblatt raised the most money, and early, making him look like the front-runner, and thus made him look like the man to beat (or beat up on). Look at the next-best funded candidate as a likely beneficiary. And would that just happen to be the Commission candidate preferred by the Fraternal Order of Police…Gonzalo Sanabria? Seems so, judging from the Herald’s coverage of recent fund-raising.

Finally, why is the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) against Rosenblatt and for Sanabria? One argument making the rounds is that they are concerned about candidates who are saying their pensions are too high, but that has hardly been Rosenblatt’s signature issue, leaving open the grim possibility that it is his sexuality they don’t like.

There is reason for the police union to be concerned about their pensions in this campaign. The incumbent Mayor, Donald Selznick, the argument goes, is a labor lawyer so he won’t be tough on this issue. In contrast, when Mayoral candidate Jim Cason hit my doorstep this afternoon, he told me that cutting pensions and/or making city workers pay into their pensions is his top issue. Tom Korge’s mailers say that “Additional pension reform is needed to prevent insolvency” and to lower property taxes. (Hmm … lower taxes when we face insolvency? That sounds odd.) But if the pension issue is big in the Mayor’s race, why then did the FOP focus its first and second rounds of fire on the race for the Commission Group 4 seat? (And is that it? The Herald says the Accountability Project has raised $98,000 and spent $93,757, but that doesn’t tell us if there are other mailers pre-paid and in the works.)

[Update: There’s a good posting at Political Cortadito, Gables PAC funds smear campaign, describing where that money came from — it’s not all from the police.

The money came in gifts of $5,000, $10,000 and $15,000 (Ron Book gave $2,500) from unions and associations and corporations whose owners are more corporations, making it harder to trace. But we were able to link the first $10,000 gift made by the “Informing Our Community,” which is not listed in Florida corporate records,by its Miami Lakes address. That property is divided into 10 parcels owned by different corporations. But two of them came back to Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, who is running for the county mayor’s seat, and his chief of staff, Alex Ruiz.

…

Others who contributed to the Non-Accountability Project were Arthur and Andrew Hertz, with two $5,000 donations from their media companies, and several unions …. The biggest gift came from the Teachers for Public School Excellence, a PAC of the United Teachers of Dade, which Donner has done work for in the past. He would not say if he continues to lobby or work on the union’s behalf (“I just don’t talk about my clients.”), but I know a bunch of teachers who would be downright outraged if they knew that a whole $30,000 of their lobby and PR money was being spent on a smear campaign in a city of Coral Gables election.

–end of update]

The Coral Gables Watch Blog thinks the FOP’s support means Sanabria will not be aggressive on the pension issue:

No doubt the the police are afraid to lose their excessive pensions, salaries and other benefits.

And be sure now that you cannot count on Mr. Sanabria to vote for any changes in these excessive salaries, pensions and other benefits.

That financial self-interest would explain the union’s stance. On the other hand, one of Sanabria’s mailers says he wants to “fix pension and retirement deficits and rising costs”. And his background as a developer doesn’t suggest a pro-labor bias. Then again, maybe the Coral Gables Blog is on to something: after I wrote up my coffee with Mr. Sanabria, he called to take exception to one line, where I claimed he was pushing “Republican-style politics of cutting payments to workers” and asked where I got it. (I pointed to the mailer.)

For those of us not in the know, it all seems very murky indeed.

Note also that I have not expressed a view above on the merits of the pensions issue. In general, I tend to be suspicious of claims that public employee pensions (e.g. teachers’ pensions) are excessive as I see the pension as part of the trade-off that usually has those workers accept lower salaries in exchange for a livable retirement. Everything depends on the formula. There are cases where the formula allows manipulation, e.g. by basing the pension on final year salary including overtime and comp time — something you see most often in police and fire departments where there can be a lot of overtime. Mayoral candidate Cason suggested to me that Coral Gables suffers from one of those, but I cannot claim to have mastered the issue. I understand that the Herald’s Ms. Valdemoro is working on a story on the pensions issue — showing yet again why newspapers are so important to democracy.

Last Friday, just before leaving town for Spring Break, I had a phone conversation with Brad Rosenblatt, supplemented with his written statement yesterday, as quoted below.

Mr. Rosenblatt offers himself as someone who supports local business in everyone’s interest.  “What I bring that is a bit different is that I have been active downtown since 2003.”  It’s important, he argued, to “make sure downtown doesn’t underperform” because downtown’s performance affects everyone in the city.  “It has a very clear link to the financial success of the whole city since they pay over 50%” of local taxes.  “This affects the taxes that residents pay: when the downtown performs, it keeps resident taxes low, and services high.”  Specifically, the city needs to maintain the garage, the elevators, the greenery, the sidewalks. “If people go elsewhere, it impacts everyone in Coral Gables.”

I asked if he had an endorsement in the Mayor’s race.  “I know who I’m voting for. I’ll tell you April 12. I’m voting for someone has good experience to lead our city for the next two years.”

I asked Mr. Rosenblatt to reply to the allegations about him in the push-poll.  He talked faster than I can type, so he kindly emailed emailed me a statement.

