FEC to Carline Paul: “Guilty as charged!”

On November 16, 2016, the Florida Elections Commission issued its Final Order on the complaint filed against Carline M. Paul.  At the Commission’s informal hearing held last month, it found that the former North Miami City Council candidate violated all twelve counts of campaign finance violations with which it found probable cause.

As I reported in a previous blog, Carline hired a lawyer to defend her, using the excuse that she was “new to the political arena.”  Sabine Millien-Felix, Esquire, also responded to the complaint with, “she had no prior experience in preparation of the reports, never ran for elected office nor had she ever run or managed anyone else’s campaign.”

That’s so adorable!

Carline, sweetie, here’s a news flash:  I’ve never run for elected office, either.  I’ve also had zero experience with the preparation of campaign treasurer’s reports.  But, for some weird reason, I know all about campaign finance law.

No, I didn’t learn this stuff by osmosis.  I taught myself by … well … reading.

Yeah, I know.  Like math, reading is hard.

But, I’m guessing you figured that out by now since all twelve of the counts with which you were charged were a direct result of your inability to add numbers and understand the rules of reporting.  Apparently, you didn’t bother to actually read the Candidate & Campaign Treasurer Handbook you received when you filed to run for office (see page 163 of the public agenda item, and which was updated in 2016) .

Had you bothered to follow the Instructions for Campaign Treasurer’s Report Summary (page 193) and the Instructions for Campaign Treasurer’s Report-Itemized Expenditures (page 204), the Florida Elections Commission might not have fined you a $1,200.00 civil penalty for breaking the law.

Yet, somehow, you tried to pin your screw up on your claim that “the Complainant” (that’d be me) was a “personal friend” of your opponent.

You even tried to use the excuse that “the Complainant” (me again) did “not vote or reside in the City of North Miami, nor in the county where this election was taking place.”

Well, here’s another news flash, Carline:  You broke the law.  Your lame excuses were just that … excuses.  The Florida Elections Commission couldn’t care less who my friends are or where I live because this wasn’t about me.  It was all about you.  When you break the law, be prepared to suffer the consequences.

‘Nuff said about that.

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If at first you don’t succeed…

Somehow the news about Opa-locka’s huge corruption scandal never made it up to Palm Beach County, home of Boca Raton Magazine’s City Watch blogger Randy Schultz.  In the third item of yesterday’s column, Chomping at the bit, Schultz wrote about the search for a new city manager in the City of Delray Beach.

The blogger seemed amused by the long list of wannabe city managers.  He wrote, “The city received nearly 150 applicants, many of them more amusing than serious. There was interest from a manager at TGI Friday’s, a personal trainer, an assistant manager at the WalMart in Ponca City, Okla., a receptionist from Lake Worth, two chefs, the Republican who lost his U.S. Senate race in Nevada, a Jamba Juice manager, an eighth-grade teacher and a tax preparer.”  I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those characters were also among the sixty-two individuals who applied earlier this year for the city manager position in North Miami.

I had to laugh, however, when the blogger wrote, “Fortunately, there also are some credible applicants … Four candidates made both lists: Kelvin Baker, the city manager of Lauderdale Lakes, in western Broward County; Danny Crew, the city manager of Miami Gardens in Miami-Dade County that is home to Hard Rock Stadium; Barry Feldman, who spent 20 years as manager in West Hartford, Conn., and is a Delray Beach resident; and Donald Stilwell, town manager in Fort Myers.

Schultz obviously is not aware that Kelvin Baker is no longer the Lauderdale Lakes city manager.  He resigned in September amidst controversy.

A year earlier, Kelvin resigned as the city manager of Opa-locka amidst controversy.

And before that, he was fired from North Miami Beach in 2010 amidst controversy.

Regular readers of this blog are fully aware that Kelvin Baker is anything but a “credible applicant” for any job.

The federal corruption probe of Opa-locka has already resulted in the arrests of two city officials and the mayor’s son.  So far.  All three have pleaded guilty.  It’s not over yet.  Considering that Kelvin was Opa-locka’s city manager during the three years that all this corruption was taking place, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll escape unscathed.

Then again, other than a slightly bruised ego, the shameless Kelvin Baker has suffered absolutely zero consequences for any of the wrongs he’s committed during his decades-long career in government.  No one should be surprised.  In South Florida, rarely are corrupt public officials prosecuted or convicted for their crimes.  They usually do what Kelvin Baker has done time and time again … when the proverbial kitchen starts getting hot, they quickly resign and move on to the next city.

At last night’s commission meeting, Delray Beach Fire Chief Neal de Jesus was appointed as Interim City Manager.  No word yet if Kelvin is still being considered for the permanent position.

If so, someone should probably, um, enlighten the Delray Beach Commissioners.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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$200k down the taxpayer drain

Remember when a disqualified Miami Gardens mayoral candidate sued his way up to the Florida Supreme Court to get on the ballot?

Good times!

The election do-over wasted approximately $200,000.00 of the city’s money.

In the original November 8, 2016 election, incumbent Mayor Oliver Gilbert won with 69% of the vote against two challengers.  Even with the addition of the reinstated candidate James Wright, Mayor Gilbert handily won his seat back when 66.35% of the electorate voted for him on December 6, 2016.  A total of 8,409 voters came out for the special election and cast their ballots as follows:

• Mayor Gilbert 5,579
• James Wright 1,771
• Ulysses Harvard 670
• Clara Johnson 389

I hope the whopping 3%, or 252 votes, the Mayor lost in the election do-over was worth whatever amount of money James Wright blew on his ridiculous lawsuit.

Just saying.

Stephanie