Both candidates have/had ethical issues but I voted for Veronica Diaz over Renier Diaz de la Portilla to be judge. He has zero experience in the courtroom, or practicing law for that matter – he’s stated time and time again he is a mediator. But why let such a lack of experience stop our career politician? It’s campaign time so it’s time to see what public office we can fill.
Renier is the definition of a career politician - he will run for any seat available and live off his campaign funds, when not living off public money – your money! On the surface, it seems as if Renier has a lot of experience in the public sector. But all it takes is a little digging to realize that he has exploited his positions of power – to his gain and your loss!
Baby DLP was elected to the Miami-Dade County School Board in 1996, losing his reelection in 2000. But no worries, he moved right into the seat in the Florida Legislature that his big brother, Alex, had vacated – let’s keep it in the family, folks. He ran for reelection of that seat in 2002 and lost against a political novice. He ran again for the Miami-Dade County School Board in 2006, and was elected for that seat – except it was because there was no opposition! It was while he served our schools for this second term that things got really interesting.
In 2009, the Miami-Dade County Inspector General investigated the complaint that Renier had used School Board funds to pay for a thinly veiled campaign piece meant to help his brother Miguel, who was competing for a state senate seat. Funds that he should have spent on your children!
The investigation’s close-out memo clearly states that Renier failed to comply with Miami-Dade County Public School rules and that he intentionally used School Board funds to pay for a mailer going outside of his School Board District 5, into the district his brother was running for. Renier’s actions weren’t just “inappropriate”, they were a downright theft of public funds. But hey, who cares about right and wrong when you’re helping big brother’s campaign for the State Senate.
In order to hide his crime and justify the expenses to the purchasing department, the memo continues, the vendor was requested to split the invoice for the production of the mailers into multiple “dummy” invoices one week apart, in amounts under the threshold requiring bids by the Miami-Dade County School Board’s policy. If that’s not crooked – what is!?
Renier refused to be interviewed or provide a statement during the Inspector General’s investigation, which seems quite uncooperative with the law for a wannabe judge. He did, however, admit during a television interview in December of 2009 that the vast majority of the mailers were sent to voters in Senate District 36 – but hey, when you’re Baby DLP, the law doesn’t apply to you!
After running for the State House and losing again in 2012, making that his third lost election, Renier is switching gears and now has his eyes set on a Miami-Dade County Circuit judgeship. Is this the kind of guy, with his kind of “experience”, we want sitting in a bench adjudicating cases? We hope the voters of Miami-Dade County don’t have such short memories and make the mistake of putting him on the bench, a mistake we would all regret. Let’s send a message – three strikes you’re out!
25 comments:
Is it too late to get a write-in?
Thanks Custin
They always said judges are failed lawyers but I thought they were talking about couldn't-run-their-pratice-failed not ethically and morally bankrupt.
Renier helped his brother with public money and Diaz steered City money to her live-in boyfriend in addition to series of other ethical lapses which Al Crespo has railed on at length.
So our selection process is now rank the candidates in descending order of egregious behavior and vote for the guy on the bottom?
Well, as Al would say, it's Miami, bitches.
What's pretty got to do with it Genuis?
I have worked with Veronica for the past 7 years. The so called "ethics" investigation is bs - the City Attorney, not Veronica, signed off on the work to a title agency. But hey, why look at the facts when Blogger Crespo writes. What convicted thief shouldn't be trusted? Veronica has always followed the law and advised me, her client, how to legally achieve my goals. When what I wanted to do was not legal, she quickly told me and I changed tracks. I deeply respect Veronica, her work ethic and integrity. Let's put someone who has experience on the bench. You're right, Crespo, that she happens to be pretty, is secondary to her legal experience. Join me in voting for Veronica.
I don't like the 3 brothers Al. Easy on the eyes in this race is a plus not much to work with. Besides I know someone's x wife.
I've dealt with Veronica Diaz at the City Attorney's office. I found her to be rude and abrasive. (I guess this was before she decided to run for judge and knew it wouldn't be good to piss of fellow Bar members.) I'm a little wary of the memo composed by a fellow City Attorney saying that her accepting a super-expensive VIP ticket to the Ultra concert was okay. (She not only got a ticket for herself, but for her live in boyfriend as a plus-one.) And since we're bashing Lynda Bell for her lack of candor on the fence ordinance, her referral of work to the firm of her boyfriend seems even more of a conflict. (After all, the money that her squeeze made went into her household. The same might not be said for Lynda's offspring.) This is a race where you have to hold your nose and choose the lesser of two evils. For me, that's probably Renier DLP.
