Showing posts with label Beam Furr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beam Furr. Show all posts

Monday, November 6, 2023

re Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's office fighting a ruling on lobbying restrictions on Florida's elected officials: The cautionary tale of Steve Geller and Joe Gibbons track record makes a reasonable person realize we NEED even stronger and more meaningful ethics laws in the Sunshine State



re Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's office fighting a ruling on lobbying restrictions on Florida's elected officials: The cautionary tale of Steve Geller and Joe Gibbons track record makes a reasonable person realize we NEED even stronger and more meaningful ethics laws in the Sunshine State 

As I have told most of you loyal readers of the blog via emails or in-person since before 2018 -some of you, in fact, SEVERAL TIMES!- I truly wish the Florida law mentioned last week in Florida Trend, below, had been a state law in effect back when: 

a.) Present-day Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller was a state senator, with a public office located at Hallandale Beach City Hall no less.
In theory if not practice, Geller was supposed to be representing the citizens and stakeholders of Hallandale Beach in the Florida state Senate in Tallahassee, yet at the time, was free to legally lobby AGAINST their interests -as well as those of HB's elected officials- on behalf of any of his lobbying clients, and,

b.) Joe Gibbons, the ex-Hallandale Beach City Commissioner and then-Florida state Representative -so, like Steve Geller above, in theory, representing the interests of citizens and small business owners of Hallandale Beach and West Park in the Florida House of Representatives in Tallahassee- yet, Gibbons was legally free to lobby AGAINST the interests of the city's residents, stakeholders and elected officials, on behalf of his other clients. And did.

Clients that Hallandale Beach citizens and stakeholders were completely unaware of, even if a particular project he was somehow financially involved in was being discussed on local TV newscasts or in the Miami Herald or South Florida Sun Sentinel, since unless his name is specifically mentioned, how would you know he was connected to it?
You wouldn't.

In one particular egregious case regarding Joe Gibbons WHILE he was a Florida state Representative, a case that I chronicled here on the blog MANY TIMES at the time, Gibbons was working FOR the interests of a large, well-heeled South Florida real estate development company involving a VERY UNPOPULAR development proposal on the beach. Specifically, one proposed for 2000 S. Ocean Drive.
What is now referred to as 2000 Ocean, below.





A proposed development that was opposed by both the city residents living closest to it, at the Parker Plaza condos, as well as the majority of the rest of the community.




The latter, a reflection of the fact that the city's elected officials, City Manager and CRA officials seemed even more intent than usual in bending over and rushing the project through with as little public engagement and input, and handicapping the public by NOT making PUBLIC INFORMATION available to me and them as soon as it was available.
(Yes, not only the common thread but actually the default position of Hallandale Beach elected officials and City Managers since I first returned to South Florida 20 years ago, after working and living in Washington, D.C. for roughly 15 years, often on behalf of some of the largest of Fortune 500 companies, and the nation's most influential law firms, PACs and lobbying groups.)

Typically for Broward County pols, where no interest looms larger than self-interest, Joe Gibbons did all of this while he was running against first-term incumbent Beam Furr for his Broward County Commission seat representing SE Broward County, including Hollywood. 
If you were a normal person, you'd think that the issue would have caused the South Florida news media to be all over it, given that it was happening while Gibbons was campaigning for public office again.
But you'd be wrong.

As I wrote about many times here on the blog, absolutely ZERO members of South Florida's press corps, print or TV or even NPR affiliate WLRN, were interested in asking any hard questions about that particular arrangement, despite the unethical optics of it, to say nothing of the huge amount Gibbons reportedly would have received if he had succeeded: $200,000 according to well-informed people involved in the process.

And the worst part of all, a FACT that I wrote about then on my blog and in emails to many of you, Gibbons NEVER even did the bare minimum the city's extant ethics and lobbying laws REQUIRED.

