Link to Video
Miguel DeGrandy was described as a "Good Guy Activist Lobbyist" by Lawyer Kendall Coffey. I fell off my chair and dropped my phone while taking this video in anticipation of hearing this. Now that is an oxymoron for the books Kendall!
I took this at the Good Government's Initiative luncheon where the question was asked: Does Money in Politics Corrupt Absolutely? My answer: "Duh." Others on the panel were our beauty contest winner Kristin Jacobs, Miami Herald columnist Fred Grimm and Gihan Perera of Florida's New Majority.
Showing posts with label DeGrandy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DeGrandy. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Will Charter Reform Emerge From Miami-Dade's Chaos? by gimleteye
Will the 2008 Charter Reform proposals squashed by the county commission be resurrected? (Will the state legislature -- fueled by special interest money-- find a way to block Home Rule, from which the charter flows?) Natacha Seijas, the recalled county commissioner from Hialeah, blocked charter reform through her agent on the charter reform review committee, Miguel De Grandy. De Grandy represented the land speculators and bankers, like the directors of zero-rated US Century Bank, who counted on iron-clad control of zoning and permitting and environmental regulations: all of which inhibit the arbitrage of values inside and outside the Urban Development Boundary.
The lack of candor and open-ness on what drives the county commission has made it difficult to educate voters especially in Hialeah, Seijas' former stronghold, where local politics managed to avoid exposure of the big money interests at the periphery (including the Graham fortunes in Miami Lakes). But with 9 out of 10 voters sending Seijas home, there is a new element of uncertainty in Florida's most populous county.
The commissioners who remain in office were uniformly opposed to Charter Reform, too. They took their marching orders from Seijas because she had proven so successful doing the bidding of developers and bankers in exchange for the kind of outsized campaign contributions that routinely give incumbents a 10-1 money advantage over challengers. Seijas' displays of arrogance from the dais to environmentalists and citizens in public hearings? They were directed to the campaign contributors and lobbyists in the audience as if to say, "This is how it is done, putting them in their places." No one else on the dais, missed the point.
The Seijas recall was astounding on several counts. Related to Charter Reform, a narrower result would have given the unreformable majority room to bitch and moan. IE. blame the result on a few malcontents. But you can't argue with nine out of ten voters! Maybe you (Seijas' supporters) could have persuaded another one or two, but that still would leave any sitting commissioner facing a recall, at a significant loss.
No one sitting on the dais, wants to be on the losing end of the next recall. Norman Braman has said that he wants charter reform to be his next project, including term limits and a reconfigured commission to include at-large seats instead of the deadly single-member district system that allows quid pro quo's to dominate the local landscape. With housing and construction in the toilet for years to come-- in no small part because of the rampant overdevelopment that made Seijas' supporters wealthy-- and municipal budgets, a nightmare, there is a little daylight for the 2008 charter reform measures to come back to the county commission. That is, so long as the special interests who are wreaking havoc now in Tallahassee don't cut off the possibility of change. Judging from Governor Scott's refusal to move the Fair District amendment, passed by over 60 percent of state-wide voters, forward: there are more questions than answers.
But one thing is for sure: based on Tuesday's results in Hialeah, the impossible did happen. The most powerful sitting commissioner was booted out unceremoniously. I was at the celebration party in a strip mall off Miami Lakes Boulevard. Only a handful of celebrants stood under the awning outside a billiard parlor, but they all understood the historic importance of what they had achieved. Somewhere, dozens of lobbyists watched the results and experienced an unaccustomed moment of concern. After a pause, they will continue on their well-worn path. They will seek out a replacement for Seijas who will also prove amenable to being a member of the unreformable majority. That's why, I believe it would be a good idea for Braman et al. to immediately seek out another commissioner for recall.
We sent a message, once; with Alvarez and Seijas' recall. But I believe we are going to have to do it, one more time for the point to get through. I would suggest, Joe Martinez or Pepe Diaz. It is time for these two, to go. For our comments and archive on this issue, stretching back to 2008, click on "charter review" in the issues cloud/archive to the right. Charter Reform: gone but not forgotten.
The lack of candor and open-ness on what drives the county commission has made it difficult to educate voters especially in Hialeah, Seijas' former stronghold, where local politics managed to avoid exposure of the big money interests at the periphery (including the Graham fortunes in Miami Lakes). But with 9 out of 10 voters sending Seijas home, there is a new element of uncertainty in Florida's most populous county.
The commissioners who remain in office were uniformly opposed to Charter Reform, too. They took their marching orders from Seijas because she had proven so successful doing the bidding of developers and bankers in exchange for the kind of outsized campaign contributions that routinely give incumbents a 10-1 money advantage over challengers. Seijas' displays of arrogance from the dais to environmentalists and citizens in public hearings? They were directed to the campaign contributors and lobbyists in the audience as if to say, "This is how it is done, putting them in their places." No one else on the dais, missed the point.