Actually as this blog has pointed out the Bell fence fiasco was a company specialized in chain-link fences own by her son-in-law and registered to her home address.
So yes it benefited her household.
Her argument that his company has only pulled a few permit chain-link fences is a red herring. Like saying so I robbed a bank? I only got 50 bucks so it's no big deal.
Unbelievable! Genus, you have really sullied this blog!
If someone else posted about a candidate being "pretty", you would have slammed them for being sexist.
- Ms. Diaz lied about having received the endorsement of Mayor Regalado!
- She had the audacity of stating that she hadn't broken any ethics rules because the attorney to whom she funneled business was not family, since they aren't married - just living together! That may just go down in the books as a new definition of Chutzpah!
- And that attorney boyfriend is none other than Benny Álvarez For goodness sakes!
This time around I decided I was not going to vote for someone who is either "recycling" because he/she is term limited and is seeking another elected position or who has had various and sundries ethical issues. So, after some soul searching I also voted for Veronica Diaz.
Genius,
Pretty? You actually wrote that?
And you expect to be taken seriously?
What about the other races? Judges? Appraiser? Commissioners? Need help with my balott.
Voted for Diaz, Ruiz, Zilber, Dooley, Smith, Milian,Millan for judges and Dominguez for Appraiser. Hope this helps.
notice genius did not say pretty smart. pretty dumb is better.
Yep pretty. I don't deal with sexism much.
If she is good looking, I will definitely vote for her, Can we please see some pics? Thanks!
It's not about her being pretty. It's about not letting people like Renier on a bench. He is a career politician, running from one seat to the next. He has never even practiced as a lawyer AND he used public funds to help his brother run for office. It is a disgrace.
Diaz lied about having received the endorsement of Mayor Regalado. How much more unethical can you get?
Maybe we can get them both a seat on the bench. at least they're out of harms way and it gets their sticky fingers out of the public money pot.
Since they are clearly ethically challenged at their core, we can then start a pool betting which one slips up first and gets disbarred.
Diaz? Xiques? She is a dim wit and worse she is very ethically challenged. She and Victoria Mendez were always quick to enable commissioners to break laws. At the City of Miami that is the key to get ahead. Look at the bozo Pieter Bockweg? Unemployed slacker to high paid City staffer. Hmm.
The City's Independent Auditor issued an addendum to his report from last week. I've just posted it and a new story about the behavior of the Miami City Attorney and her gofer George Wysong, and will be posting another Ultra ticket story in the next couple days.
I won't devote too much time to the usual "convicted thief" comment, but one of the things that being a "convicted thief" provided me was the opportunity to be able to spot other thieves, convicted or not, and in the City of Miami, I sometimes feel like being in prison again when I'm in a room filled with thieves,scammers, schemers and outright psychopathic criminals even if they're wearing suits, and got fancy titles attached to their names.
As for Veronica,vote for who you want to, but then suffer the consequences when you make a bad choice.
You have not been around Renier much have you Al? Book banner. Just because you researched her doesn't mean he is any better. You think he is the better of two evils others think she is.
I don't think any such thing. If I could wave a magic wand, they'd both be off the ballot. The only reason - actually there are two - reasons that I've focused on Veronica Diaz is that first, she works for the City of Miami, and that that's my beat. I write about the City of Miami and so consequently it made sense to write about her because it also allowed me to write about the unethical Victoria Mendez and the Suck Ass George Wysong.
Secondly, nobody bothered to provide me with information that I could use as a basis for digging deeper on de la Portilla.
Don't do it now, because I'm booked until the end of the month with more stories than I can handle. The next couple weeks are gonna be very intense and the Crespogram next week is going to be rocking with a couple major stories.
So that's it. I'm not taking sides, I'm just covering the stories that occur on my beat.
Sullied the blog? I guess you haven't reread the half a dozen beauty contests I have run on it? It has been sullied just fine for years.
I don't trust either one as far as I could kick them I also don't understand why you think Diaz is smart. She strikes me as a complete moron.
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