That is, Gibbons never filed the required lobbying docs at HB City Hall, as every other lobbyist is required to do, yet he had many conversations with City Commissioners and top city staffers at the time, including several with unethical Comm. Anthony Sanders, a man who later was forced out by Broward Inspector General John Scott because of Sanders steering nearly a million dollars in HB CRA funds to his family and friends, naturally, because the city was unwilling and unable to do even the most basic oversight of the millions of dollars in the city's CRA pot.
(For the record, the Miami Herald has STILL never reported in-print that he was forced to resign -or else!)

That Joe Gibbons, who lived in Jacksonville with his family while he was a state Representative, while claiming, falsely, to be a full-time bona fide Hallandale Beach resident, was a great believer of rules for you and me, but NOT for him. Surprise!

Even now we STILL don't know who the real priorities of Steve Geller and Joe Gibbons were when they were public officials in Tallahassee or Broward County: the public or their own financial interests?




---

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
Florida attorney general's office fights a ruling on a lobbying restriction
Jim Saunders | The News Service of Florida | 10/26/2023

Pointing to securing the “public trust,” Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office has asked a federal appeals court to overturn a decision that blocked part of a 2018 state constitutional amendment imposing new restrictions
on lobbying.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom this summer issued a permanent injunction against a restriction on state and local officials lobbying other government bodies while in office. Bloom said the restriction violated First Amendment rights.

But in a 62-page brief filed Wednesday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers in Moody’s office disputed that the restriction is unconstitutional and said paid “lobbying by public officials threatens the integrity of and public confidence in democracy.”

Florida’s restriction alleviates the threat of financial quid pro quos and their appearance in a direct and material way,” the brief said. “It prevents elected and executive-level officers, who wield political influence, from taking, or appearing to take, dollars … for political favors … in derogation of public trust.”

The 2018 amendment, which was proposed by the state Constitution Revision Commission, sought to bar public officials from lobbying “for compensation on issues of policy, appropriations, or procurement before the federal government, the Legislature, any state government body or agency, or any political subdivision of this state, during his or her term of office.”

The remaining plaintiff in the case is Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rene Garcia, after Bloom ruled that another plaintiff, South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez, did not have legal standing.

Garcia, a former state House member and senator, is executive vice president of New Century Partnership, a firm that provides lobbying and other services. Garcia said he turned down at least two clients who sought lobbying services for legislative appropriations in Tallahassee because of the restriction, according to Bloom’s ruling.

In the filing Wednesday, Moody’s office took issue with the injunction applying to officials across the state. The brief said that if Bloom’s ruling is upheld, it should apply only to Garcia.

“Because Garcia’s injury is limited to the fear of enforcement against him, the court could have afforded complete relief by enjoining the state defendants from enforcing the restriction against only him,” the brief said. “By enjoining the restriction as to all public officers in the state, the district court departed from traditional equitable practice.”

Bloom, who is based in South Florida, ruled that the 2018 constitutional amendment and a law that carried it out placed “content-based, overbroad restrictions on speech.”

“Contrary to defendants’ assertion, the in-office restrictions target speech based on the context of the speech and its content,” Bloom wrote.

But the state’s brief Wednesday said that “no matter the public office or the lobbied government entity making political decisions, Florida has a substantial interest in preventing officeholders from being (or appearing to be) bought and paid for in the political arena while holding public office in public trust.”

Bloom did not block another part of the voter-approved amendment that restricts former state and local officials from lobbying for six years after leaving office.

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

What exactly is the Broward Planning Council up to now regarding ending a means of public engagement on issues of great public importance?

What is the reason that #Broward Co. Comm. is "exploring" removing
public's ability to participate + engage w/Broward Planning Council over a county
phone line? How is this a positive thing for residents/public? At 6:02 mark on video of July Broward Planning Council meeting.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/7896825?video=733993207


Today I'm sharing some news with you that I believe is both important AND interesting, which is not always the case. no?

