With the election just one week away, I was concerned that the race for Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair remained uncontested. State Senator Shevrin Jones is a good man and a more than capable candidate, but competition is good for the consumer. It is, in fact, essential for democracy: no options, no election. Voters need a robust marketplace of ideas. We deserve an opportunity to hear our candidates propose their plans and lay out of a vision for the future. @MiamiDadeDems are a shambles. We’ve been hijacked by a consultant cartel that does not care about getting Democrats elected; they only care about lining their pockets. And they’ve run the Party right into the ground — for profit. They exploit our bank accounts to pass-through unlimited contributions to their candidates and abuse our hard-working volunteers for the sole benefit of their monopoly. They have perverted the very essence of what it means to be a Democrat. We are trying to save our Party; they are trying to preserve their business model. Until we acknowledge, confront, and remedy the reality of the unethical grifters in our midst, we will continue to lose elections. And we must stop gaslighting ourselves about our prospects in this cycle. It further harms the credibility of an already debilitated brand and hampers any hope we have to move forward, fundraise, recruit candidates, run competent campaigns, and set a longterm course for success. My chances of winning would be greater with anonymous ballots. I understand it’ll be difficult for many people to vote for me, even if they want to, due to the pressure and intimidation tactics you’ll be subjected to by the consultant cartel that demands the status quo because their livelihood depends on it. (Also #BecauseMiami.) But this important process should not be a coronation; it should at least be a conversation. I often say Democrats in Florida never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Let’s not miss this opportunity. I have some ideas; I know @ShevrinJones does. Let’s talk about them. @nikkifriedfl
“I just hope they get what’s coming to them. Karma’s a bitch.” Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo’s former receptionist (and relative by marriage), Tanjha Quintana, says Joe and his fourth wife “coerced” and “coached” her to falsely accuse two of his staffers of sexual harassment for political revenge before they testified against him in the $63.5 million corruption lawsuit (that he lost) #BecauseMiami LINK IN BIO FOR FULL INTERVIEW
#BREAKING: Florida Appeals Court says “draconian” City of Miami Mafia “did not act in good faith,” tried to illegally demolish private property of same businessmen who won $63.5 million corruption judgment against Commissioner Joe Carollo for weaponizing government to violate their constitutional rights for political revenge #BecauseMiami Commissioner Comemierda and his co-conspirators, including city manager Art Noriega, disgraced ex-city attorney “Tricky” Vicky Mendez and various department heads, continued their alleged racketeering enterprise against Little Havana business owners Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla by targeting all their properties and businesses. According to Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals, even as Fuller and Pinilla cooperated, submitted the required building plans, received approvals, and sought permits for buildings like the historic Tower Hotel, the “city often changed its approvals of certain portions of the plans to denials without explanation, and otherwise did not act in good faith. It frustrates the purpose of a mitigation plan if the City can simply fail to act and then seek a draconian remedy of demolition based on nothing more than the owners’ inability to comply with a deadline based on the City’s own (in)action.” The three-judge panel overturned part of a lower court ruling, ordering a motion for a temporary injunction to stop the city from demolishing the properties. manolo4miami @iamchristineking francissuarez
“WHERE GOUGING IS A PLEASURE!” Floridians getting ripped off on groceries while Publix PROFITS are up 49% (!!!) to $4.3 billion in 2023, compared to $2.9 billion in 2022. Florida — and particularly Miami — is the inflation capital of the U.S. with the nation’s most unaffordable housing market, highest insurance prices, and grocery prices (up over 30% since 2019). But it’s not just “inflation,” it’s corporate greed. Just six grocery chains control half the market and, “in Florida, Publix dominates with over 800 locations in the Sunshine State, according to Miami New Times. Dow Jones-owned Barron’s says Publix outdoes its competitors on net margins by a long shot: “Publix’s net margin is 7 percent, against just over 2 percent for Kroger. Publix earned more on its $57 billion in sales last year than Kroger did with $150 billion in revenues,” they wrote last month. “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency responsible for antitrust law enforcement and consumer protection, released a March report titled ‘Feeding America in a Time of Crisis,’ which found that large grocery chains’ price hikes kept their profits ballooning despite pandemic-era supply-chain gridlock, product shortages, and worker wage increases.” “University of Massachusetts professor Isabella Weber posited that large grocery store chains contributed to inflation — which reached a 40-year high of 9 percent in 2022 — by exploiting supply chain bottlenecks and coordinating price hikes with one another to increase profits. Weber referred to the phenomenon as ‘seller’s inflation’ — a mainstream concept at this point.”
