In defense of an ethics complaint against him for a TV attack ad in his campaign for Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez — who 
must know himself that he is losing the race — said, en alta voz y con orgullo in a TV news interview that he can lie because, well, it is protected by the first amendment.
Really. I kid you not.
Gonzalez was caught seemingly unprepared outside an event by Univision 23 reporter Carolina Rosario, who was doing a story on former Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia‘s ethics complaint about the ad, which says Garcia paid some worker a $400,000 salary while the employee was MIA. Ladra has already covered the multiple ways that is, at best, misleading and, at worst, “a big, fat lie,” like Garcia told Ladra last week.
But the gist is that the employee is one of 40-some union reps from the 10 labor organizations with the county who get paid leave as per negotiated in their contracts by the administration, not by Garcia. The property appraiser position has no control over that.
See the video from Univision 23 that Ladra calls “Eddy’s Last Words”
Still, the state rep — who really has no place calling someone out for a no-show job since Ladra believes he has had a few of those while a legislator — defended the 30-second spot, which features former perennial candidate Alex Dominguez, who has crossed over to t
he dark side after coming in fourth in the first round Aug. 26, and which has been on high rotation on mostly Spanish-language TV but is also in English.
“It’s $100,000 a year. It is $400,000 in four years. Yeah, he can say it doesn’t exist,” Gonzalez said about the ghost employee featured in the ad, “because, really, there is no employee that makes $400,000 in one year.”
In fact, the highest paid employee was former Property Appraiser and now Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, with about $155,000-a-year.
Read related story: Eddy Gonzalez’s ‘$400,000’ ad is a desperate last stab
Asked if he didn’t think that the ad was confusing or misleading (and thank you Ms. Rosario for the follow up question), Gonzalez hedged and hawed, using words like “clearly” and “public record,” which has become a favorite staple of anyone hiding anything.
“Really we said clearly in the commercial that Pedro Garcia paid an employee $400,000 while he was there, an employee who never went to work. And that is a public record. You can look for it.”
Well, why doesn’t he just produce it? If it’s a public record he’s seen, why doesn’t he just show us instead of sending us on a wild goose chase? Garcia, who asked the Commission on Ethics and Public Trust to force the ad off the air, has repeatedly challenged Gonzalez show proof of the claims. Gonzalez, who never returns Ladra’s calls, has declined to do that.
But wait, the best part of the TV interview was yet to come. The part where, Ladra believes, Gonzalez ended his political career forever.
“We live in a free country, where we have freedom of speech. Where we can say things…
really, we can even say things that are lies,” Gonzalez said. Say what? Ladra had to rewind on the web video.
“We can even say things that are lies,” he actually said. On TV.
Wait, let me take that in for a moment. “We can even say things that are lies.”
So, Eddy Gonzalez says the first amendment guarantees us the right to make stuff up? I think that’s the first time I’ve heard a politician openly admit to that. It’s almost refreshing.
If it didn’t sorta sound like a confession.
Maybe Gonzalez was thinking the same thing because then he quickly added, “But we are saying the truth. We are saying things that happened during his administration.”
What “we” are doing is stretching the truth, Rep. Gonzalez. A lot. Just like you do when you say you live at some house or apartment your sister owns in East Hialeah, which is your newly drawn district, when you know you live in the same house as you always did with your wife and kids in your old district.
Read related story: State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez lives, works outside his district
But it’s not just what Gonzalez says about how lies are protected speech. It’s how he looks saying it. Gonzalez is a sweaty mess. I know it’s hot out, I get shiny, too, or maybe he has a medical condition, but it’s an especially bad look for a political candidate. Screams of shady. And just listen to how he says “freedom of speech,” like Tony Montana might say it. Did he forget how to say libertad de expresión?
And, I’m sorry, but Ladra says what everybody is thinking, is he slurring his speech? Is this outside a South Beach nightclub with those purple lights? Has he already started consoling himself or buffering himself for this bruising loss?
Well, if he didn’t know it before, Gonzalez couldn’t have woken up the next day and seen that interview and actually think that he stands a chance.
Unless he’s lying to himself about it. And, hey, that’s his constitutional right.
