With 13 weeks to go until Election Day, if you happen to see evidence in your part of Florida of the clumsy heavy-hand of Tallahassee lobbyist -and flashing red-light fethishist- Roger A. Pennington and his pals in an election campaign, please contact us!

With 13 weeks to go until Election Day, if you happen to see evidence in your part of Florida of the clumsy heavy-hand of Tallahassee lobbyist -and flashing red-light fethishist- Roger A. Pennington and his pals in an election campaign, please contact us!

We want to help shine a light on their efforts to manipulate, deceive and malign, even if it's far from our own poorly-governed and poorly-managed ocean-side city in South Florida, because we know instinctively that usually, but not always, more sunlight is the best disinfectant against those who wish to hide from public scrutiny.  

If you've forgotten who Pennington is and what he's about, I refer you to my October 30, 2010 blog post, The mystery man behind the pro-Alex Lewy 527 ad/flier attacks on Keith London; the multiple ethics rap sheet on lobbyist Roger A. Pennington

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/mystery-man-behind-pro-alex-lewy-527.html


The fliers pictured here were part of his failed effort to defeat Comm. Keith London's re-election effort in 2010.
Because London is not only running for mayor in November against the past ten-years of Mayor Joy Cooper's ruinous reign, but is actually eager to publicize and discuss her awful voting record in office, her chronic bad judgment, and her truly contemptible personal public behavior towards Hallandale Beach citizens at City Hall, those of us here who are in favor of genuine reform and meaningful accountability, know that it's only a matter of time before the likes of Pennington and his ilk, as well as other lobbyist pals of Cooper in Tallahassee, make a return visit to our mail boxes via their slick, untruthful and anonymous campaign fliers.

We're all waiting patiently for the first sign of this new wave of mendacity, because Cooper can't win when the largest number of HB voters know the facts and the context, she can only win when if she can successfully obfuscate, deceive and malign -and the news media obliges her by completely ignoring what's right in front of them.

To paraphrase what I said in that 2010 post... 

Supporters of Joy Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew, past and present -William "Bill" Julian, Dotty Ross, Anthony A. Sanders and Alexander Lewy- live in a strange and perplexing upside-down universe where the laws of logic and reason that you and your family deal with everyday, simply don't exist. 

For them, a better future for Hallandale Beach's residents, taxpayers and business owners is a 5-0 vote on the City Commission.

A future where even less oversight takes place than now, if you can imagine such a thing. How do you get less involved than auto-pilot?

A place where reasonable questions are never asked, much less, answered honestly by highly-paid and often under-performing city employees, and a place where the Cooper Rubber Stamp's pals and cronies like Joe Kessel, Dr. Debrorah Brown and Joe Johnson can always count on their support in the future when they have a hare-brained idea that is laughed at and rejected by local banks when they seek loans there.

They act like your tax dollars are a pot of gold that was just unearthed and it's first-come, first-served, and they plan on getting as much as possible.

But when you're on the HB City Commission, because of the CRA's monies, it's like being a member of the Loan Committee of a bank, isn't it? The applicant's idea or plan doesn't have to actually make sense, or even conform to the existing city rules, which you can always vote to over-ride anyway, right?

No, it only has to get the majority of votes cast by the City Commission. Which is why the Rubber Stamp Crew positively HATES questions.
Because questions have to be answered.

It's precisely because of the crony capitalism antics and failures of Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew that  Broward County Investigator General John W. Scott and his agents came  into the picture within the past few months, where naturally, the three with the most to fear from more citizens knowing what they were routinely doing, thought they'd challenge his legal authority using your tax dollars, not their own.

BrowardBeat's Buddy Nevins' reminder of the recent past in Broward County with respect to shadowy third-parties in Tallahassee carpet-bombing us with fake facts and specious lies, serves as a sobering warning of what we can expect in Hallandale Beach in the Joy Cooper vs. Keith London mayoral showdown this Fall

actsofsedition video: WPLG-TV/Miami's story on the first reading of the proposed puppy mill ordinance on April 4, 2012. Contrary to what is stated here, the ordinance was actually passed weeks later after the second reading. 

http://youtu.be/UNEn1jgTvw4

BrowardBeat's Buddy Nevins' reminder of the recent past in Broward County with respect to shadowy third-parties in Tallahassee carpet-bombing us with fake facts and specious lies, serves as a sobering warning of what we can expect in Hallandale Beach in the Joy Cooper vs. Keith London mayoral showdown this Fall

In my opinion, this particular post of Buddy Nevins is one of the most important that he's written since I started reading his blog, so I urge you to not only read it and understand the larger point, but send it along to others you know who care about what happens in upcoming South Florida elections, and who don't want shadowy third-parties -Electioneering Campaign Organizations- carpet-bombing us with fake facts and specious lies to actually succeed with their misrepresentation.

