Showing posts with label Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow. Show all posts

Saturday, November 21, 2009

The $50k Rothstein 'hot potato' check burning a hole in Steve Geller's CCE, Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow



Above, photo I snapped of Steve Geller,
characteristically, deflecting personal responsibility
for the
2008 Primary debacle, despite
all the
evidence to the contrary, being interviewed
by CBS4's
Michael Williams in front of
Hallandale Beach City Hall, where Geller's
district office was located.

Ignore the info on photo, it was actually
taken on May 7th, 2008.

And why is that City Hall breezeway
ceiling STILL messed-up
18 months later?
Another Mike Good success story!

-----------

Broward Beat


Geller: Take My $50,000, Please!
By Buddy Nevins


Former State Sen. Steve Geller says he has a problem: He can’t figure out who should get $50,000 in tainted money.

The money is from suspected scammer Scott Rothstein. It was earmarked for Geller’s campaign against County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger.

Geller now suspects Rothstein stole the money. He wants to give it back.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://www.browardbeat.com/geller-take-my-50000-please/

-----------

In case you were curious after reading
Buddy Nevins' story, above,
I've
included at the bottom of this post
the list of contributors to
this CCE
of
Geller's, which used a lot of
its money last year unsuccessfully
to try to get his brother, Joseph,
the former North Bay Village mayor,
elected to Dan Gelber's old
State House seat, when he
ran for the State Senate in
November and won.

Now, of course, having been elected
for four years and equipped with a
fall-back government job with nice benefits
that keeps his seat warm in case he fails,
and able to still charge taxpayers for his
flights home, Gelber is already running
for State Attorney General, which is
something he didn't tell the voters of
Miami Beach and environs when he
was running last year, promising to
use his best judgment on their behalf
in Tallahassee for the next four years
in a higher-profile position.

That is to say, once Gelber dropped
his already announced plans of running
for U.S. Senate, which is yet another
option he didn't care to mention to
voters last year when offering himself up.

At some point, I suspect Gelber's
love affair with himself, like most
examples of stalking, is going to
come to a very sad and predictable end.

If you were me, and a woman you were
very interested in romantically called you
up after you'd spent a fair amount of time
together said that she'd love to see you
again once she got back from a business
trip, you might say fine and that you were
looking forward to her return.

But you might have a change of heart
if she says that her trip is actually a
vacation with her boyfriend to visit
his hometown and spend some
time with his family.

You'd immediately think you needed
to consider other 'candidates,' no?
I would.

Perhaps sensing that voters would
not be interested in him if he already
had his eye elsewhere, as he did,
Gelber never gave South Florida voters
the benefit of having informed consent.

Yet counter-intuitively, Dan Gelber
seems to think that by being so open
about his promiscuous personal
ambition, and clearly not really
wanting to devote the time and
attention to the job he was
elected by voters to a year ago
-
which, despite my warnings
to them last year, is abundantly
clear
to my friends on Miami
Beach who voted for him
-
since he plans on campaigning
for yet another year, he's somehow
free from criticism that he seems
to have a clear history of using
South Florida voters for props
(or pawns) for his personal
ambition, and of not being
honest with them
.

But why should being so obvious
be judged a positive character trait
by voters?
Guess what, it's not.

And what has he actually DONE?

Admit it, you probably can't think
of even two things he's noted for.

Some brilliant argument that changed
the tenor of debate for the better
on an important issue in Tallahassee,
or some insightful solution to
a longstanding problem that he's
personally responsible for bringing
to fruition, that was popular with
both Democrats and Republicans.

Where's the defining moment when
he asked his own Dem supporters
to admit that they'd been wrong,
needed to be intellectually honest
and admit it and vote for the right
thing for the greater good?

Guess what, neither can he.
There aren't any.

The kicker is that THAT doesn't
seem to matter, as Gelber slowly
tries to become the latest governor
of this state without having earned
it by doing something previously
of any particular consequence.

That doesn't make him unique,
of course, just more transparent
than most.

Just like Steve Geller,
whom you all know I loathe,
he's personally implicated in
all the myopic bad decisions
of the past few years in
Tallahassee, large and small,
that have crippled this state
and made it a laughingstock
by so many different measurements.

Frankly, if it wasn't for his father,
a very well-respected Miami judge
-who has qualities the younger
Gelber
clearly doesn't- most
people, and many in the South
Florida press in particular, would
have long since come to the
general conclusion that Gelber,
despite who his father is,
is clearly no different from the
dozens of other ambitious
yet thoroughly mediocre and
even unethical hacks populating
state, regional and local govt.,
seemingly intent on making things
worse for us, not better.
(Elected versions of Alex Lewy.)

Gelber
is just someone from whom
much more was expected but who,
thus far, has produced no tangible results.

Week-after-week, month-after-month,
that solid criticism of him from the
South Florida media never ever comes,
does it?

It's the dog that never barks.
Which doesn't mean it's not a good dog,
just that it's NOT actually a WATCHDOG.

To me, this suggests that more than anyone
else, he's the male counterpart to DWS,
the South Florida media pet/demagogue
-whom I also loathe-, who is never
subjected to any sort of rigorous fact-filled
criticism -ever.
Why not?