Eddy Gonzalez: ‘We can even say things that are lies’ added by Ladra on
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Elaine, looks like Francis Suarez is also supporting Eddy Gonzalez. I got his attack mailer in the mail yesterday. Pedro is going to lose.
I hate to agree with Ladra…..because normally she makes crap up and plays it off like she is in the know or has inside info.
BUT regarding the comments made by EG, what on earth was he thinking? He may have blown the slim chance he had at winning.
Ladra: Gonzalez already has the kiss of political death-Carlos Gimenez’ endorsement and theres no recovery from that so his stupid comments just reinforce this community’s need and desire of getting rid of these types of clowns. They can go steal somewhere else
I support Pedro Garcia For Property Appraiser.
seth, i’m surprised at your comment. I expected more from you. we have no sheriff in dade county, of the 67 counties in the state, we are the only one without a sheriff, appointed, or otherwise.
…and in the meantime, those who live paycheck-to-paycheck, barely affording their property taxes have to pay so that these politicans can live better…imo, South Florida IS THE most corrupt place in the country.
This article is just as bad as the tv ad. Tit for tat. We get it, you like Pedro – this biased reporting is getting old. I feel like it’s “Veronica Diaz, the sequel”. Ask Pedro what his plans are for the office – response: “to finish the work I started”… Great! So excited for him to continue doing absolutely nothing. Look, I don’t like either option, but Garcia has yet to convince me he deserves a second shot. As far as I’m concerned, your seat is up for grabs by a newcomer unless its hard to imagine anyone doing it any better.
The name of the employee is Robert Akras. As someone who worked in that office for over 10 years and seen many things, I can tell you that being paid over 86,000 a year with benefits was an abuse by our union. It was only a matter of time someone would bring it to the public. Robert is a nice man, but we shouldn’t be paying his salary.
Ironic this “ghost employee” was one of the five union reps from AFSCME 199, representing about 10,000 first line workers across all departments. It was just odd coincidence this rep, Bob, was also based out of the tax appraisers office which started this whole firestorm.
A little backstory. Many people are surprised to find there are some very unqualified political hacks holding down nice management jobs in the county. These hacks may be great politicians getting themselves elected to public office but those glad-handing/fund raising skill sets don’t always translate to management ability in a large organization..They love to make their own rules, play favorites, hire and promote friends and family and attempt to “get even” with people they see as not kissing their ass. The union rep’s job is to stand up to these assholes and be the voice of reason.
After Lopez-Cantera was elected he fell into this category and was shocked to fined out he was nothing but a county employee department manger and had to conform to county rules and regulations. He did not like following the rules so naturally butted heads with the union rep because of it.. Lopez-Cantera tried to get rid of Bob by claiming he was a ghost employees, when that didn’t work his next trick was trying to sue the county to make his office a totally independent agency which would then let him get rid of the union all together. He was half way down that path when he bailed to Tally..
So in fact Lopez-Cantera’s push for an independent tax appraiser office had nothing to do with high mind autonomy of property values. In fact the BCC wants the appraiser’s office under it’s thumb, they can twist the screws come tax time to get higher property valuations saving them the political risk of voting increase millages..
This was really all about one political’s hubris vs an old union rep.
Maybe Eddy should have paid this blogger, it seems that positive updates come when you pay.
Gonzalez has deceived voters for over a decade now. Anything from absentee ballot fraud to mudslinging, he has done it all. He shares a lot of things in common with Mayor Gimenez, including awful bottom teeth. Maybe that is a required physical feature for corrupt politicians.
This is why the office of Property Appraiser was made an appointed office years ago along with the Sheriff to end years of corruption. It was changed a few years ago in a half passed way so now we have a choice between two less than perfect choices.Pedro was good for the employees but bad for the taxpayers. Gonzalez seems to have no qualifications for the job. Welcome to Miami.
If this is what Mr. Gonzalez has to offer as a candidate for the Property Appraiser’s office (PAO)I hope the voting public knows better. The PAO requires a Property Appraiser, a professional with experience and knowledge not another termed out politician looking for another office to hang out. Taxpayers should be concerned with whom is running the office that puts the value on your property, homestead issues and the right to challenge the assessment. Is Mr. Gonzalez qualified to be the individual in the PAO ? He offered no platform, no experience no knowledge just negative statements that turn out to be “just another lie”.