Miami is the city of the future — and always will be. Third World Government, Fourth World Infrastructure. #BecauseMiami 📸 @adamold
PART 2 (OF 2): I helped elect the last Democrat to win in Miami-Dade, Commissioner Damian Pardo. The @MiamiDadeDems ran against him, and lost! Now their losing candidate Sabina Covo — who the Party endorsed because she’s a client of Christian Ulvert’s consultant cartel — is under investigation for bribery in that election. And the Democratic state attorney candidate Katherine Fernandez Rundle had to recuse herself (again) because she’s involved in the corruption! Rundle is also client of Ulvert — who may be a witness and/or subject in that case. How is any of this a good look for Dems? People have fled the local Party due to our losing record and reputation for dysfunction, but I spoke with potential new donors who pledged $1 million — US, not MiamiCoin — if, under my leadership, I could breathe life into this moribund organization. We must diminish the outsize power of these unelected consultants. Christian Ulvert’s monopoly may be the single most toxic influence on Democratic Party politics in Florida. I was definitely prepared for the disarray but disappointed in the unethical misconduct and hypocrisy of local and state party leadership. I’ve determined I can do more good from outside this broken DEC than wasting time trying to reform this hot mess from within. I withdrew my candidacy. P.S. After my demand — as a journalist and First Amendment advocate committed to transparency and accountability — that the DEC post the candidate forum online publicly, they finally caved over 18 hours later. Why can’t we get anything right the first time? It’s embarrassing. Florida Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. ‘Consultant Cowboys’ coming soon? @nikkifriedfl
PART 1 (OF 2): After doing my due diligence this past week, I quickly discovered that @MiamiDadeDems is the kind of organization I’d make a documentary about — not one I’d lead. Leadership has acted in bad faith and their misconduct is antithetical to our stated values as Democrats. They canceled our in-person Chair Candidate Forum, made it Zoom only, locked out the public and press, banned recording of the event, and scheduled elections in a deliberate effort to disenfranchise our members and minimize turnout. I was the only candidate who presented a realistic and comprehensive plan for how to save our Party, so I’m happy to share it with all of you here (in two parts). Dems have been a virtual nonentity in Florida for nearly a quarter century — and we’re desperately losing ground in Miami-Dade. One-party rule has allowed Republicans to run my homestate into the ground. We have better ideas, but we keep losing. We need to stop lying to ourselves, our donors, and voters and get real. We must better allocate our limited resources and focus on key campaigns, rack up some wins, rebuild confidence and regain relevance. There are a lot of dedicated, hard-working Dems committed to reform, and doing what it takes to win elections, but we’ve been hijacked and held hostage by a consultant cartel — and complicit leadership — forcing status quo candidates down our throats. They only care about lining the pockets of their monopoly and, in the process, have run the Party right into the ground — for profit. They have perverted the very essence of what it means to be a Democrat. We are trying to save our Party; they are trying to preserve a business model. Until we’re willing to accept, confront, and remedy the reality of the unethical grifters in our midst, we will continue to lose elections. @nikkifriedfl
Sworn in at today’s commission meeting, new Miami city attorney George Wysong was chosen by a committee of conflicted lobbyists, has worked for the corrupt city his entire career (since 1993), conspired with disgraced fired city attorney “Tricky” Vicky Mendez to deceitfully help Commissioner Joe “Wifebeater” Carollo beat a recall campaign, and was legal counsel to the police department when the department was placed under federal oversight for violating the Constitution“excessive use of deadly force,” after 33 police shootings from 2008 to 2011, including the fatal shooting of seven unarmed Black men. What could possibly go wrong? #BecauseMiami manolo4miami @iamchristineking Get the cheese at PoliticalCortadito.com
“I wouldn’t want to moderate an event that other journalists aren’t allowed to cover.” Miami Herald editor and veteran reporter, David Smiley, dropped out as moderator of last night’s Miami-Dade Democrats Chair candidate forum because the event “was not consistent with my journalistic values.” “There were a couple sticking points [with the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee] when we met Monday to discuss the structure of the event, including my position that the event had to be broadcast to the general public for me to be involved,” he told Florida Politics. But the DEC banned the press and the public from viewing the Zoom webinar. Because Florida Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. @nikkifriedfl
Florida Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. “Democracy dies in darkness.” @nikkifriedfl
