Rep. Gonzalez sues to block opponent from the ballot

The News Service of Florida:

.The legislative campaign between Rep. Eddy Gonzalez of Hialeah and his challenger in the Republican primary, Maykel "Miguel" Balboa, has moved into the courts, with Gonzalez filing a wide-ranging complaint Monday seeking to have Balboa kicked off the ballot and an allied political group dissolved.

Download Gonzalez v. Tirador, Balboa and Citizens et al amended

Miami-Dade mayor fires political consultant for failing to disclose ties to convicted felon

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez abruptly fired a key campaign consultant on Monday after the consultant failed to disclose that one of his contractors is a convicted felon.

Veteran political consultant and lobbyist Al Lorenzo, through his firm, Quantum Results, employed Jerry Ramos as a low-level independent contractor.

Ramos, 47, was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison in a 2008 federal case for forging postage stamps. His lengthy state criminal record also includes convictions for credit-card forgery, check forgery and grand theft. He did not return calls from a reporter Monday.

“Neither the state nor the federal charges were disclosed to us by Quantum Results,” Gimenez’s campaign said late Monday in a statement. “Since day one, our Campaign has held itself to a higher standard. Consistent with these standards, we have decided to sever ties with Quantum Results effective immediately.”

Gimenez’s decision came shortly after Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle asked Lorenzo to keep Ramos away from her campaign after learning of his criminal past. Lorenzo remains a consultant on Fernández Rundle’s campaign.

Lorenzo, who would only comment via email Monday before Gimenez’s decision, said he was aware of Ramos’ history, but thought he deserved “an opportunity.”

Though Lorenzo was fired for not disclosing Ramos’ past, his name had been weighing politically on Gimenez for more than a week, since a Hialeah absentee-ballot fraud investigation was made public. Lorenzo had been part of Gimenez’s Hialeah operations but avoided calls from reporters regarding the probe. More here.

Obama campaign to rumored David Rivera ringer: Stop stealing our logo

Justin Lamar Sternad has sent out campaign mailers claiming he wants to support President Obama's agenda, but the president's campaign team doesn't seem too interested in helping the suspicious candidate for Congress who appears to have misappropriated the president's campaign logo.

"We have not endorsed or authorized the use of any campaign materials by this candidate and are notifying him that he must stop using it immediately," an Obama For America campaign official, speaking on background, told The Herald.

Sternad, who has sent at least six mailers, hasn't disclosed where he's getting the money or how he's paying for it, according to the Federal Elections Commission website, which shows he hasn't yet filed a pre-primary report ahead of the Aug. 14 vote.

Democrats, who had never heard of Sternad until he decided to run this year, are starting to suspect he's a plant from Republican Rep. David Rivera. A charge they both deny. But there are curious links: the Wyndham hotel company worker is using the same Hialeah mail outfit that did nearly $100,000 worth of work for Rivera in 2010. Sternad has avoided saying anything negative aboutt Rivera, but has gone out of his way to bash Garcia. And one Sternad mailer repeats some tough (and likely false) comments from Rivera about another Democratic challenger, Joe Garcia, who lost to the congressman in 2010. Two other mailers have decidedly hardliner messages on immigration -- positions that are pretty far from those espoused by Obama, whom Sternad claims he's backing.

Background here.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/08/the-suspicious-campaign-of-justin-lamar-sternad-a-david-rivera-ringer.html#storylink=cpy

Ray Sansom's last word to state: Pay my legal bills

Ray Sansom's career as speaker of the House was one of the shortest in Florida history.

It now appears that it could be one of the most expensive, too.

Sansom, a Republican from Destin, was forced to resign from the Legislature in 2009 after a state prosecutor charged him with conspiracy and grand theft in his dealings as House budget chairman in which he secured millions of tax dollars for a local college that later offered him a job.

His speakership was quickly sidetracked by grand jury proceedings that focused on a budget bounty of $36 million for Northwest Florida State College, which handed Sansom a $110,000 job on the same day he became speaker (he soon resigned). More here.

Gov. Rick Scott appoints Broward state attorney to handle Miami-Dade absentee-ballot fraud case

Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Broward State Attorney Michael J. Satz to take over a Hialeah absentee-ballot fraud investigation.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle stepped aside from the case last week, citing a potential conflict of interest.

Fernández Rundle recused herself after she said she received unconfirmed reports that someone hired by a company working on her reelection campaign had been seen with Deisy Cabrera, the suspected ballot broker charged last week with voter fraud for allegedly forging an absentee-ballot signature and for being in possession of 31 ballots.

Read the governor's order here.