BrowardBeat

Just What The Doctor Didn’t Order: Tim Ryan

By Buddy Nevins  

May 11, 2012

If an apple-a-day keeps the doctor away, Broward County Commission candidate Tim Ryan better get a bushel.  

Angry over Ryan’s three-year old lawsuit against a shadowy political committee funded by the Florida Medical Association, state doctors are preparing to throw money against him in his commission race.  

Read the rest of the post at:

http://www.browardbeat.com/state-doctors-take-aim-at-broward-commission-race/

As it happens, I wrote about former FL State Rep. Tim Ryan's lawsuit on my blog when it first started, following that 2008 State Senate primary election won by Eleanor Sobel over Ryan and former State Rep. -and now Broward Judge- Ken Gottlieb, but the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and local Miami-area TV stations, to the dismay of this area's most-concerned and active citizens, almost COMPLETELY STOPPED covering it on a daily basis after about the second week. 
(See the July 2009 South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald articles on the lawsuit at bottom.)

I know that because I've checked their archives many times in the interim and have copies of the few articles that actually were written.

More recently, I've re-checked them yet again when Ryan -responsible for that rarest of bills, a bill toughening ethics that actually passed the Florida legislature- announced a few weeks ago that he was formally running for the Broward County Comm. seat now held by term-limited John Rodstrom, District 7.

All of us who follow these things closely in Hallandale Beach, as well as the much-larger number of activists and concerned citizens who follow the activities of Broward County's public policy and government, know that it's only a matter of time before Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper's pals and cronies in Tallahassee start a similar deceitful effort against Hallandale Beach City Comm. Keith London and those of us who want reform in this city.

It serves to reason that these Cooper cronies will likely use the same basic template that Sobel's supporters in Tallahassee used against  Ryan and Gottlieb, and it's even possible that it will be the very same people doing political hit-piece mailings against Keith London that did the ones that appeared in 2010, when he ran for re-election the first time 

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/mystery-man-behind-pro-alex-lewy-527.html

For instance, the one by Roger A. Pennington's Committee to Protect Florida that implicitly supported City Comm. candidate Alexander Lewy, given that candidate William  "Bill" Julian, then a sitting HB City Commissioner, said at the time that he didn't have anything to do with it, and didn't know who was behind the direct mail -one of the few times I ever believed him.

After all, you didn't really think Mayor Cooper would be running for re-election on HER feeble record, did you?

No, objectively, Joy Cooper's resume as mayor of Hallandale Beach the past ten years is clear: of perpetually attacking and maligning her own citizens at public meetings, both City Commission and CRA; of often preventing citizens from being able to speak, esp. on important matters; of failing to even follow the city's very own rules of procedures in all sorts of crucial ways during these meetings; and of intentionally moving important City Commission agenda items, esp. those dealing with land use and development, to the end of the night.

Mayor Cooper does this because she knows from experience that if the most-important agenda items are not heard until after 10 p.m., it WILL discourage HB citizens and other interested parties wishing to speak, from actually participating in important decisions that they and every other HB resident will have to live with forever.

This has the practical effect of meaning that HB citizens interested in participating in their own city's public policy know in advance that they may have to wait 3-4 hours on a Wednesday night to have their say, since Mayor Cooper incessant talking -before, after and during other people's comments- only adds to the length of the far-too-long meetings. 

Far too often, Mayor Cooper's behavior at public meetings resembles nothing so much as a one-woman filibuster against American democracy and public participation.

Clip from the April 4, 2012 Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting, part of which was used by Channel 10 at top.  http://youtu.be/SSfVppptAm0 
See also:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/04/joy_cooper_puppy_store_vote.php


(FYI: If after reading the article above you haven't already figured it out, reader "Drew" is Andrew Markoff. Who else in this area would think to write 38 sentences via three separate comments to what was just an 18-sentence story? And then, merely to criticize the public and defend the mayor? Yes, defend Mayor Cooper, the very person who appointed him to the HB Charter Review Comm., where he was a minority of one in writing the dissenting view.)

And, of course, as we can hardly forget, Mayor Cooper has been the person in charge as the city's budget has nearly DOUBLED in the past six years, with little tangible evidence to show for it in the eyes of most HB taxpayers, who have seen neighboring communities in Hollywood and Aventura make noticeable changes that positively improve not only the look of their cities, but also improve their residents' Quality-of-Life.

No, that resume of Mayor Cooper's reads more like a bill of indictment, which is why she wants the coming election to be about everything but HER own record in office as mayor.

That's also why the mayor is deathly afraid of partipating with Comm. London in a genuine candidate debate or forum run by objective third-parties she can't control, like the Broward League of Women Voters, Broward Urban League, et al.

It's also explains why the Cooper-cronies at the HB Chamber of Commerce won't ever sponsor a debate or forum, as happens in thousands of other normal cities across America in election years, perhaps over breakfast for a small donation, with the money going to some local charity. 

She can't defend the indefensible.