This news is something that I first discovered by accident a few weeks ago while researching another City of Hollywood and Broward County public policy story I'm working on, the details of which will be posted here in the coming weeks for your careful perusal and consideration.

(I mentioned this news publicly for the first time last week on my popular Twitter feed, @hbbtruth. Obviously, I'm always looking for new people like you to begin Following me there on Twitter to keep up with things going on below-the radar and behind-the-scenes that I find out about or want to share before they appear here on my blog in a much-longer format.)

So, right now, for today at least, I'm NOT going to call the cavalry, point fingers, go off on a tangent, or otherwise make allegations that I can not substantiate.
Instead, I'm merely going to point you towards a very revealing Broward government-prepared video that I believe you should take a look at for yourself, where you are free to come to your own conclusions about what it might mean for the public and stakeholders' ability to communicate with government representatives, and make their voices heard on important issues of public concern involving tens of thousands of people, not to mention, their Quality of Life.

From what I have been able to gather, it looks like the professional staff of the Broward Planning Council -headquartered in the Broward County govt. bldg. on Andrews Avenue that also houses the elected Broward County Commission- and perhaps some members of the County Commission are VERY interested in pulling the plug on one of the ways that the general public can communicate with the 20 appointed members of the Broward Planning Council, who are largely elected officials from the thirty-something cities making up Broward County. As we know from experience, there are different rules for real estate developers and their army of lawyers, architects, planners and related helper minions.
 
As many of you longtime readers of this blog know, this appointed group is one that I have spoken to in the past involving very important development issues in Hallandale Beach that were being crammed down the throats of HB residents, taxpayers and stakeholders by the HB City Commission at HB City Hall. It being Hallandale Beach, this was often/usually done with only the mere pretense of public accountability, transparency or fairness that residents could have expected..

 

Shocker! This was done under the same HB mayor who is now ruling the roost there, Joy Cooper, who, somehow, got the great luck to have been given perhaps the dumbest jury in Broward County history a few years ago, who seem to have ignored a mountain of evidence and instead acquit her of multiple criminal charges, after she'd been arrested after being recorded repeatedly trying to get election campaign donations/payoffs from undercover FBI agents posing as real estate developers, in exchange for her help with votes on the dais involving development in the city.

 

As of now, barring any hurricanes in the interim, the next scheduled meeting of the Broward Planning Council is Wednesday September 22nd at 10:00 am in the Broward County Commission chambers. If I get any word, official explanation or not, for what's going on with the plug perhaps being pulled on citizens but not real estate developers, I'll post my update here!

Dave 

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Some preliminary thoughts about #Broward's 2021 #redistricting process. Final map gets voted on at what's likely to be a very spirited December 7th meeting, where some political careers may well be snuffed out


Some preliminary thoughts about #Broward's 2021 #redistricting process. Final map gets voted on at what's likely to be a very spirited December 7th meeting, where some political careers may well be snuffed out

Even as I was writing my first draft of this post this afternoon, I got word that an additional Broward County redistricting meeting has been scheduled for Saturday October 30, 2021 at 10AM, but it's... virtual. 🙄 Zut alors!

It's the last "public" meeting to comment before the last 4 draft maps are presented to the Broward County Commission for their thumbs up or down, scheduled for December 7th.

20210927_201323.jpg

My experience in the past is that the Sun Sentinel's Lisa Huriash is usually a fair-minded reporter, with a good sense of perspective re how simple or complicated an issue might be and what's necessary to present an accurate account of what's really at stake.
But here, on the issue of Broward reconfiguring its nine Commission districts, noticeably, she has failed badly

Also not mentioned is that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be naming two interim Broward County Commissioners next month, as Barbara Sharief and Dale Holness had to resign in order to run in the #FL20 primary election that takes place two weeks from today, on November 2nd.

