A few years back, Vile Natacha Seijas was recalled and had to go for reelection because of a successful petition asking for the recall within her district. Stephen Cody surfaced around that time as being known to be helping Vile Natacha Seijas thwart the effort. Now Cody has filed suit against Flinn for violating the Resign to Run law. Hmmm. Finally a competing campaign found a beard, or they paid one(?), and look who it is!! Stephen Cody! Seijas has her hands in everything. Cody sometimes worked with lobbyist Miguel DeGrandy, on Cody's website it says: "Of-Counsel to Miguel De Grandy, P.A." They even might have shared an office. Cody fought the recall of Vile Natacha Seijas, he fought the strong mayor initiative - filed that lawsuit. Not surprised at this turn of events...was just waiting patiently for it to happen, but this is an eye-opener on how tainted this campaign is.
Glad it will be in court tomorrow. This is a legal issue now. According to Miami New Times:
Another pro-Seijas PAC, Citizens to Protect the People's Choice, collected $185,000 between April and November. PAC treasurer Daniel Hernandez has been Seijas's campaign treasurer during her three previous elections. "I've known her since before she entered politics," Hernandez says. "She is a woman of great integrity."
Developer Sergio Pino put up $26,000 through five of his corporations. Affordable housing builder and ex-Hialeah Councilman Silvio Cardoso ponied up $8500 through seven of his companies. Adrian gave $6000, and Shojaee donated $5000.
That PAC has spent $77,860 to pay election law and civil rights attorney Stephen Cody to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the recall group against the county.
It's here that Seijas's connection to the strong-mayor vote surfaces. Cody simultaneously represents Citizens for Open Government, a PAC formed to fight the petition; it is funded by pro-Seijas developers including Shojaee and Adrian, who kicked in $50,000. The anti-strong mayor's treasurer is Hernandez, who insists Seijas is not involved. "When we started this effort, I told Natacha to stay out of it," he says. "I told her not to worry about what we were doing."
35 comments:
Interesting, G.o.D. Any idea which campaign hired him? Any way to find out? I'm sure the voters would like to know.
This is exactly what happens whenever the major political parties gets involved in local campaigns.
They have an army of well-paid attorneys who bring along their minions (legal aides to do their dirty work and do their best impress their bosses).
They go over their opponents records with a fine tooth-comb. Anything they find irregular - BAM! They pounce with a vengeance!
Just take a look at all the Gubernatorial and Senate candidates - both sides are at it. And we're the ones left holding the bag!
Everthing is special interest money. Utterly disgsting!
This shows how cunning the power brokers are to try to place someone else in position as they fear Flinn is in the lead. This is politics at its worst, create innuendo right before election day to try to tip the balance. Cody was one of the masterminds ( public interest ambulance chaser ?) who caused these wonderful (NOT) districts at the BCC. This would seem to be a play by the LBA and the Vile One to put Obdulio in a runoff. Just my opinion, given Cody's ties her and MdeG. Yes, he did share or use some of the same space with MDeG.
Cody does dirty work for the wrecking crew. Yes it's all planned out. Probably in the US Century Bank board room with the directors moving the pieces.
Didn't Century Plumbing, aka, Century Bank, aka, Sergio Pino give Annette Taddeo $500?
And throughout the news coverage over Flinn, hasn't Taddeo been the one who has been interviewed consistently? Why not give the rest of the candidates a chance to weigh in?
Insteresting...
This has the smell of an unreformable majority kind of stink. Interesting and disgusting all at the same time. Let's remember this when they are all running for election. By that time, the county will be in a complete meltdown fiscally, people will be pissed, and we can point the finger at them and clean house.
Of course, the "big boys and girls" want to take Flinn out.
He's getting important endorsements and his fundraising is beginning to surge and he is beginning to become a threat.
And this comes as a surprise to some of you?
LOL! Amateurs
Hey, Miami Dade is their home base. They have to enforce the unspoken rule of law. That it has nothing to do with real "law" is the point.
I am really wondering why Flinn didn't just go ahead and resign when all of this started cropping up. The law as I read it says the resignation can be set to be effective as of the start date of the new office but it is supposed to be given 10 days before qualifying. When this started becoming an issue why didn't Flinn just go ahead and send in the resignation. That way, if he did get sued over it, which is now what has happened, he could at least say it was just an oversight or mistake and he has since filed the resignation. He would be clean when he has to appear in court over it tomorrow. I am really concerned that he may be disqualified now and he was my favorite candidate.
I just saw Mayor Flinn's reaction to the Channel 4's story.
He said that he was in consultation with his attorneys and volunteered that "I didn't realize I had to resign."
Damm! This is not just innuendo anymore. There seems to have been some absent-mindedness here.
This has Taddeo Camp written all over it! Wow, she wanted to avoid an all out Anglo vs. Hispanic war. She took him out. Marin is brilliant!
From the Florida Election Division of the Dept. of State website: "The “resign-to-run law” essentially prohibits an elected or appointed “officer” from qualifying as a candidate for another state, district, county or municipal public office if the terms or any part of the terms overlap with each other if the person did not resign from the office the person presently holds. (Section 99.012(3), Florida Statutes.)" Would this apply to Flinn?
Yes, as someone commented above, each time this issue has been raised or pursued by the press, Taddeo has been the one featured in the news report. When Channel 41 turned up at the UEL candidate forum and tried to interview Flinn about it (who wouldn't comment), the only one of the other candidates they interviewed was Taddeo. That's odd since all the other candidates were present and you would think the reporter would want comments from all of them or at least more of them. The only rational conclusion considering that this has been a pattern is that Taddeo's campaign is at least involved in spreading the news about the Flinn situation if not instigating it from the start.