#BREAKING: Disgraced corrupt ex-Surfside mayor @ShlomoDanzinger files to run for Miami-Dade County mayor weeks after losing re-election in Surfside and allegedly destroying public records and town property on his way out #BecauseMiami
#BREAKING: Following the conflict of interest scandal involving Miami City Manager @ArtNoriega and his wife Michelle Pradere-Noriega’s overpriced furniture company, @pradereoffice has now been SUSPENDED as a city vendor. Thank you Commissioners @damianpardod2 and @gabela4miami for your leadership on this. #BecauseMiami @iamchristineking
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Dems gonna Dem… After Sen. Shevrin Jones agreed to participate in an independent Miami-Dade Dems Chair candidate forum last week, I took the initiative to arrange this hybrid in-person/virtual event in a matter of hours, securing a free (fun) location and diverse panel of qualified moderators with a combined 60 YEARS of experience as Chairs, and three Miami-Dade Dem clubs and caucuses offered to co-sponsor. But Sen. Jones and the Party had a meltdown about it and he pulled out. Democrats are supposed to be about open and honest dialogue, and free and fair elections, but Sen. Jones said: “While I agreed to participate in a forum with Mr. Billy Corben, I did not agree to the moderators and will not participate if this is the direction. I also suggest that any forum should be coordinated with our acting Chair, Laura Wagner…” SPOILER ALERT: Wagner has already publicly endorsed Sen. Jones for Chair — an obvious conflict of interest — and she should recuse herself from overseeing this election process, which has been inexplicably scheduled during a Jewish holiday (the election is on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach — because Florida Dems never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Even so, I attempted to communicate with her all day last Friday, a week from the election, but she was unresponsive. I understand everybody’s busy and these are volunteer positions, but it took her a day and a half just to get me a membership list. The DEC WhatsApp chat descended into chaos over the forum, with former Miami-Dade Chair Robert Dempster — one of only two Black Chairs in recent history who was just removed by Florida Dems Chair Nikki Fried — referring to one remark by DEC Interclub Council Chair Bentonne Snay as “the single most racist thing I have ever heard come from one of the leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.” Stay tuned… @nikkifriedfl
Thanks to State Sen. @shevrinjones and moderators former @miamidadedems Chairs Rep. Joe Geller, Sen. @annette_taddeo and Robert Dempster for agreeing to join us in the marketplace of ideas and to engage in an open and honest discussion about our vision for the future of the Party. I look forward to seeing them and all of you at @grampswynwood next Wednesday night for spirits and spirited discussion!
#BREAKING: New emails detail ex-Miami Commissioner @SabinaCovoMiami’s alleged scheme — first reported on the #BecauseMiami podcast — to trade a city job for an endorsement in her failed re-election bid, now the subject of a bribery investigation. #BecauseMiami Last November on the podcast, before the runoff for Miami City Commission District 2 between incumbent Covo and challenger Damian Pardo, former general election opponent @votejamestorres accused Covo of offering him a city contract worth over $100,000 in exchange for his endorsement of her. He says he declined, but claimed that Eddy Leal took the deal. @eddylealdistrict2,a former lawyer for Mayor @FrancisSuarez and third place candidate had endorsed Covo — despite an alleged pre-election pact among Torres, @damianpardod2 and Leal to support whichever of them made the runoff. She is now under investigation for bribery by the Broward State Attorney since Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle was once again forced to recuse herself from a public corruption case due to a conflict of interest. Rundle shares a campaign consultant with Covo, Christian Ulvert, who may be a witness or co-conspirator in this case. Leal first met with city manager Art Noriega after his election loss to “express desire to return to the City of Miami in some capacity.” Leal says he also had a meeting with Covo where her campaign “asked me if I had any interest in returning to the city.” “After meeting with him, she instructed me to go forward with a consulting agreement for policy guidance and other purposes in the District 2 office,” Covo’s then chief of staff Anthony Balzebre told the Miami Herald this week. New emails show that on Nov. 13, Balzebre asked @ArtNoriega for authorization to hire Leal as an “expert consultant, to provide strategic advisory services to the City of Miami’s District 2 Office.” Twenty minutes later, a reply: “The Manager approves.” Covo says her chief of staff acted alone without her knowledge. But it’s doubtful she devised this scheme on her own. The question is what did her political puppeteer @cbulvert and corrupt lying city manager Noriega know and when did they know it?