Cooper's ten years of providing invisible oversight and imaginary accountability over millions of tax dollars -yet attacking those of us in the community who wanted genuine accountability and oversight- of her preferring to have a system of crony capitalism with respect to HB CRA monies that are supposed to help end blight, instead be used to keep benefiting he same cadre of people, has gotten us precisely to the shaky point we are now  -the breaking point.

This week's recent William Gjebre piece in BrowardBulldog, titled, Hallandale’s generous loans to private surgery center raise more questions about city program, is that same Joy Cooper attitude in a nut-shell.

http://www.browardbulldog.org/2012/05/hallandales-generous-loans-to-private-surgery-center-raise-more-questions-about-city-program/

It all sounds so very depressingly familiar doesn't it?

Once again, taxpayers are left to consider more instances of questionable or poor decision-making, city monies going out the door, and missing paperwork.

And Joy Cooper assuring us that it's all okay.

That's no way to run a city.
The past is prologue.
-----


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/sfl-ryan-lawsuit-eco-b072609,0,108230.story

Broward County candidate who lost state Senate race sues over attack ads he says were false

By Jon Burstein, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

July 25, 2009

FORT LAUDERDALE - The last-minute attack ads were damning. They accused the state Senate candidate of a "shady" land deal that had taxpayers shelling out $12 million for a $1-million piece of property his family owned in Davie.

The ads were wrong--the real estate had been appraised at $15.5 million. But they may have worked: the candidate finished last in a tight three-way Democratic primary last August.

Now Tim Ryan, a onetime member of the state House, wants the people responsible for the ad campaign against him to answer for their claims. He's pursuing a lawsuit that alleges not only that he was defamed by the group, People for a Better Florida Fund Inc., but that its creators lied as part of a conspiracy to keep him out of the state Senate district 31 seat, which represents a chunk of southern Broward County.

The case is one of the first of its kind in the state--a losing political candidate using the courts to go after what's known in the jargon of campaign law as an electioneering communications organization. Such groups, also called 527s after the section of the U.S. tax code that regulates them, are allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money to make claims about candidates and issues, but are barred from telling people how to vote.

These groups--many with vague, often innocuous names including words like truth and justice-- have become players in Florida politics, spending more than $16 million in last fall's election. On the national level, they have been factors in recent races for the White House, most notably Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which assailed Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry and his service record in Vietnam in 2004.

"(527s) are important because we have a lot of people new to Florida who don't know much about the candidates and are dependent on television and newspapers for what they hear about candidates," said Lance deHaven-Smith, a Florida State University political science professor.

The attacks on Ryan came in the waning weeks of his bare-knuckles election battle with two other former state House members-- Eleanor Sobel and Ken Gottlieb. Sobel emerged narrowly victorious, with 36 percent of the primary vote, then trounced a write-in rival in the general election.

"I'm taking this step (the lawsuit) because it's the only way to hold these outside special interest groups accountable," Ryan said. "(These groups) hijack the public process by spreading half-truths and sometimes just plain lies about people running for office."

In his lawsuit filed in Broward Circuit Court in October, he is seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages from People for a Better Florida Fund Inc. and five men tied to it.

According to Ryan's lawyer, former state Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell, it's been learned in the early stages of the litigation that the 527 group spent about $700,000 on television advertisements and mailings in the local race. That would be almost double what Ryan raised --$351,235.

Why the 527 spent so lavishly on the contest for a legislative seat in South Floirida is unclear. The group did not respond to requests from the SunSentinel for an explanation. Campbell said he believes the group targeted Ryan, as well as Gottlieb, because they are lawyers, while Sobel, a former Broward School Board member, is the wife of a physician.

Formed in 2006, People for a Better Florida Fund Inc. is largely financed by the Florida Medical Association's political action committee or association members, and has raised $1.16 million since January 2008. The fund's registered agent--and one of the defendants in Ryan's lawsuit--is Timothy Stapleton, the FMA's executive vice president. The other four defendants are doctors or members of the FMA.

Martin Reeder, attorney for People for a Better Florida Fund Inc., said the group hired outside vendors to do research and prepare the ads. The ads were signed off on by an attorney and approved by Stapleton, he said.

"All of the statements published that relate to the land deal were to the best of our knowledge accurate in all material respects and to the extent that there are any technical inaccuracies in the publication, there was certainly no actual malice," he said.

Because Ryan is a public figure, to win in court, he must prove the group knowingly spread false information in an attempt to harm him, said Mark Herron, an elections law specialist in Tallahassee.

The claims made by the 527 revolved around 54 acres of open space that had been in Ryan's family. A national nonprofit land conservation group organized a $12.4-million deal in November 2006 in which the town of Davie bought the property using a combination of state and county grants and municipal bond proceeds.

An outside appraiser--hired by the conservation group--valued the property at $15.5 million.