The Seijas recall was astounding on several counts. Related to Charter Reform, a narrower result would have given the unreformable majority room to bitch and moan. IE. blame the result on a few malcontents. But you can't argue with nine out of ten voters! Maybe you (Seijas' supporters) could have persuaded another one or two, but that still would leave any sitting commissioner facing a recall, at a significant loss.
No one sitting on the dais, wants to be on the losing end of the next recall. Norman Braman has said that he wants charter reform to be his next project, including term limits and a reconfigured commission to include at-large seats instead of the deadly single-member district system that allows quid pro quo's to dominate the local landscape. With housing and construction in the toilet for years to come-- in no small part because of the rampant overdevelopment that made Seijas' supporters wealthy-- and municipal budgets, a nightmare, there is a little daylight for the 2008 charter reform measures to come back to the county commission. That is, so long as the special interests who are wreaking havoc now in Tallahassee don't cut off the possibility of change. Judging from Governor Scott's refusal to move the Fair District amendment, passed by over 60 percent of state-wide voters, forward: there are more questions than answers.
But one thing is for sure: based on Tuesday's results in Hialeah, the impossible did happen. The most powerful sitting commissioner was booted out unceremoniously. I was at the celebration party in a strip mall off Miami Lakes Boulevard. Only a handful of celebrants stood under the awning outside a billiard parlor, but they all understood the historic importance of what they had achieved. Somewhere, dozens of lobbyists watched the results and experienced an unaccustomed moment of concern. After a pause, they will continue on their well-worn path. They will seek out a replacement for Seijas who will also prove amenable to being a member of the unreformable majority. That's why, I believe it would be a good idea for Braman et al. to immediately seek out another commissioner for recall.
We sent a message, once; with Alvarez and Seijas' recall. But I believe we are going to have to do it, one more time for the point to get through. I would suggest, Joe Martinez or Pepe Diaz. It is time for these two, to go. For our comments and archive on this issue, stretching back to 2008, click on "charter review" in the issues cloud/archive to the right. Charter Reform: gone but not forgotten.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Miami Dade Miguel De Grandy: Billing $300 an hour to overturn your vote ... by gimleteye
Here is an editorial from the Orlando Sentinel, detailing the politics and money behind the GOP effort to blow up the Fair Districts Amendment. Note the reference to Miami-Dade lobbyist, Miguel De Grandy. You're spending $300 an hour to overturn your own vote. (Click read more)
Scott Maxwell
TAKING NAMES
February 10, 2011
By now, you probably knowthat some of your elected officials are fighting to overturn your vote for Fair Districts.
But did you know they're spending your money to do so?
Yes indeed — to the tune of $300-an-hour legal bills.
How much total? Well, that's what I wanted to know.
Getting answers, however,wasn't easy.
I started with the office of House Speaker Dean Cannon — the guy leading the legislative fight to overturn your vote.
Cannon and the state House joined the lawsuit that had already been filed by U.S. Reps Corrine Brown, D-Orlando, and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami.
All of these political plaintiffs argue that Floridians had no right to call for compact, sensiblydrawn congressional districts that aren't based upon party affiliation.
Such a thing, after all, might wreck the current system where politicians get to draw snake-like districts, tailor-made for themselves and their friends.
It didn't matter to them that an overwhelming majority of Floridians — 63 percent — passed the constitutional amendment. The politicians think you got it wrong and their authority has been trumped.
So they're asking the courts to throw out your vote on Amendment 6, the one that deals with congressional districts. (No one has yet challenged Amendment 5, the other one that dealswith state legislative districts.)
Legal battles cost money. So I asked Cannon's office: How much?
The response: They were unsure.
Um … pardon? I must've misunderstood. Because it sounded like you said you weren't sure how much of my money you're spending to overturn my vote.
That can't be right, can it?
Turns out, it was.
Cannon spokeswoman Katie Betta said the House hired a gaggle of attorneys to handle all of the redistricting issues — including basic ones that have nothing to do with legal challenges.
Said Betta: "We do not have a breakdown of fees for the Amendment 6 case."
How convenient.
It also struck me as unusual. Cannon used to work for GrayRobinson. I simply can't imagine big-league lawyers being unable to figure out how much money they were spending on which parts of their legal affairs.
Hmm, maybe these guys areright: Government does lack accountability! (When they're the ones running it, anyway.)
OK, I figured, if you can't give me the specific legal bills I want, I guess I should ask for them all.
Betta dutifully respondedwith 47 pages of invoices. (On a personal note, I should say that Betta wasvery helpful and forthcoming throughout the process. If I asked for a public document, she delivered in timely fashion.)