#BREAKING: New emails detail ex-Miami Commissioner @SabinaCovoMiami’s alleged scheme — first reported on the #BecauseMiami podcast — to trade a city job for an endorsement in her failed re-election bid, now the subject of a bribery investigation. #BecauseMiami Last November on the podcast, before the runoff for Miami City Commission District 2 between incumbent Covo and challenger Damian Pardo, former general election opponent @votejamestorres accused Covo of offering him a city contract worth over $100,000 in exchange for his endorsement of her. He says he declined, but claimed that Eddy Leal took the deal. @eddylealdistrict2,a former lawyer for Mayor @FrancisSuarez and third place candidate had endorsed Covo — despite an alleged pre-election pact among Torres, @damianpardod2 and Leal to support whichever of them made the runoff. She is now under investigation for bribery by the Broward State Attorney since Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle was once again forced to recuse herself from a public corruption case due to a conflict of interest. Rundle shares a campaign consultant with Covo, Christian Ulvert, who may be a witness or co-conspirator in this case. Leal first met with city manager Art Noriega after his election loss to “express desire to return to the City of Miami in some capacity.” Leal says he also had a meeting with Covo where her campaign “asked me if I had any interest in returning to the city.” “After meeting with him, she instructed me to go forward with a consulting agreement for policy guidance and other purposes in the District 2 office,” Covo’s then chief of staff Anthony Balzebre told the Miami Herald this week. New emails show that on Nov. 13, Balzebre asked @ArtNoriega for authorization to hire Leal as an “expert consultant, to provide strategic advisory services to the City of Miami’s District 2 Office.” Twenty minutes later, a reply: “The Manager approves.” Covo says her chief of staff acted alone without her knowledge. But it’s doubtful she devised this scheme on her own. The question is what did her political puppeteer @cbulvert and corrupt lying city manager Noriega know and when did they know it?
#BREAKING: New emails detail ex-Miami Commissioner @SabinaCovoMiami’s alleged scheme — first reported on the #BecauseMiami podcast — to trade a city job for an endorsement in her failed re-election bid, now the subject of a bribery investigation. #BecauseMiami Last November on the podcast, before the runoff for Miami City Commission District 2 between incumbent Covo and challenger Damian Pardo, former general election opponent @votejamestorres accused Covo of offering him a city contract worth over $100,000 in exchange for his endorsement of her. He says he declined, but claimed that Eddy Leal took the deal. @eddylealdistrict2,a former lawyer for Mayor @FrancisSuarez and third place candidate had endorsed Covo — despite an alleged pre-election pact among Torres, @damianpardod2 and Leal to support whichever of them made the runoff. She is now under investigation for bribery by the Broward State Attorney since Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle was once again forced to recuse herself from a public corruption case due to a conflict of interest. Rundle shares a campaign consultant with Covo, Christian Ulvert, who may be a witness or co-conspirator in this case. Leal first met with city manager Art Noriega after his election loss to “express desire to return to the City of Miami in some capacity.” Leal says he also had a meeting with Covo where her campaign “asked me if I had any interest in returning to the city.” “After meeting with him, she instructed me to go forward with a consulting agreement for policy guidance and other purposes in the District 2 office,” Covo’s then chief of staff Anthony Balzebre told the Miami Herald this week. New emails show that on Nov. 13, Balzebre asked @ArtNoriega for authorization to hire Leal as an “expert consultant, to provide strategic advisory services to the City of Miami’s District 2 Office.” Twenty minutes later, a reply: “The Manager approves.” Covo says her chief of staff acted alone without her knowledge. But it’s doubtful she devised this scheme on her own. The question is what did her political puppeteer @cbulvert and corrupt lying city manager Noriega know and when did they know it?