But in a mass mailing, People for a Better Florida Fund Inc. wrote that "Taxpayers paid $12 million for the land--that's $11 million more than what the property was worth!"

Sobel, the ultimate beneficiary of the group's ad campaign, did not return repeated phone calls to her office and cell phone.

Gottlieb said People for a Better Florida Fund Inc. had a "big influence" on the race and was able to overwhelm his message with inaccurate ads. He said he was wrongly portrayed as beholden to "Republican special interests."

"They should be held accountable like everyone else and one of the problems with these ECOs is they are not and hopefully this lawsuit will do that," Gottlieb said.

-----
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward Politics blog

Hollywood ophthalmologist fought hard for Sobel’s Senate victory

By Brittany Wallman July 30, 2009 04:09 PM

Staff writer Jon Burstein reports:

In Eleanor Sobel’s winning bid for a state Senate seat last year, she had no bigger supporter than a politically-connected Hollywood ophthalmologist who once served on Gov. Charlie Crist’s transition team, new court records show.

Alan Mendelsohn, then treasurer of the Florida Medical Association’s political action committee, aggressively raised money for Sobel and hailed her Aug. 26 victory in the Democratic primary as the FMA flexing its might, according to a string of e-mails.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/07/hollywood_ophthalmologist_foug.html

-----
*Alan Mendelsohn later pleaded guilty in June of 2011 to one count of conspiracy for, among other things, trying to hide $82,000 in political contributions to former State Sen. Mandy Dawson, and was sentenced to four years in prison, which he began serving in January.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-01-06/news/fl-alan-mendelsohn-goes-to-prison-20120106_1_mendelsohn-prison-officials-tax-evasion


-----
Miami Herald
Campaign, attack ads linked

By Amy Sherman

July 30, 2009

When a secretive electioneering group attacked Eleanor Sobel's political opponents in a Broward state Senate race last year alleging "shady land deals," Sobel vowed she had nothing to do with it. 


"I have no control over those groups," Sobel told The Miami Herald in August as People for a Better Florida Fund filled mailboxes with last-minute missives just before she defeated Tim Ryan and Ken Gottlieb. 


But new court documents provide clear links between Sobel's campaign and the attack ads. 


Sobel's political consultant was also a paid consultant for an affiliate of People for a Better Florida Fund and helped coordinate the attacks and plot strategy, according to e-mails and a deposition taken in a defamation suit Ryan filed against the group. Another campaign vendor also was paid in the effort. 


Ryan contends the group unfairly alleged improprieties. People for a Better Florida Fund denies the claim. Sen. Sobel would not return repeated calls for comment. 


Though Ryan's lawsuit is in its infancy, the case is already providing a rare glimpse into the world of shadowy political groups and the big money that special interests spend to ensure they have a supportive vote in the state Legislature. 


People for a Better Florida Fund is closely linked to the Florida Medical Association, with the address listed for the group on the state's election website matching the doctors' organization. Sobel, the wife of a dermatologist, drew much of her financial support from the medical field. While a state representative, she was among a handful of Democrats to side with the medical industry on medical malpractice legislation. 


Ryan and Gottlieb, also former state representatives, have at times sided with the political enemies of the doctor lobby: the trial lawyers. 


"Eleanor Sobel was someone who had a better voting record on issues that concerned our contributors," Tim Stapleton, People for a Better Florida Fund's deputy treasurer, said in a deposition July 20. Stapleton is executive vice president of the FMA. 


While Sobel spent about $400,000 in the entire campaign, Stapleton testified that his group spent about $600,000 to help Sobel in the primary. 


"That is the cost of doing business," Stapleton said. "We had a clear friend running, someone who understood the issues that we care about. So we wanted to help that person." 


CONSULTANT 
Stapleton testified that his group's "point of contact" with Sobel's campaign was her consultant, Steve Vancore. He said the consultant's firm, VancoreJones Communications Inc., conducted the research that gathered material for the campaign ads. 


Vancore was paid about $19,000 through People for a Better Florida Inc., the affiliated group. Sobel's campaign paid him more than $230,000. 


Vancore said in an interview Wednesday he did not talk to Sobel about the group's activities, though she knew he was a consultant to it. "We said, 'We're not showing Eleanor,' " Vancore said, citing the Ryan mailers. "She knew we were working together." 


Stapleton testified that the group's mail vendor, Dylan Sumner, was also a mail vendor for "the campaign." 


The group attacked both Ryan and Gottlieb, with each ad depicting the candidates surrounded by a pile of money. The Gottlieb ad targeted a failed redevelopment project in Hollywood. 


The Ryan flier said taxpayers paid $12 million for Davie land worth $1 million. 


RYAN'S RESPONSE 
Ryan contends an appraisal actually showed the land's value at $15 million. The $1 million figure refers to the assessed value on one slice of the property, say Ryan and his attorney, former state Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell, a veteran trial lawyer. 


The group stands by the gist of its ad. 