Who is Flinn's Campaign Manager????
Chapter 6 Becoming a Candidate Pg11
https://doe.dos.state.fl.us/publications/pdf/2010/2010CandCampTreasHandbook.pdf
Frequently asked questions
http://www.elections.myflorida.com/gen-faq.shtml#link9
It seems that this District 8 election was not important enough to Flinn to check for himself. Relying on the ADVICE of his handlers????
Oh I did not know we could not do that! Is the Mentality that every one complains about our leaders, this is the direction that this County has gone in Politically and Leadership wise or better yet Unwise.....
From eye on Miami back in January:
http://www.eyeonpalmettobay.com/sealing-the-deal-magazine-editor-accuses-mayor-flinn-of-charter-violation/
Didn't he have to resign back then?
They only one to stay clean is Danny Marmorstein!
Genius, please post the rest of the Pinecrest Library video. Then we can talk about issues.
I don't have videos. Contact the Urban Environment League.
anon above Mr. Freer: No. That eye on Palmetto post was about wearing his city lapel pin in a campaign photo. I don't think there was any follow up to the complaint... I saw the photo. The pin was too small to see what it said.
You don't resign till you qualify...I think qualifying was sometime in June.
Seijas has also "stood shoulder-to-shoulder" with the Dade County Farm Bureau, a 3500-member group of South Dade land owners who, among other things, advocate for opening agricultural land for development. She recently gave the group $10,000 from her commission office discretionary fund for marketing. On November 17, the bureau hosted a fundraiser that raised $8000 to fight the recall. "We've found her to be very reasonable and accessible," relays executive director Katie Edwards. "She has gone above and beyond to hear our concerns."
Interesting. This group of characters then would have a relationship with state house candidate Katie Edwards and Lynda Bell as well.
Nice bunch of folks.
Stephen Cody fought Michael Pizzi, trying to get signatures thrown out on Vile Natasha's recall petitions. Cody lost.
Let's put aside which campaign is trying to destroy which candidate for a moment.
Did Flynn, in fact, fail to follow the law and abide by the resign law?
In other words, could he REALLY face disqualification from the race?
I feel like I just got covered with lice, reading this post and comments. Time to sell the house and move outta here.
Cody has found a niche that pays very well according to the report above.
No candidate would ON purpose set out to be disqualified.
That being said. Cody obliviously is in this with other candidates. The timing is too weird and remember this campaign has been ongoing for months, people like Cody and the other campaigns check records out constantly...they knew they were going to file this week, this far into the campaign. Watch for the nasty campaign mailers in your mail box as a follow-up.
It is not about anyone's qualification. This is nothing more than a craven effort to take away our right to vote and to have our vote not count.
We all should vote for Flinn. As a community, we should not allow candidates (including those who proclaim "its not me" and the ones with shady friends) to intimidate those of us who are active voters.
Winning a campaign by a rumor and email blitz or causing voters to hesitate to vote by filing lawsuits, is not winning. It is dirty politics and those candidates who act this way are symptomatic of what is wrong with American politics.
I voted. I am not going to be silent.
Yes Flinn can be disqualified today.
If he is going to need a job, there is a City Manager position open in Homestead
It is dirty politics
To me it shows that those candidates are prone to corruption if they let their managers lead them that way.
This is what "monied" interests does, folks. They DO NOT like competition.
There's A LOT of special interest money flowing in this campaign for just ONE County Commission seat. Well paid "operatives" do the dirty work and the winner must later "return the favor."
We, Hispanics, have a old saying: "todo lo que brilla, no es oro." - "Not everything that shines is gold."
For those of you in the "cheap seats" that didn't get it - Be very careful who you vote for. You may be throwing your vote away.
This is just a cheap shot and Gene should succeed. The qualifying information for commissioners found at this link: http://www.miamidade.gov/elections/Library/run_for_office/handbook/4-4.pdf
clearly states that the term for commissioners begins on the second Tuesday following the general election in November. Gene's Mayoral term would be over by then so he would not be serving two offices at once and there would have been no need to resign. I think he'll succeed on the merits of the case. Cody never should have brought it.
Cody may lose again...He lost the Strong Mayor initiative, and lost the Pizzi/Seijas issue. He loves to raise a stink, but obviously there are several people/groups behind this.
Does he (Cody) have standing as in does he live in the district? Is he a walking, talking penis ?
Cody is a vuvuzela. Seijas and De Grandy are having a grand time with the commotion.
Really crazy comments here. Ultimately voters will decide who wins this election. What a shame this has happened, since it ruins the flow of the campaign. Good luck to the contenders. With any luck, the best woman will win: Annette Taddeo!
"Dingfelder had been sued by a Republican voter after he failed to resign his seat on the Tampa City Council before qualifying, according to Florida’s “resign-to-run” law."
"Strangely, the same mistake was made by another Tampa City Council member, Linda Saul-Sena, who also failed to resign according to the law, in running for another Hillsborough Commission seat. She too resigned her seat on the council, only to be nominated by the DEC to run in the District 5 race."
By ROBERT NAPPER 8/20/10 12:49 PM
THE FLORIDA INDEPENDENT
THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT NEWS NETWORK
http://floridaindependent.com/6253/appeals-court-upholds-ruling-that-dingfelder-can-run
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