Now there's a good question.

I'll be posting some things you may
find of interest on my blog this weekend,
and one of them will be on a force you
may not already be aware of that is
quickly taking over this area and which
the geniuses at HB City Hall and the
HB Police Dept. continue to ignore,
though their handiwork is right in front
of them: HGS.

Keep those initials in mind as you
walk, bike and drive thru SE Broward
.

Folks, it's HGS' world, we just live in it.
Type: Committee of Continuous Existence
Status: Active
Address: Post Office Box 220015
Hollywood, FL 33022
Phone: (954)491-1120
Chairperson: Steven A. Geller
100 West Cypress Creek Road
Suite 700
Fort Lauderdale, 33309
Treasurer: Charles Cassini
12121 NE 16th Avenue
North Miami, FL 33161
Registered Agent:

Steve Geller

100 West Cypress Creek Road
Suite 700
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309

-----------------
Campaign contributions in chron order

Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow

About the Campaign Finance Data Base

Rpt Yr Rpt Type Date           Amount   Contributor Name               Address                                  City State Zip                           Occupation           Typ InKind Desc

------ -------- ---------- ------------ ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------- --- -----------------------

2007 Q2 06/01/2007 20.00 TEXEIRA NANCY 1326 NORTH DUVAL ST TALLAHASSEE, FL 32303 CAS

2007 Q3 07/17/2007 2,500.00 TITLE INSURANCE THROUGH LAWYER 6545 CORPORATE CENTRE BLVD ORLANDO, FL 32302 INSURANCE DUE
2007 Q3 07/17/2007 2,500.00 FLORIDA ASSOCIATED GENERAL CON PO BOX 10569 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32302 BUILDERS DUE

2007 Q3 08/20/2007 2,500.00 LAWYERS ACTION 1224 GREENSWARD DR. TALLAHASSEE, FL 32312 ATTORNEYS DUE
2007 Q3 09/07/2007 5,000.00 FLORIDA POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSO 300 E BREVARD ST TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 POLICE UNION DUE

2007 Q3 09/12/2007 10,000.00 PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB 1111 NORTH CONGRESS AVE. WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33404 PARI-MUTUEL DUE
2007 Q4 10/22/2007 8,333.33 HCA EAST FLORIDA DIVISION AND 101 N. MONROE ST., SUITE 801 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 HOSPITAL DUE

2007 Q4 10/22/2007 8,333.33 HCA NORTH FLORIDA DIVISION AND 101 N. MONROE ST., SUITE 801 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 HOSPITAL DUE
2007 Q4 10/22/2007 8,333.34 HCA WEST FLORIDA DIVISION AND 101 N. MONROE ST., SUITE 801 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 HOSPITAL DUE

2007 Q4 10/31/2007 30,000.00 MARDI GRAS GAMING 831 N. FEDERAL HIGHWAY HALLANDALE BEACH, FL 33009 PARI-MUTUAL DUE
2008 Q1 02/01/2008 500.00 CHIRO-PAC 217 N KIRKMAN RD. ORLANDO, FL 32811 CHIROPRACTORS DUE

2008 Q1 02/29/2008 1,000.00 COMMITTEE FOR ACCESSIBLE GOVER 1224 GREENSWARD DR. TALLAHASSEE, FL 32312 POLITICAL COMMITTEE DUE
2008 Q1 02/29/2008 10,000.00 PPI, INC 1800 SW THIRD ST POMPANO BEACH, FL 33069 PARI-MUTUAL DUE

2008 Q1 03/06/2008 5,000.00 ASURIAN INSURANCE 8880 WARD PARKWAY KANSAS CITY, MT 64114 INSURANCE DUE
2008 Q1 03/06/2008 8,333.34 HCA NORTH FLORIDA GOOD GOVERNM 101 N MONROE ST SUITE 801 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 HOSPITALS DUE

2008 Q1 03/06/2008 8,333.32 HCA WEST GOOD GOVERNMENT ACCOU 101 N MONROE ST SUITE 801 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 HOSPITALS DUE
2008 Q1 03/06/2008 8,333.34 HCA EAST GOOD GOVERNMENT ACCOU 101 N MONROE ST SUITE 801 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 HOSPITALS DUE

2008 Q1 03/06/2008 5,000.00 CALDER RACE COURSE 21001 NW 27TH AVE MIAMI GARDENS, FL 33056 PARI-MUTUEL DUE
2008 Q1 03/17/2008 2,500.00 RON BOOK, PA 2999 N. E. 191ST ST, PH-6 AVENTURA, FL 33180 ATTORNEY DUE

2009 Q1 03/31/2009 5,000.00 HARTMAN AND TYNER, INC PO BOX 2007 HOLLYWOOD, FL 33022 PARI-MUTUEL CHE
2009 Q2 06/29/2009 10,000.00 HARTMAN AND TYNER INC PO BOX 2007 HOLLYWOOD, FL 33022 GAMING CHE

2009 Q3 09/29/2009 1,000.00 DAVID R CUTSIN AND ASSOCIATES, 6401 SW 113 PLACE MIAMI, FL 33173 CONSULTING CHE
2009 Q3 09/29/2009 50,000.00 ROTHSTEIN SCOTT 2308 CASTILLA ISLE FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301 LAWYER CHE

2009 Q3 09/30/2009 5,000.00 GREENSPOON MARDER, PA 100 W CYPRESS CREEK ROAD, SUITE 700 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33309 LAW FIRM CHE
------------

197,520.00
24 Contribution(s) Selected

Monday, February 25, 2008

"Show me the money!!!" Geller's 527 fund got $30k from Mardi Gras in Nov.