An election with nearly a dozen candidates where the winner will likely be someone who has failed to get 75%+ of the overall Democratic voters. Most of you longtime readers of the blog know that I hold both of these two Broward Commissioners in very low regard for their serial unethical machinations, serial poor judgment, and propensity for telling self-serving lies and half-truths, and general desire to play #IdentityPolitics at the worst possible times.
You never have to ask whether they are doing something for political reasons: they ARE.

Sharief's District 8 seat is up next November while the Holness' District 9 seat runs thru 2024, so my educated guess is that both seats will be on the ballot in just over a year, one for a full-term, and one to fill out the final two years.
You should start seeing articles next week about who DeSantis might choose and why.

Migration changes face of Broward, bringing new ideas and fresh flavors
By Lisa J. Huriash
October 11, 2021 

There were and are some very obvious and important facts and relationships that, at a minimum, should have been disclosed to readers there, but which, for whatever reason, weren't.

That includes connecting-the-dots on some of the people she quotes who I know with certainty have glaring conflicts of interests as it affects the public and public policy, including on the matter of redistricting, but Huriash stays quiet as a church mouse, which is why I have included the piece by Red 
Broward blogger Tom Lauder that accurately connects-the-dots that Huriash chooses to ignore,

If you can't access the Sun Sentinel article, let me know and I'll try to send a copy to you.

And yes, the Sept. 27 meeting I reference below is the one that was held at the Hollywood Library that I sent some of you an email about last month, before it took place, because there was no info about it anywhere in Hollywood, not even at the library itself, so the librarians knew nothing about it just two days beforehand.
Which is clearly not a good sign of the county's level of engagement on this.

Click screen grab below to enlarge!


























By the way, before the public meeting was held, there was a preview meeting held by the FIU redistricting consultants that was largely composed of area local elected officials, so they'd have a better handle on what the process is supposed to be and the issues involved in creating districts that are roughly equal population-wise, though they're allowed to have up to a 10% variance.
I saw many familiar faces coming out of the room before I and a handful of other Broward citizens went in for the public meeting.


Above, the evening's moderator, FIU professor Dario Moreno, the county's lead consultant on redistricting.

Above, District 6 Broward Commissioner Beam Furr, an official Friend of the Blog. As per usual, we spoke for a bit on some local matters before the meeting started.






Broward Commissioner Steve Geller in center



Because facts matter, and are worth recalling: At least three members of the county commission in the past 20 years not lived in their districts – Ben Graber, Lois Wexler and Stacy Ritter. 

"The law requires your legal residence to be in the district, while apparently your physical body can sleep somewhere else." -Buddy Nevins at Broward Beat, Dec. 4, 2011


Broward Beat
Gerrymander! County Commission Carves Out A Seat For State Rep. Marty Kiar

BY BUDDY NEVINS
December 16, 2011

State Rep. Marty Kiar of Davie is “extremely likely” to run for the Broward County Commission after commissioners on Tuesday gerrymandered District 1 to include Kiar’s home.

The opportunity for Kiar suddenly surfaced late Tuesday when commissioners suddenly placed a tiny sliver of northwest Davie in District 1.  That section just happens to include Kiar’s home.

Districting boundary lines are not drawn by accident at the county commission. Somebody wants Kiar in the race, either the Commissioners Lieberman and Stacy Ritter who redrew the district or those behind the scenes…or both.

Read the rest of the post at


A reminder: After resisting getting a Facebook account for... well, years, because I could not be bothered with one with everything else I was already doing, I finally gave in last month and created a new platform for myself at https://www.facebook.com/DavidSmith0215/,
mostly so that I could finally read and comment on what i saw at the Hollywood Residents - Speak Up group page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023412084491625/ which I urge you to join if you are a Hollywood resident not already reading it.

Don't agree with everything there, of course, but it's a much better informed group that a random group of residents, and includes almost daily posts by people I know and trust who want this city to be MUCH-BETTER than it is and has been in recent years. Just like me.