White House says Obama would sign a bill to give Olympic athletes a tax break

Several members of Congress, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have introduced bills to give award-winning Olympic athletes a break on paying taxes for the medals they win -- and President Barack Obama is a big fan.

Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama "believes that we should support efforts like I think the bill you're referencing, to ensure that we're doing everything we can to honor and support our Olympic athletes who have volunteered to represent our nation at the Olympic games."

The president would sign the bill if it were to pass, Carney said.

Olympians who win medals receive $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze from the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The proposal first came from members of Congress, who saw an item written by Americans for Tax Reform that said a gold medal winner could pay the IRS up to $8,986. Silver medal winners face a tax of up to $5,385, and bronze medal winners face a tax of up to $3,502, the group said. PolitiFact described their analysis as "mostly false," saying that there is "nothing special or 'extra' about the taxes levied on income derived from Olympic victories. They are the same taxes laid on any kind of income, whether that’s from wages or lottery winnings." PolitiFact also notes that "any accountant worth their salt should be able to get the rate of tax on medal winnings much below $9,000, and maybe even to zero."

-LESLEY CLARK and ERIKA BOLSTAD

ead more here: http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/washington/#storylink=cpy

Wasserman Schultz remembers Bill Kling, Broward veterans' activist

From a press release:

PLANTATION, Fla. – World War II veteran William "Bill" Kling passed away today. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement:

“South Florida lost a hero today with the passing of Bill Kling. He was a devoted leader in the veterans community, from serving as the chairman of the Broward County Veterans Council for 27 years to bringing an outpatient VA clinic to Broward County and a Veterans Nursing Home to Pembroke Pines.

“While Chairman of my Military Academy Nominations Board for seven years, Bill helped the next generation of soldiers realize their dream of serving the country they love. I was honored to present the Civilian Marksmanship Program's Patriot Award to Bill Kling in 2010.

“After two decades of friendship, I know firsthand how much he devoted his life to helping veterans and improving his community. We are grateful for the remarkable legacy he leaves behind. My thoughts and prayers are with Bill’s family and friends. This is certainly a tough loss for all of us in South Florida.”

Liberal group wraps "Traitor" jacket around Marco Rubio's autobiography

Wrong Way Rubio, a joint project of Progress Florida and Florida Watch Action, is sending out copies of Marco Rubio's American Son with a pink-washed Shepard Fairey-like image of Rubio that says "Traitor."

The jacket, English on one side and Spanish on the other, raps Rubio for being a traitor for his policies on taxes, senior citizens, women and immigrants. Rubio doesn't back the Dream Act and said he supported Arizona's right to pass an immigration crackdown that, to the left, smacks of Latino profiling.

Our colleagues at the Tampa Bay Times got their copy a bit earlier (I was on vacation and neglected to check my mail box until today). The package was sent out by Susannah Randolph, wife of Orlando Democratic Rep. Scott Randolph, and a former campaign chief for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who produced hardball ads like the now-infamous 'Taliban Dan' ad.

The bright spot for Rubio: Liberals are buying his book (albeit at 30% off) and sending it around.

SEIU boosts Joe Garcia, bashes Congressman Rivera, in Olympic prime-time ad

The Services Employee International Union is providing what could be crucial help to Democrat Joe Garcia, who is facing a tough challenge from fellow Democrat Gloria Romero Roses and a potential ringer in the Aug. 14 primary, Justin Lamar Sternad, who is running a pretty suspicious campaign but denies being a plant from Republican Rep. David Rivera.

Romero Roses, who has spent about $425,000 on mailers and ads, fell afoul of the union for working at a condo management company implicated in union busting, which happened before her watch. However, her husband Tom worked at the company.

This ad is an indication that SEIU, normally one of the least-effective unions in Florida, might finally get its act together by paying money where its mouth is. Whether the ad is effective is another matter (it might be). It's certainly visible, airing last night during the Olympics.

PolitiFact: Group says Connie Mack has passed only one bill in Congress in seven years

Woody Allen once said 80 percent of success is showing up.

And that’s the point American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC, makes in a farcical online video that criticizes U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV for a shabby attendance record, and for not getting much done.

"Connie Mack: Only one bill passed in seven years," says the video, which features a bummed out Florida family (presumably actors) unable to find Mack in Washington. "You think we’ll see him next time, pa?" says a disappointed child.

"Connie Mack: If he doesn’t show up for work now, why elect him senator?" the video continues.

Mack’s missed votes have made news for several months as he prepares for a likely November face-off with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. PolitiFact found that although he’s not the most representative representative (sorry!), his attendance record is better than opponents have claimed.

But did Mack really pass just one bill since he was elected in 2005?

See story here.