The invoices showed that a lot of the money — more than $90,000 worth — went to the South Florida firm of lawyer, Miguel De Grandy, who charged taxpayers $300 an hour. Another firm, Latham & Watkins, collected another $30,000 or so.
But the largest chunk of taxpayer dollars — more than $600,000 — went to Cannon's old firm, GrayRobinson.
I don't find the choice of law firms particularly suspect. GrayRobinson was hired before Cannon started as speaker. And Betta said that the Legislature had used lawyers at GrayRobinson for redistricting matters in decades past.
But you can bet your invoice that I still have questions and concerns about the billing in general.
I'm betting most of you do, too.
We now know taxpayers have shelled out more than $700,000 for legal work on redistricting.
But we don't know specifically how much of that was spent trying to overturn the public's vote, how much was spent trying to fight Fair Districts before the election and how much will be spent in the future.
That's unacceptable.
Taxpayers deserve detailed information about how every one of their dollars is spent.
And any amount of public money spent trying to thwart the public's will is too much.
Scott Maxwell can be reached at smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6141.
Scott Maxwell
TAKING NAMES
February 10, 2011
By now, you probably knowthat some of your elected officials are fighting to overturn your vote for Fair Districts.
But did you know they're spending your money to do so?
Yes indeed — to the tune of $300-an-hour legal bills.
How much total? Well, that's what I wanted to know.
Getting answers, however,wasn't easy.
I started with the office of House Speaker Dean Cannon — the guy leading the legislative fight to overturn your vote.
Cannon and the state House joined the lawsuit that had already been filed by U.S. Reps Corrine Brown, D-Orlando, and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami.
All of these political plaintiffs argue that Floridians had no right to call for compact, sensiblydrawn congressional districts that aren't based upon party affiliation.
Such a thing, after all, might wreck the current system where politicians get to draw snake-like districts, tailor-made for themselves and their friends.
It didn't matter to them that an overwhelming majority of Floridians — 63 percent — passed the constitutional amendment. The politicians think you got it wrong and their authority has been trumped.
So they're asking the courts to throw out your vote on Amendment 6, the one that deals with congressional districts. (No one has yet challenged Amendment 5, the other one that dealswith state legislative districts.)
Legal battles cost money. So I asked Cannon's office: How much?
The response: They were unsure.
Um … pardon? I must've misunderstood. Because it sounded like you said you weren't sure how much of my money you're spending to overturn my vote.
That can't be right, can it?
Turns out, it was.
Cannon spokeswoman Katie Betta said the House hired a gaggle of attorneys to handle all of the redistricting issues — including basic ones that have nothing to do with legal challenges.
Said Betta: "We do not have a breakdown of fees for the Amendment 6 case."
How convenient.
It also struck me as unusual. Cannon used to work for GrayRobinson. I simply can't imagine big-league lawyers being unable to figure out how much money they were spending on which parts of their legal affairs.
Hmm, maybe these guys areright: Government does lack accountability! (When they're the ones running it, anyway.)
OK, I figured, if you can't give me the specific legal bills I want, I guess I should ask for them all.
Betta dutifully respondedwith 47 pages of invoices. (On a personal note, I should say that Betta wasvery helpful and forthcoming throughout the process. If I asked for a public document, she delivered in timely fashion.)
The invoices showed that a lot of the money — more than $90,000 worth — went to the South Florida firm of lawyer, Miguel De Grandy, who charged taxpayers $300 an hour. Another firm, Latham & Watkins, collected another $30,000 or so.
But the largest chunk of taxpayer dollars — more than $600,000 — went to Cannon's old firm, GrayRobinson.
I don't find the choice of law firms particularly suspect. GrayRobinson was hired before Cannon started as speaker. And Betta said that the Legislature had used lawyers at GrayRobinson for redistricting matters in decades past.
But you can bet your invoice that I still have questions and concerns about the billing in general.
I'm betting most of you do, too.
We now know taxpayers have shelled out more than $700,000 for legal work on redistricting.
But we don't know specifically how much of that was spent trying to overturn the public's vote, how much was spent trying to fight Fair Districts before the election and how much will be spent in the future.
That's unacceptable.
Taxpayers deserve detailed information about how every one of their dollars is spent.
And any amount of public money spent trying to thwart the public's will is too much.
Scott Maxwell can be reached at smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6141.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Florida GOP wants war with Florida voters... by gimleteye
The Miami Herald reports: one of Gov. Scott's first acts was, within days of being sworn into office, was to throw up a road block to the constitutional amendments supported by over 60 percent of Florida voters in November. The report further raises the question why the governor, representing the executive branch of government, had usurped the role of secretary of state. When implemented, Fair Districts will establish new lines for state and congressional districts.
