Monday, July 16, 2012

Based on Campaign Financing: Which County Commissioner is in the most trouble? By Geniusofdespair

Dork or Mr. Everyman?

I believe Bruno Barreiro is the most vulnerable of all the County Commissioners. Running against Bruno, Luis Garcia has the Lincoln Road crowd and the Entertainment companies supporting him. Craig Robbins ($2,500) and Norman Braman ($5,000) are  solidly behind him. He also has a lock on Waste Management as waste entities from all over the U.S. are giving to the tune of $4,900. What did Bruno do to deserve that backlash? The Firefighters are backing Luis, no surprise there as Luis was a firefighter. Garcia raised $72,240 total.

Luis has Sasha Tirador helping him on his campaign.  Isn't she a bit stretched between at least 2 other county candidates (Joe Martinez and Manny Machado? Luis Suris is also working on Garcia's campaign. Suris just started his company in March. Who is he?

Ron Book has given to Barreiro as well as the rest of the usual subjects like Affordable Housing's Bobby Saland and Traffic Planner (can justify anything you want) Kathy Sweetapple and Sergio Pino. Michael Adler gave $2,500. The Diaz Balart's gave as well. In the last report, Bruno only raised $62,730 whereas Audrey Edmonson raised $113,505 in the same period and non-sitting Commissioner Juan Zapata raised $82.951. Luis Garcia actually raised MORE THAN Barreiro, A sitting Commissioner, in this cycle.  There are two other viable candidates in the District 5 race Calixto Garcia, Ph.D. ($15,313) and Carlos E Munoz Fontanillis ($19,195).

With three strong candidates against him with reasonable to good fundraising skills, I think Bruno is in trouble. I bet there will be a run-off especially since there is Braman PAC money at work for Luis Garcia. And with the hated Sasha Tirador on Luis's side, Bruno loses that coveted absentee ballot advantage.  Let the games begin!

13 comments:

Norris said...

I just watched the Defede debate between Bruno and Garcia on the CBS4 website. Bruno looked very uncomfortable. Of course he always sounds retarded because of his inability to form complete sentences.

Garcia was aggressive. He was better than Bruno, but it was not a slam dunk. He thought Barriero went into the legislature immediately after college. As far as I know, Barriero never graduated from college. Also, Garcia's command of English is not that good.

I hope Garcia wins. I only wish Miami Voice had been able to gather enough signatures to recall Bruno last year.

Anonymous said...

Very odd to see an incumbent who has been so good to the lobbyists and special interests not raise as much money as a challenger. Bruno cut a deal to run for another office and told his developer buddies to hold back on the money until he re-cycles.

Anonymous said...

When Bruno initially ran for county commissioner, the now disgraced State Senator Al Gutman, Bruno's mentor, was his de facto campaign manager and raised his funds. Bruno is a simpleton who cannot do it himself.

P.S. If you are wondering how Bruno and his family struck at rich in the Medicaid reimbursement business, ask Senator Al.

Anonymous said...

If Bruno loses, look for him to pop up in next year's MB mayoral race. He'll be the proxy for the ousted manager, who is still running the current mayor. Look no further than this week's commission meeting item C4J, where the mayor is proposing to bring a booting company in to reduce towing...booting company lobbyist is alex penelas

Anonymous said...

I think Bruno is raising all he needs to win. Neither candidate did well on Defede. This campaign will be won on a retail level. Who is walking door to door?

The inaccurate, outdated group attack ads seem designed to appeal to one person: Norman Braman. He probably gets all excited every time he sees it.

Anonymous said...

I thought there was a boot on Alex Penalas.

Anonymous said...

Forget the boot, word is that Norman Braman pitches a tent when someone opposes a sitting commissioner.

Anonymous said...

As bad as Bruno is, I can't vote for Luis Garcia. First he shows no cojones and drops out of race against a beatable David Rivera and then becomes one of Bramans puppet's. And to make matters worse, he has hired Sasha Tirador to handle his AB campaign. It's actually sad that today's politicians won't hang on to any principles. How someone can align themselves with Tirador is disgraceful. Come o think about it, not going to vote for either one.

Concerned Democrat

Geniusofdespair said...

Don't be stupid, vote for Calixto. Not voting is never an option. A Dem is better than than Bruno any day. Learn to hold your nose.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anom and Genius. Will give my vote to Calixto. Garcia killed it for me with Tirador.

Anonymous said...

Genius or anyone... Have you all watched the awrd winnning documentary "waiting for Superman". After watching that how could anyone be against the growth of charter schools in our country. Dont u8nderstand the pushback. Public schools have been getting worst for at least 20 years now. Any opinions? Great documentary!

Geniusofdespair said...

I am not a fan of charter schools. Why don't they just fund public schools and support them? If you undermine them they will never work. Charter schools in Florida might as well be called segregated, because most are.

Anonymous said...

to anom above, my kids are in charter school and yes they were in there before i watched the documentary. No doubt they are receiving a better education than they would have had I put them in the local public school which is a mess. However I can see the resentment especially in those families who can get in. Genius, we can keep throwing good money at bad money. Until teachers get rid of tenure the school system will never be reformed for the better. Good luck getting rid of a bad public school teacher.