But voters can always split this baby
It’s not a huge surprise that Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has come out hard, with mailers and phone calls, for a slate of constitutional office candidates that are all Democrats like her. Four of the five are also clients of La Alcaldesa’s prolific political consultants, Christian Ulvert.
Only Marisol Zenteno, who is running for the second time for Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, this time against former Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, has a different consultant running her campaign. The others are all part of Ulvert’s slate:
- Miami-Dade Public Safety Chief James Reyes, running for sheriff against Republican Rosie Cordero-Stutz, a 28-year veteran and currently assistant director at the Miami-Dade Police Department, who is on leave for the campaign.
- Former state rep and Miami Beach Commissioner David Richardson, running for tax collector against Republican Dariel Fernandez, a marketing professional and community council member who speaks really bad English. And, no, it’s not just an accent.
- Former State Sen. Annette Taddeo, running for Clerk of Courts and Comptroller against the appointed incumbent, former state rep Juan Fernandez-Barquin.
- And former State Rep. JC Planas, an election attorney for various politicians, running for Supervisor of Elections against State Rep. Alina Garcia, who left her seat at the GOP’s behest to try to secure this seat for the Republican Party.
La Alcaldesa’s favor is coveted because she won her own race in August against six other candidates without needing to go to a runoff. She enjoys widespread support, of course among Democrats but also among Republicans, with whom she has built a bunch of bridges. It is just smart to think that her endorsement — and a recent mailer was paid for by the Florida Democratic Party — will help others.
Read related: Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava crushes challengers in re-election
But some voters have expressed to Ladra that they feel this is just too close for comfort. Too cozy. It looks like we’re-not-a-gang-we’re-a-club. Nobody wants every constitutional officer — all of whom are supposed to be independent — to owe the mayor anything. Reyes, in particular, is seen as a puppet because Levine Cava handpicked him to the job of public safety chief just months before he announced his candidacy. That made it seem planned.
But if you don’t want to just give Levine Cava a county cabinet, you don’t have to go all the way to the dark side. The best thing to do might be to split them up. Say, vote for three DLC pals and against two others. Or some such combination.
You don’t know how to choose? Here, let Ladra give you some assistance.
The first rule: Do not sacrifice Planas. Again, DO NOT sacrifice Planas.
Garcia is a nice enough lady. Okay, depends. But she is also a one-time boletera who has worked her way up the ranks of the GOP through jobs with Republican scumbags like former Congressman David Rivera, former and disgraced State Sen. Frank Artiles and Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo. And, more importantly for this contest, she is an election denier.
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She is a blind Trump cult member who has not and will not say that the 2020 election was won fair and square by Joe Biden. She probably believes that the Jan. 6 insurgents are patriots who should be pardoned.
We can’t put a onetime boletera in the elections office. So, Planas is a no-brainer. He’s not necessarily a DLC cult member, either. He’s independent in the sense that he owes her nada. And he’s a nerd who loves rules and knows election law better than the palm of his hand. His idea of a fun night is reading case law reports and consulting Westlaw. And Ladra just doesn’t think he would bend the rules for anyone.
Like Planas is perfect for this post, Richardson is perfect for the tax collecting position.
A CPA by profession, a former auditor at the U.S. Department of Defense, a man who has exposed government waste at the highest levels, Richardson earned the nickname “the budget guy” in the legislature. While the tax collector doesn’t raise or lower taxes, he will have the opportunity to find inefficiencies and cut waste, which Richardson has done before. He’s good at it.
Besides, Fernandez is beholden to the same Trump cult loyalists as Garica, and that includes Sen. Marco Rubio, Congressman Carlos Gimenez and Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo.
If you’re going to vote against Christian Ulvert on the ballot do it with one of the other three candidates: Reyes, Taddeo or Zenteno. But first know that Cordero-Stutz and Fernandez-Barquin are also gang members. Cordero-Stutz is with the Trump Gimenez Locos and Fernandez Barquin is with the DeSantis Devils. So it’s not like they’re completely independent, either.
Read related: Ladra’s guide for state amendments, wifi question on the November ballot
The safest bet is to vote against Zenteno. She’s already lost once, four years ago to Pedro Garcia. Tomas Regalado, who seems to have steered clear of corruption claims during 100 years as Miami mayor, is nobody’s puppet. His campaign is run by his daughter and sons, like always, with consultant Miriam Almer simply serving as the conduit for producing materials and content. Google Almer. Nada. Which is another good sign. The worst thing you could say about Almer is that she once worked with former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora.
So there you have it. If you must vote against Christian Ulvert, please don’t take it out on Planas and Richardson. They need to win.
Take it out on Zenteno. Or Taddeo, who can always run for something else.
After big win, Miami-Dade’s Daniella Levine Cava pushes constitutional slate added by Ladra on
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