South Beach Hoosier thanks the alert Central Florida reader who thoughtfully wrote in to say that despite the fact that many campaign finance websites are saying that there have been no contributions or expenditures by State Senator Steve Geller's 527 fund, Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow, Aaron Deslatte of the Orlando Sentinel's Central Florida Political Pulse reported a much different story in November, complete with a Hallandale Beach connection.

I checked the story out and the reader from the 407 was 100% correct.

To the best of my knowledge, this particular bit of news about the Mardi Gras contribution has still yet to be reported by either the Miami Herald or the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, or, mentioned on their respective political blogs.

You really can't be too surprised by that, either, since both papers have never delved into Geller's complicity in the primary date change debacle, largely ceding that territory to the Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Tribune and St. Pete Times.

If there was a permanent public ombudsman at the Herald, as there should've been years ago, maybe the reason why that chronic lack of curiosity continues to exist might get fully explored.

Read Aaron Deslatte's whole story from November at http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2007/11/casino-pays-out.html
Casino pays out for Geller posted by Aaron Deslatte on Nov 6, 2007 4:13:24 PM

"Last month, Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller couldn’t help taking some shots at the casinos and gaming interests in South Florida giving far more money to Republicans than Democrats..."

Steve Geller cries 'revisionism" re FL Dem primary date change

I posted this on parent South Beach Hoosier blog Saturday.
_____________________________________________
So, based on today's March on Politics blog posting, by William March of the Tampa Tribune, comes word that after-the-fact, State Senator Steve Geller is now arguing publicly that he was not really serious about what he voted on months ago when he voted for the January 29th primary date...

So does that mean that Steve Geller, a man who truly considers himself a master tactician and political operator, was hoodwinked months ago?
Well, it really can't be both can it?
That he wasn't serious but he also wasn't hoodwinked?
How do you prove a double-negative?

It reminds South Beach Hoosier of something a longtime favorite of his used to say, but with laughter.
Richard Lewis used to regularly say at some point in his absolutely hilarious appearances in the mid-'80's on Chicago's Steve & Garry Show (Steve Dahl and Garry Meier), on WLUP-FM, about his many bad dating experiences: "Two wrongs don't make a right."
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0507659/

(See http://www.dahl.com/ for latest info on broadcaster Steve Dahl.
Steve was responsible for some of the very best radio programming SBH has ever heard, and on some afternoons, especially in the summertime, they seemed to be playing in the background of every other store in downtown Evanston, when S&G were at their most popular and nobody wanted to miss their comments. They were just amazing!)

If Geller is telling the truth -now- and South Beach Hoosier doesn't think that he is, why did so many people who were actually in the Capitol and who have no reason to lie about it, contemporaneously characterize his demeanor the way they did, suggesting that he was wearing his trademark smirk in the moments before his vote?

As usual, with almost everything Geller touches, his answer rings both hollow and self-serving.

Does he really think that nobody is paying attention when he does these things?

Maybe he thinks he's like so many members of the Hallandale Beach City Commission, to name but one locally elected panel of whom I've personally observed this particular behavior in, who so often appear unsure of the material that's in front of them and ask meandering or self-serving questions, but then, afterwards, want the public who observed their nonsensical actions and unusual behavior to disregard it.
Like they were all just actors playing a role.

Like Geller is really just a Romulan spy in a cloaked ship, which allows him to act upon his whims and flights of fancy un-noticed by the rest of us -until he has to de-cloak before firing a weapon.

My own experience in local, state and national politics is that regardless of the locale, in a circular firing squad, the person who loaded the gun is just as responsible as the person who fired it.

Just dust it for fingerprints!

A good C.S.I. team will find Geller's are all over the gun. _______________________________________
Tampa Tribune
March on Politics
Geller Tries To Set Record Straight On Florida Primary, Says Dems May Suffer In November
Posted Feb 22, 2008 by William March
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/geller-tries-to-set-record-straight-on-florida-primary-says-dems-may-suffer/

In case you missed it last July, Herald reporter Gary Fineout had some info about Geller's new political group, a new committee of continuous existence (CCE) called "Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow."
Now that's comedy!!!
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2007/07/geller-raising-.html

Previous South Beach Hoosier posts on Steve Geller, most recent first:
http://southbeachhoosier.blogspot.com/2008/02/bte-noire-steve-geller-to-be-roasted.html

http://southbeachhoosier.blogspot.com/2008/02/steve-gellers-antics-cowardly-miami.html