Typically, I comment on both my page and the group page a few times a week, but I'm trying to allow a few days in-between posts, plus, I usually try to mention things that I don't necessarily mention in my popular group emails, here on my blog, or at the very repetitive and often innocuous Hollywood Nextdoor page, so consider checking me out there as well.

Also, if you add my current phone number to your contact list and use WhatsApp, you can even see my occasional commentary on things important and otherwise via the STATUS page, so consider that, too.




Some other Florida redistricting stories worth catching up on:

Miami Herald
Miami-Dade has - a new redistricting map: Let the fights begin over voting boundaries
Douglas Hanks; Staff Writer
October 3, 2021
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article254682422.html


Understanding the Florida Legislature redistricting effort with former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, Peggy Quince.
From WEDU-TV, PBS Tampa: Florida This Week, taped Sept. 24, 2021

Florida lawmakers look to avoid running afoul of courts when redrawing districts
'My promise to you is … we will do this right,' one lawmaker said

John Kennedy, Capital Bureau
USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA

POLITICO Florida Playbook: The GOP’s redistricting promises
Tuesday, Sept. 21, 7:02 AM
BY GARY FINEOUT
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/florida-playbook/2021/09/21/the-gops-redistricting-promises-494407

Florida Trend
Senate kicks off redistricting process
Jim Turner | News Service of Florida | 9/21/2021
https://www.floridatrend.com/article/32208/senate-kicks-off-redistricting-process

South Florida Sun Sentinel 

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

The continuing problems of Broward County's Animal Shelter clearly shows that the Broward County Commission and Administration can not or will not solve what needs to be fixed. Quite rightly, Hallandale Beach Comm. Michele Lazarow, a longtime animal advocate, wants to know: “They had all summer to do this -why are they waiting until January?" Another case for Broward having an elected countywide Mayor who is held accountable for results.

The continuing problems of Broward County's Animal Shelter clearly shows that the Broward County Commission and Administration can not or will not solve what needs to be fixed. 

Quite rightly, Hallandale Beach Comm. Michele Lazarow, a longtime animal advocate,  wants to know: “They had all summer to do this -why are they waiting until January?" 

To me, this story shows the true cost to Broward residents in the chronic lack of personal accountability and positive results in Broward County by not having one person in the county who is an elected countywide Mayor who is accountable to everyone, and who can set an agenda that will last for more than one year. 

Instead, Broward residents must suffer with unaccountable and unelected jokers who are called mayor, like Steve Geller.

More of my comments below this account of what I tweeted out Tuesday afternoon.


I've included the text from the germane tweets in case you can't make out all the information

HallandaleBeach/Hollywood Blog @hbbtruth


1/ .@Susannah_Bryan 
Animals left in dark for hrs = just 1 of problems @ #Broward #AnimalShelter. “This is not news to those of us who have been saying this for years” - animal advocate + #HallandaleBeach Comm. @MLVegan. “What are they going to do now...”

Animals left in the dark for hours — that’s just one of the problems at Broward’s animal shelter.
Yet another scathing audit has uncovered a slew of problems at Broward County’s troubled animal shelter, lambasted by activists for years over allegations of neglect and incompetence that they say...
https://t.co/g7sWj39eYS?amp=1



2/ MT @Susannah_Bryan 
#Broward animal advocate Ana Campos worries abt animals being subjected to barrage of construction noise. “That is terrifying to an animal. It’s going to sound like a war zone... They’re going to bite and bark and freak out.”
Broward animal shelter will close for six months. The closure will make it easier for construction crews to fix problems with the shelter’s ventilation system. Shelter animals will remain in the building during construction.
https://t.co/BGBBAYlxfO?amp=1





3/ MT @Susannah_Bryan 
#Broward animal advocate + #HallandaleBeach Comm. @MLVegan has been on the line for 2 hours (since 10 am) waiting to comment @browardinfo mtg. re #Broward #AnimalShelter audit. When it was her turn to speak, commissioners were told she was not on the line.