"People for a Better Florida Fund went out and hired highly qualified consultants to obtain accurate information to educate the voters -- and that's what they did," said L. Martin Reeder, attorney for the defendants. "What was published we believe was accurate in all material respects." 


Although there were "some technical discrepancies" by Vancore's firm assuming that one parcel was the whole site, the ad's message -- that Ryan sold it for higher than what the property appraiser listed it at -- was true, Reeder said. 


The day after Sobel won the August primary, Stapleton sent an e-mail to supporters declaring Sobel's win "one of the most significant, and most rewarding victories for FMA PAC in the last 10 years!" 


Sobel then sailed to victory in November to represent the Broward district, which stretches from Hallandale Beach and Hollywood to parts of Plantation. 


Ryan sued in October. He said the negative pieces not only helped Sobel win but spread false information. 


While it is too early to tell which side will prevail, the Ryan lawsuit is shedding light on ECOs, or electioneering communication organizations, third-party groups that can sidestep contribution limits and have played a major role in recent elections. 


The groups are highly secretive and powerful because they can raise huge sums, often have vague names and send attack ads close to election day, making it difficult for voters to discern who is behind them. 


That could become even tougher now that a federal judge recently declared that Florida's regulation of the groups was unconstitutional. 


In the Ryan case, Sobel is not named as a defendant and, by law, could have had contact with an ECO attacking her opponents. 


But the Stapleton deposition raises the question: If voters knew some members of her campaign team were actively involved in last-minute attack ads, would it have made a difference? 


"The e-mails did indicate that she did have communication with those consultants that were working with this group," Ryan said. "So it's really for Eleanor to explain what her involvement was with this group." 


Attempts to reach Sobel through her cell phone, offices in Hollywood and Tallahassee and her Senate e-mail were all unsuccessful. 


As Ryan's lawsuit -- which seeks unspecified damages but does not seek to overturn the election results -- progresses, Campbell said he plans to depose Sobel, among others. 


ANTI-SOBEL ADS 
To be sure, Sobel faced campaign attacks too. 


Another ECO -- the Integrity Counts Committee, run by political consultant Russ Oster -- sent mailers targeting her 2006 promise involving the School Board. 


When running for the School Board, Sobel told a reporter: "I'm going to commit four years to the School Board." Nine months after taking office, she announced her Senate bid, saying she felt she could do more for the district as a state senator. 


In one flier, a girl writes "I will not tell a lie" on a chalkboard. "Our Kids Learn To Tell The Truth, Shouldn't WE EXPECT BETTER From ELEANOR SOBEL?" it asked. 


"Lies, lies and more lies," Sobel said at the time. 


Miami Herald staff writer Marc Caputo contributed to this report. 



Read these to see what's what

• E-mail from Timothy J. Stapleton 
• Read the lawsuit Tim Ryan filed 
• Read the defendant's answer and defenses 
• Read Tim Stapleton's deposition 

-----



President Obama motorcade Hallandale Beach, Florida

The mystery man behind the pro-Alex Lewy 527 ad/flier attacks on Keith London; the multiple ethics rap sheet on lobbyist Roger A. Pennington

Is that an emergency siren/beacon I see in that flier and ad in the city-funded faux newspaper?Why yes it is, thanks for noticing.

Well, you know what that means don't you?
"Outside" political money is here in Hallandale Beach's elections.

To be specific Roger A. Pennington's Committee to Protect Florida.

He just loves the red siren/beacon graphic, using it over and over in various campaigns he's been a shadowy figure in throughout the state.
(See the St. Pete Times story at the bottom.)

Trust me, Pennington's money is NOT here on the side of the angels, or increased reform or accountability at Hallandale Beach City Hall, or even a dollar of service for a dollar of taxes.He's here to elect Alexander Lewy.
Period.

Even Bill Julian -yes, even Bill Julian- has told numerous people around town that he has nothing to do with the ads and fliers, and finds it offensive.
Which, using deductive reasoning, leaves us with exactly one suspect, doesn't it.
Yes, Code Name: Lewy the Liar.

While I have no proof of it myself, there are plenty of usually well-informed people in town who strongly suggest that we all look closely for the hidden hand of Lewy's mentor and campaign rainmaker, mayor Joy Cooper.
The reasoning is simple and well-understood.

Cooper is as desperate, if not more so, to get Keith London and his reasonable questions about finances, policies and accountability out of HB City Hall, as her protoge Alexander Lewy is desperate to sit there on the dais alongside her and be her newest puppet.
And paid-in-full member of the Cooper Rubber Stamp Crew.
Plus, which Hallandale Beach city official goes to Tallahassee more than Joy Cooper?
Tallahassee, where Pennington and his 527 are based.
Hmmm-m-m....


For a very liberal Democrat like Lewy, it's rather curious that he'd be in bed with the sort of deliberatively shadowy outside money types that's usually railed against by his soon-to-be-unemployed boss, Kendrick Meek.