Miami attorney Miguel De Grandy, a former Republican state legislator and chief lobbyist for land speculators, has been advising the anti-Fair Districts movement. (De Grandy is also pulling the strings to combat Charter Reform in Miami-Dade. His assistant, Stephen Cody, has been Natacha Seijas' chief line of defense against the upcoming recall election.)
Scott appointed Kurt Browning as secretary of state; the office he resigned from, in order to coordinate the failed campaign against Fair Districts. Dan Gelber, the Miami attorney representing Fair Districts, former state senator from Miami Beach and recent candidate for Attorney General, is correct: "Floridians have a right to know why their secretary of state and their governor are engaging in a course of conduct so clearly intended to frustrate their will as expressed at the polls."
The one line sentence mailed to the US Department of Justice Voting Rights Section three days after taking office could have fit on a Twitter feed. That, by the way, is Governor Scott's preferred method of communicating with the outer world: "The Florida Department of State withdraws the above-referenced submission." Curious, that no one was in charge of the Florida Department of State at the time. Browning had not yet been appointed.
The Florida GOP wants war with Florida voters. War, it will get.
Miami attorney Miguel De Grandy, a former Republican state legislator and chief lobbyist for land speculators, has been advising the anti-Fair Districts movement. (De Grandy is also pulling the strings to combat Charter Reform in Miami-Dade. His assistant, Stephen Cody, has been Natacha Seijas' chief line of defense against the upcoming recall election.)
Scott appointed Kurt Browning as secretary of state; the office he resigned from, in order to coordinate the failed campaign against Fair Districts. Dan Gelber, the Miami attorney representing Fair Districts, former state senator from Miami Beach and recent candidate for Attorney General, is correct: "Floridians have a right to know why their secretary of state and their governor are engaging in a course of conduct so clearly intended to frustrate their will as expressed at the polls."
The one line sentence mailed to the US Department of Justice Voting Rights Section three days after taking office could have fit on a Twitter feed. That, by the way, is Governor Scott's preferred method of communicating with the outer world: "The Florida Department of State withdraws the above-referenced submission." Curious, that no one was in charge of the Florida Department of State at the time. Browning had not yet been appointed.
The Florida GOP wants war with Florida voters. War, it will get.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Will Miami Dade County Commissioner Natacha Seijas maneuver her recall election date to a different one than Mayor Alvarez? by gimleteye
Natacha Seijas, facing another recall election, is once again buried in her own grievances. On Wednesday, the county commission is meeting to discuss authorizing upcoming recall elections certified by the Clerk of the Court, Harvey Ruvin. Mayor Carlos Alvarez who will face a county-wide recall and Seijas, a recall in the district encompassing Hialeah, should be on the same ballot. Combining the two recall elections will save taxpayers at a time of severe municipal budget woes. But Seijas doesn't want to be lumped together with Alvarez. If that happens, she is worried that voters will be inclined to throw all the bums out and she could be swept out on her witches' broom.
So what will the county commission do on Wednesday? Save taxpayers money, or, schedule a separate and costly recall election for Seijas and save one of their own? It escapes no one's attention that Seijas has been, for many years, the de facto chair; organizing votes to service lobbyists, insiders, and the land speculators. In the last recall in 2006, they kept her broom from catching fire. The economic crash has not dimmed their enthusiasm to command and control of the county commission. They did everything in their power-- including thwarting Charter Reform which would have let some daylight into the closed, warped world of county politics-- to save Seijas from an angry electorate. Miguel DeGrandy, Stephen Cody, the board of US Century Bank: why would they stop now?
So what will the county commission do on Wednesday? Save taxpayers money, or, schedule a separate and costly recall election for Seijas and save one of their own? It escapes no one's attention that Seijas has been, for many years, the de facto chair; organizing votes to service lobbyists, insiders, and the land speculators. In the last recall in 2006, they kept her broom from catching fire. The economic crash has not dimmed their enthusiasm to command and control of the county commission. They did everything in their power-- including thwarting Charter Reform which would have let some daylight into the closed, warped world of county politics-- to save Seijas from an angry electorate. Miguel DeGrandy, Stephen Cody, the board of US Century Bank: why would they stop now?
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Lynda Bell's Bad Campaign Money. By Geniusofdespair
Just testing out nicknames... RTL Lynda, Lynda Ring my Bell, Lynda Bell-Ringer. Not there yet. Anyway...she is getting sworn in. Ick.
Here is one donor from her campaign report I never like to see -- Miguel De Grandy:
Miguel De Grandy
7540 SW 75 St
Miami, Fl 33143
Julie De Grandy-Cancio
10060 NW9 St Cir
Miami, Fl 33172
Bertha Galvez
10060 NW9 St Cir
Miami, Fl 33172
(Note same address as Julie De Grandy)
Miguel De Grandy PA
800 Douglas Rd
Coral Gables, Fl 33134
Lisa De Grandy
7540 SW 75 St
Miami, Fl 33143
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