4/ MT @Susannah_Bryan
After being passed over while waiting to speak re #Broward #AnimalShelter audit mtg., animal advocate/#HallandaleBeach Comm. @MLVegan texted Comm. @beamfurr to let him know. Now they’re trying to reconnect to her. Instead, they've got another speaker!




5/ MT @Susannah_Bryan 
“We are angry and tired,” #HallandaleBeach Comm. @MLVegan tells @browardinfo, referring to years of #animal advocates railing abt problems at county-run #AnimalShelter.
Says #Broward County administration + Commission to blame for problems.


6/ MT @Susannah_Bryan
Fact checking #Broward #AnimalShelter costs: @Michaeludine says it takes in 1,400 animals a year, spends $5,700 on each. Not true, says #animal advocate/#HallandaleBeach Comm. @MLVegan. Shelter takes in closer to 14,000 animals per year, spends $570 apiece.




@CBSMiami @nbc6 @wsvn @WPLGLocal10 @caitielee0917
7/ There really shld NOT be so much confusion re numbers and costs appearing in an... audit.
MT @Susannah_Bryan
Page 67 of #Broward #AnimalShelter audit: The shelter impounds approx. 14,000 live animals each year.

@CBSMiami @nbc6 @wsvn @WPLGLocal10 @caitielee0917 @Buddynevins @Florida_Bulldog @Susannah_Bryan
8/ This story shows true cost to #Broward residents in lack of accountability/results by NOT having elected countywide Mayor. Instead, unaccountable/unelected joker #SteveGeller.

@CBSMiami @nbc6 @wsvn @WPLGLocal10 @caitielee0917 @Buddynevins @Florida_Bulldog @Susannah_Bryan
9/ Perfectly reasonable question re #Broward #AnimalShelter: “They had all summer to do this -why are they waiting until January? - #animal advocate/#HallandaleBeach Comm. @MLVegan

This is one of those times where I don;t have to use all kinds of adjectives in my post to describe
what is going on, because it is completely self-evident to anyone who wants to open their eyes and look at where the problems are.

The Broward County Commission and its highly-paid staff is VERY, VERY lucky that this agenda item on the audit of the Broward County Animal Shelter took place during a pandemic, because if this had been a normal meeting where interested parties  could show up and speak under Public Comments, there would have been dozens and dozens more people who would've present at at the County HQ on Andrews Avenue to speak in-person.
And I would have been one of them.

Even worse, that meeting would have been chock full of kids with signs and their angry middle-class Moms, and that would have been the worst possible optics for these nine elected officials, who spend so much time reassuring us that they have excellent people in place to deal with and manage things.
No, what we know from experience is that they have staff that is highly-paid.

Their competency and tin-eared reactions has been the problem.
That's clearly been the case in many areas of public policy -including the battle for allowing Uber into the county- and now we know that problem extends to many other parts of Broward's bureaucracy, and we know with a high degree of certainty that one of those areas is something as non-controversial as the proper care and treatment of animals.

You don't need me to tell you that Broward residents and taxpayers deserve so much better than this from our elected officials.
You know it in your gut!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">More half-assed &#39;results&#39; fm feckless <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Broward?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Broward</a> Comm. as animals suffer @ its <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AnimalShelter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AnimalShelter</a>. <br>Another case for an elected countywide Mayor? <br>YES!<br><br>“They had all summer to do this -why are they waiting until Jan.?&quot; -🐶lover/<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HallandaleBeach?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HallandaleBeach</a> Comm. <a href="https://twitter.com/MLVegan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLVegan</a><a href="https://t.co/ejJ2QGSCRw">https://t.co/ejJ2QGSCRw</a> <a href="https://t.co/62Z5A7Hcqw">pic.twitter.com/62Z5A7Hcqw</a></p>&mdash; HallandaleBeach/Hollywood Blog (@hbbtruth) <a href="https://twitter.com/hbbtruth/status/1349427693255843841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>