But as I've already told you, Alexander Lewy is desperate, desperate, desperate to get elected here.

Not out of any great magnanimous desire to help the citizens of this city, mind you, but rather to help himself and take his first step in becoming a career politician.

(Which, naturally, is part of why I won't ever vote for him, besides him being such a loathsome character, and a genuine back-stabber who's completely untrustworthy. But then you already knew that.)
Besides, shadowy financing of negative ads against Tim Ryan and Ken Gottlieb worked for Eleanor Sobel's Florida Senate campaign to replace term-limited Steve Geller, didn't it?

Still, even if Cooper isn't involved, I have some very good hunches who is, based on a number of conversations with well-informed people who know about ECOs, including some reporters, who gave me a head's up on some information I didn't originally have.
Quick story about Roger A. Pennington, who in 2006 was charged with five counts of violating Florida's campaign elections law while serving as Chair of an Electioneering Campaign Organization (ECO) called -if you can believe it- the Committee to Restore Integrity in Politics, CRIP.

No doubt because creating an ECO called "Entrenched Interests Committed to Remaining Insiders" just wouldn't have sounded so appealing publicly.

Well, even more comically, Pennington signed a consent decree with the Florida Ethics Commission that he was guilty, admitting that he did illegal things, DESPITE having been given copies of the applicable rules beforehand.

He also admitted that he never contacted an attorney about the matters.

That's both a humorous and ironic admission because he's repped the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers for many years.

You'd think that if there was a lobbyist in Tallahassee who'd know the name of a good attorney, or know when to contact one, it's him.
http://www.fec.state.fl.us/Final%20Orders/2006/112.pdf

Pennington, head of Committee to Protect Florida, seems to be yet another member of the pro-Alexander Lewy Dream Team, a grab-bag of ill-mannered sad sacks, malcontents and self-enrichment types who hope to continue to feed on the city's teat if Lewy gets elected.
Which is to say, via your wallet and purse.

Think of their help to Lewy as their insurance policy.
Lewy: pro-Diplomat LAC, pro-Red Light camera expansion in HB, pro-Ben Gamla Jewish Charter high school in quiet single-family NE HB neighborhood, and anti-Amendment 4... the list goes on and on...

Have you seen many of the ardent Lewy supporters, who are eager for things to get better? Their definition of better, of course, is far, far different than mine, and I suspect many of you who are reading this as well.

They live in the strange and perplexing upside-down universe of Joy Cooper and Alexander Lewy.

For them, better is a 5-0 vote where no reasonable questions are asked, much less, answered by highly-paid city employees, and any of their cronies can always count on their support in the future when they have a hare-brained idea that can't just can't get funded by a bank.

But when you are on the HB City Commission, because of the CRA, it's like being a member of the Loan Committee of a bank, isn't it?
It doesn't have to actually make sense, or even conform to the existing city rules, which you can always vote to over-ride anyway, right?

No, it only has to get the majority of votes cast by the City Commission.
Which is why the Rubber Stamp Crew positively HATES questions.
Because questions have to be answered.

In some ways, Lewy's own supporters are almost like a paid commercial for the pro-reform and pro-transparency elements in this city with which I am so strongly associated with, as well as Michael Butler, Mary Washington, Csaba Kulin, Louis Pellegrino Jr., John Pearson,Comm. Keith London and many others I could name here, but won't.

I'm only too happy for Lewy supporters to publicly identify themselves, since it makes it much easier for me and everyone else paying attention to know whom to take seriously in this community about making it better FOR EVERYONE.
Not just the friends, cronies and lackeys of HB City Hall.

And, conversely, whom, NOT to take seriously, of which there is already quite a long list, now that you mention it.

Frankly, I only wish that more Lewy supporters would publicly disclose their allegiances, so we ALL would all know who they are, but many of them are keeping it close to the vest. And that's easy to understand.

They don't want people to know they support Lewy, since they also know so many people in this city justifiably loathe him.
It's far easier to keep it quiet.

You know, like where that money is coming from to run those scurrilous and untrue anti-London ads and fliers?

Speaking of the opposite of reform, transparency and accountability, has anyone seen Lewy supporter Joe Kessel on any of his campaign fliers?
If they exist, I haven't seen them.

Kessel as you'll recall, was a member of a very odd group that held its collective hand out for some city money, despite not being in compliance with many of the city's own requirements on their application.

They received tens of thousands of dollars from the city's CRA fund for a completely preposterous idea, which still makes many otherwise level-headed people in this city see red at the thought of the money being wasted -intentionally.

