Wednesday, December 02, 2015

AWESOME ORDINANCE Proposed by Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava to add eyes on PACS and ECOS. By Geniusofdespair

ORDINANCE CREATING SECTION 12-14.2 OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, TO PROVIDE FOR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL ELECTED OFFICERS AND CANDIDATES REGARDING SOLICITATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS FOR POLITICAL COMMITTEES AND ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATIONS; PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO REPORT; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION ON ETHICS AND PUBLIC TRUST; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE

In plainer language: (By the way a Political Action Committee (PAC) and an Electioneering Communication Organizaiton (ECO) can raise funds without limits)



It passed with enough votes to go to Committee. All agreed, except Xavier Suarez (has a PAC or ECO), Audrey Edmonson and of course -- it goes without saying -- Pepe Diaz. This early discontent at first reading is a sign of the ordinance's shaky ground. Juan Zapata and Steve Bovo were absent for the vote.

There is a story in the Miami Herald on it:

In her first-ever run for office last year, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava experienced the shadowy world of campaign finance firsthand — thanks to political action committees that supported her opponent.

“It was very difficult, if not impossible, to trace exactly where that money was coming from,” Levine Cava told the Miami Herald on Tuesday, after introducing a proposed county ordinance that would require greater PAC disclosures.


Commissioner X talked about free-speech when objecting. Come on, you have a PAC and this will effect you. And Pepe babbled about how it would hurt him support veterans. I suppose asking the foxes to patrol the hen house will be a losing proposition. I believe this will go down in committee on January 12th. Members of that Committee: Zapata (chair), Sosa, Levine-Cava, Heyman, Souto and Bovo. I don't recall Souto or Sosa ever having a PAC. Who knows, they might vote in favor of it.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent!!!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see the campaign ads against Pepe le Pew Diaz while under arrest for DUI and any paper trail trying to bury the charges of driving almost three times the speed limit. The statements made in the back of the police vehicle should be on a reel in the background too!

Suarez was very disappointing. I hope he changes his mind. Edmunson was not very surprising either. How much government money has been poured in to her district going to special interest with zero net results?

Geniusofdespair said...

Pepe's district is brain dead.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Cava had a change of heart. Kudos. She raised over $300.000 of PAC and ECO monies during her campaign.

Anonymous said...

Goof for Commissioner Levine Cava. Coming to the light after playing on the dark side to get elected.

Anonymous said...

As a matter of principle. She should disclose all her links to the PAC's she benefited from during her election.

Geniusofdespair said...

Levine Cava does not want to eliminate them but to disclose so people see who donates through them. Hers was a state level PAC, not only supporting her, and all required reporting was done. She made no secret of it.

Anonymous said...

Right. So she can lead by example and disclose all the monies funneled through PAC's that benefited her campaign. Just saying.

Anonymous said...

Not entirely true. Hence were taking about transparency. PBA PAC's, Fire fighter PAC's, local 1403, Save Dade PAC's, just to name a few local PAC's funded efforts for her campaign.

Anonymous said...

She didn't raise money for those PACs and had no control on whether they spent money or not. I'm just sayin'

Anonymous said...

If any of those PAC's gave her a donation, it would be in her campaign repot.

Anonymous said...

Great ordinance. Now Mayor Stoddard's development interest donors will be exposed in his ECOs.

Careful What You Wish For said...

So incumbents flush with cash will hire lawyers and accountants to comply with ordinance, no one will pay attention but I bet you newby candidates will be fined up the wazoo and more people will be deterred from running because of this ordinance.Think this through before cheering.

Geniusofdespair said...

Omg the trolls are out in force.

Anonymous said...

Too bad the M-D Commission on Ethics is the named enforcement agency! What a joke!

i insist said...

Trolling? Sit back and watch in the long run this "well intentioned" ordinance will just be another way of protecting well funded incumbents. We already know which PAC is supporting which candidate, this just makes it more cumbersome for inexperienced challengers .