Recall that the push poll said something to the effect of

1. He has a history of financial problems including an IRS lien for payroll taxes and filed for bankruptcy
2. He was arrested for embezzlement and grand larceny and pleaded no contest

Here’s the formal reply:

A decade ago I helped my father with some financial obligations. Shortly thereafter he became ill and his ability to keep up with his obligations was affected. I did my best to take care of him but the burden became too great. At the advice of my attorney, I filed for bankruptcy. In the midst of this, I chose poor business partners who in retaliation for a hostile breakup, made false accusations against me. I have NEVER been guilty of anything. We settled the dispute and I was able to clear my good name and preserve my reputation. Since that time I have built a successful international business and have served my community. It is shameful that some of my campaign opponents choose to distort my record to win an election. I’m confident the voters will support me because of my qualifications and desire to be a public servant for our city.

During our talk, I asked about the Channel 10 article.  Did Mr. Rosenblatt really think this wouldn’t come out in a campaign?  That quote, he said, is accurate, but is ripped from context.  He was 25 at the time.  (Rosenblatt is 35 now.)  He relied on his friend and business partner’s father, who was also an investor in the project and the project’s attorney.  He “represented his son and me”.  Then it started to go wrong.  “I sued them. They made false accusation against me.”  What Channel 10 left out, Mr. Rosenblatt said, is that the main witness against him ten years ago, the office manager, has since recanted.  “They pressured her to sign a statement. … She provided a sworn affidavit ten years later that she was pressured … and I never did anything wrong.”

Mr. Rosenblatt says there’s a second witness too: “There was an operations manager at the time…he also has gone on the record…all monies were accounted for…there was backup for everything…there was no wrongdoing on anyone’s part.

“Coral Gables voters will be disgusted that someone will try to use something [like this]…they don’t have a tolerance for dirty politics, for slander.”

I asked if Mr. Rosenblatt had any idea who paid for the survey, but he said he did not, other than it had to be one of the well-financed candidates.

I hope to speak to the other candidates after I get back next week. Then I may offer some thoughts of my own about the race.

The Miami Herald weighs in to the Coral Gables Commission Group 4 race with Past finances dog Gables commission candidate: “Coral Gables political circles are abuzz with talk of a candidate’s past financial woes. Turns out he isn’t the only one.”

So now we have two candidates — both Sanabria and Rosenblatt — arguing that their bankruptcies have made them better.  Here’s Sanabria’s version:

Sanabria said his bankruptcy was an embarrassing situation, but it taught him to be careful with partnerships and be debt free.

“It gave me the greatest lesson – I have become a multimillionaire,” Sanabria said.

At this rate, next thing you know, bankruptcies — once seen in England and the US as disqualifying you from polite society — will be seen as a prerequisite to elected office…

Elaine de Valle, AKA “Landra” works through the suspects in Political Cortadito: Gables poll pushes buttons. Was I too easy in dismissing Gonzalo Sanabria as a suspect? Here’s her take:

Can we eliminate Gonzalo Sanabria, a real estate executive who ran unsuccessfully against Maria Anderson in 2009, because of those questions? Not so fast. They could be throwaway questions intended to deflect suspicion, since that argument about the meetings was made in 2009, and can’t be compared to the personal nature of the questions about Rosenblatt.

The other suspects get some knocks too.

Eye on Miami. Gables coverage is erratic, and usually in the context of larger Miami-Dade issues.

Political Cortadito. Slanted and right wing, but entertaining.

Watchdog Report. Have to search for it, but it’s there.

That push poll I wrote about the other day suggested that Coral Gables Commission Group 4 candidate Brad Rosenblatt had a history of various financial problems. Of course, just because it’s in a push poll doesn’t mean it’s true.

A couple of days ago I emailed Mr. Rosenblatt at the email address on his campaign web site, and asked him to respond to the push poll. There was no reply. Meanwhile various commentators on this blog have been writing in to say they found things, including court records, suggesting there was smoke if not fire. Now Channel 10’s Todd Tongen steps in with Questions Raised About Commission Candidate’s Past. Rosenblatt Says Former Problems Made Him Better Candidate.

First fact: the Brad E. Rosenblatt who got sued about Channels International magazine, and who later declared bankruptcy is the same Brad Rosenblatt who is running for Coral Gables Commission.

Second fact: He says he was the victim in the affair.

The magazine failed, money was unaccounted for, and eventually Rosenblatt was arrested.

“Actually, I was arrested based on those false accusations, correct,” Rosenblatt said.

…

“I was the victim in this. That is correct,” Rosenblatt said. “There was no wrongdoing.”

[Former investor Richard Olsen, whose son was Rosenblatt’s partner in the venture] said Rosenblatt stole more than $88,000 meant to pay vendors and make payroll, resulting in more than 100 bounced checks.

“My name may be on the checks, but I was young at the time and I didn’t fill out the checks. I didn’t send out the checks,” Rosenblatt said.

“You signed blank checks?” Local 10’s Todd Tongen asked.

“That’s what I was asked to do by my business partner’s father,” Rosenblatt said.

Rosenblatt provided plenty of paperwork that he said shows it was all a misunderstanding. Eventually, adjudication was withheld and the records were sealed.

Rosenblatt was 22 25 [Edit 3/11: I have spoken with Rosenblatt and he says 25] at the time and blames it on youthful ignorance. He says he’s learned from it, and become “fiscally responsible.”

Final fact: Both Maria Anderson and Dorothy Thompson have endorsed Rosenblatt.