You can find more about HB City Hall spy and Lewy supporter Kessel here, thought he was actually part of more stories that i could sometimes mention because of space limitations.
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Joe%20Kessel

Or this March 4th, 2009 post in particular:
Hallandale Beach insiders to offer goodies/new propaganda TV channel to HB City Hall for $200k CRA loan Wed. morning
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/hallandale-beach-insiders-to-offer.html

Tell me, was Kessel legally registered as a lobbyist with Broward County, for the City of Hallandale Beach, while he was under contract to them, when he publicly spoke before the Broward Planning Council and the Broward County Commission in favor of the Diplomat LAC proposal pushed by the city, his employer?

Did he at least publicly disclose his financial arrangement with the city during his public comments?
The answer to both questions is an emphatic NO.
He didn't.

(Just as he hadn't publicly revealed his conflict of interest during the public meeting the Diplomat was required to have at the HB Cultural Center.)

There are many members of the Broward County Commission and the South Florida news media who know this already.So how's that investigation going, exactly?

Personally, I'm not usually one to question well-worn idioms like "Don't judge a book by its cover" but in Alexander Lewy's case, I'm afraid circumstances force me to, so I will.
He is exactly what he acts like -The Devil You Don't know.

In my opinion, based on the stone-cold facts and what I have observed of him in-person for a few years, Alexander Lewy deciding your future with a vote will cause Hallandale Beach's besieged citizens to "Pay through the nose."
And pay in ways they can't even imagine now.

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You can find out more about Roger A. Pennington's clients at the Florida Senate homepage:http://www.flsenate.gov/

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Committee to Protect Florida "527" Political Organization Filing Information http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/committee-to-protect-florida.asp
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http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/mar/22/consultants-are-lobbyists-too/

