Third candidate in Miami-Dade District 7 race could be another ghost plantidate

Richard Praschnik has a homestead in Lee County

Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado has been challenged in her re-election this year by two candidates — former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner, who wants a rematch after coming thisclose in 2020, and Richard Praschnik, an officer with the Miami-Dade School Board Police who may be yet another ghost candidate in this election cycle.

There’s a bunch these ghost candidates this year: Moe Saunders for state rep in House District 106, Alian Collazo for state rep in House District 115, Claudia Rainville for county commissioner in District 11 and now we add Praschnik, who has to know he won’t win. Was he planted to force another runoff? Nobody wins if one of the three don’t get 50% plus one by Aug. 20.

So, who is he supposed to steal votes from? A registered Republican, Praschnik could be there to steal votes from Regalado, who is also a Republican in this non partisan race, which has become more and more partisan every year. He could be another option for the disenchanted who don’t want to vote for a Democrat or for a moderate Republican like Raquel.

But there are no letters R or D next to the candidate’s names on the ballot. So could Praschnik be there to steal anti-Cuban votes from Lerner? Let’s not pretend there are no anti-Cuban votes anymore.

Whichever it is, he shouldn’t be in this race. Not because he’s not a serious candidate who may have really wanted to run for Miami-Dade sheriff, as it says on his Father’s Day message (someone should get fired). No, it’s because he may live in Lee County.

Praschnik is the proud owner of a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house in Cape Coral that was purchased for $315,000 in 2022. He might be renting it. It was offered for $3,800 a month, furnished, but taken off the market in early June, according to a real estate site. Problem is, Praschnik is apparently claiming his Homestead exemption at this house. While his address is normally redacted from records because he is a police officer, Ladra was able to confirm with the Lee County Property Appraiser’s office that his property is “owner occupied.”

So either (a) he’s living outside the district all the way in Lee County or (b) he’s lying on his property tax forms and fraudulently claiming an exemption he is not entitled to. That’s fraud either way.

Praschnik — who also serves as a community council member in Kendall’s Area 12 — did not return repeated calls and texts and emails to him since at least July 17 (so 11 days before posting this) so he could clear this up. He chose not to.

He also did not show up to the Miami Foundation forum earlier this month. He did go to one hosted by the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations, but he didn’t impress anyone. Their political action committee has endorsed Lerner in the race.

Let’s see if Prashnik shows up to the Miami Herald editorial board’s interview next week (which is a little late, guys), or if he ghosts them. If he does show, Ladra hopes they ask him about his homestead exemption.

Third candidate in Miami-Dade District 7 race could be another ghost plantidate added by Ladra on July 28, 2024
View all posts by Ladra →