Consultants are lobbyists, too, in Tallahassee
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
March 22, 2009
TALLAHASSEE — The unlimited special-interest cash streaming into Florida legislators' political accounts has enriched a small group of influential consultants who received $19.5 million from political committees and campaigns in the 2008 election cycle.
The torrent of money flowing through the Capitol has also fueled an industry of consultants who lobby.
Of the 60 political consultants for lawmakers' political committees, at least 12 work as lobbyists, according to a Times/Herald analysis. The consultants-lobbyists are hired by corporations to influence the same legislators who pay them for political help.
This circular network ties together special interests, lobbyists and lawmakers in a tight web of money and insider access. The lobbying clients seek legislative help. The legislators seek cash, for re-election or pet causes. The common link: the consultant.
Roger "Rocky'' Pennington, a veteran Republican consultant, says he and other consultants must strike a careful balance when special interests want to hire them because of their relationships with specific lawmakers.
"Once they start hiring you because they want influence with one person, you aren't a lobbyist — you're an influence peddler," Pennington said. "You have to ask yourself, are you lobbying because of the merits of the issue or are you lobbying because of your friendship or relationship with the elected official?"
Pennington was paid $2.1 million over the past two years to serve as political adviser to a host of lawmakers and to buy expensive TV ads for them. He says he minimizes problems by refusing to take clients halfway through the session, when clients most try to influence the votes of individual lawmakers, and he now is semiretired with only one client, the Municipal Electric Association.
Just last week, Altria, which manufactures Marlboro cigarettes, hired one of the Capitol's newest lobbyists, Todd Richardson. He's a political consultant for Republican Rep. Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale.
Bogdanoff chairs the House Finance and Tax Council, where Altria hopes to kill a plan to raise the cigarette tax.
"What I'm doing is completely legal," Richardson said. "Relationships are the name of the game. I have more relationships than with just Ellyn. I have relationships with a lot of freshmen and with almost every member of the House."
Richardson was paid $126,000 in wages and reimbursements in his role as a consultant for Bogdanoff's campaign and political committee, Creating Possibilities. Bogdanoff opposed a cigarette tax hike long before Altria hired Richardson. She said she had no problem with his other work as a lobbyist for the cigarette company.
As the full force of term limits takes effect in the Legislature, more lobbyists are becoming consultants to increase their access to new legislators, said consultant and lobbyist Joe Perry.
The lobbyists can build up "sweat equity'' by acting as consultants for legislators, said Perry, a Democrat who has been paid $209,000 for fundraising and consulting work since 2007.
Perry acknowledged that when special interests hire people who have been on the payroll of lawmakers, they hire a unique commodity.
"There's no doubt we have access to these folks and probably more so than the rank-and-file lobbyists," Perry said.
But he said there's a downside, too. Perry lobbies for insurance giant FCCI Insurance Group, which seeks workers' compensation legislation opposed by many Democrats — the same people who hire Perry for political work. Perry said he can't afford too many conflicts like that.
"If I were to take too many lobbying clients and create a lot of enemies, I'll kill my fundraising business," he said.
Political committees — called committees of continuing existence — have become the cash cows of Florida's political process. They can be formed by legislators and used to collect unlimited amounts of so-called soft money from special interests, as these contributions are not subject to the typical cap of $500. The money can be rolled into other committees called "electioneering communication organizations,'' which spend money on attack ads and direct-mail pieces.
The 12 consultants-lobbyists were paid about $374,000 in total by the 40 committees they worked for, and received an additional $3.5 million from other political groups and campaigns during the past election season. The 60 consultants altogether received about $1 million from the committees and $18.5 million more from virtually every campaign and political group.
Not all consultants-lobbyists worked for a lawmaker's committee in the past election cycle. Still, the political committees — and the relationship they foster between lawmakers and consultants — offer a window into the world of Capitol insiders.
For example, the committees give lawmakers the opportunity to steer business to allies and friends. Consultant-lobbyist Esther Nuhfer earned most of her $201,000 from the campaign and political committee of her friend, Republican Rep. David Rivera of Miami.
Rivera's committee, Future Leadership, also paid $10,000 to Bridget Gregory Nocco, a prodigious Republican fund-raiser and Rivera friend.
The big money washing through the Capitol stands out in a year when the budget is in the red and large numbers of Floridians are losing jobs. Against that backdrop, the idea of consultants who lobby makes even the king of Florida political consultants uncomfortable.
Randy Nielsen, a top Republican consultant, said he didn't want to "cast aspersions'' on his colleagues, but he warned that "you can do a disservice to the client if you lobby them."
Nielsen is not a registered lobbyist.
"I don't see how you can give clear, unfettered advice if you're paid to lobby your clients," Nielsen said.
Nielsen's firm, Public Concepts of West Palm Beach, raked in the most consulting money this election cycle: $4.1 million over the past two years. In the 2000 cycle, Public Concepts earned $390,000. Not all that money went to Public Concepts. As with other consulting companies, some of the cash paid for media buys, lawyers and investigators to do opposition research.
Public Concept's most high-profile client is Senate President Jeff Atwater, a Republican from North Palm Beach who calls Nielsen "my consultant'' and made sure the firm reviewed his speech to the Senate that opened the legislative session March 3.
Consultant-lobbyist Bill Helmich collected $297,000 from a variety of lawmakers and political groups for consulting and hiring help. Helmich acknowledged there is a risk in mixing lobbying and consulting.
"Theoretically, if you get involved in a race where you end up losing, the person who won could hold a grudge," he said.
Lawyer and lobbyist David Ramba represents 37 clients and sells legal advice to 40 political committees, many controlled by legislators. Ramba said his legal adviser role doesn't give him much of an advantage. "Most of the time I'm delivering bad news," he said. "I tell them what they're not allowed to do with their money."
For instance, Ramba told Republican Sen. Mike Bennett of Bradenton that money from one of the lawmaker's two committees was off-limits to help pay for a Jewish community dinner.
Bennett has raised $528,000 through his two political committees since 2007 and he acknowledges the dicey balancing act legislators engage in when their closest political advisers are also paid lobbyists.
"You're going to give your buddy as much leniency as you can until you hit that ethics line … wherever that line is. It happens in any friendship," he said. "If I had my druthers and you didn't need soft money to play the game, I would like to see all this disappear."
12 Political Consultants* Who Lobby
(Total amount received/Number of clients/Notable client)
1. Roger Pennington, Republican
$2.1 million/1 client/Municipal Electric Assn.
2. Christian Ulvert, Democrat
1 $522,290/9 clients/Dosal Tobacco.
3. Bill Helmich, Republican
$297,100/9 clients/Miami-Dade County
4. Joe Perry, Democrat
$209,744/2 clients/FCCI Insurance
5. Esther Nuhfer, Republican
$201,618/1 client/Evidence-based Assoc.
6. Bridget Gregory Nocco, Republican
$181,973/4 clients/U.S. Sugar
7. Todd Richardson, Republican
$126,006/2 clients/Altria Tobacco
8. Amber Stoner, Republican
$116,026/1 client/HCA Healthcare
9. Jerry Wayne Bertsch, Republican
$55,417/1 client/American Cancer Society
10.Randy Enwright, Republican
$52,983/7 clients/At&T
11. Thomas Grigsby, Republican
$23,763.73/3 clients/Florida State Fraternal Order of Police
12. Screven Watson, Democrat
$22,644.36/4 clients/U.S. Sugar
Total: $3,937,778.61
Source: Division of Elections data
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St. Petersburg Times
In Florida House District 45 race, flier recycles old tactic
By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer July 4, 2010

Back in 2007, a political group called the Committee to Protect Florida hammered a state Senate candidate named Richard Corcoran.

In its arsenal was a mailer that accused Corcoran of making false allegations about an opponent in a previous race.

The mailer showed an image of a flashing police beacon along with a warning: "BEWARE! Richard Corcoran is back in the area looking to buy a seat in the Senate." Corcoran dropped out of the race, citing the negative campaign.

Now, as he runs for the state House District 45 seat, the Committee to Protect Florida has returned — and paid for a familiar flier that just hit mailboxes in Pasco and Pinellas counties. The flashing police beacon is back.

Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/in-florida-house-district-45-race-flier-recycles-old-tactic/1106803