Phyllis Smith, who has sat on the North Miami Beach City Commission for 13 years, is finally termed out.  Six individuals have qualified to run for what is referred to as the “open seat.”

Here’s our take on all of them, in alphabetical order.

Ruth Abeckjerr, who lives at 3772 NE 166 Street, filed to run on August 17, 2020.  Until now, this candidate has never been involved in local politics, nor has she bothered to serve on any North Miami Beach board or committee, despite having lived in the city for 22 years.  She admittedly only file to run because she’s against a proposed massive development just outside her Eastern Shores neighborhood.

As of October 9, 2020, Ruth has raised $5,100.00, of which $1,250.00 were loans from herself (which she ignorantly referred to as “in-kind” contributions), and the remaining $3,850.00 she collected from her immediate neighbors in Eastern Shores.  We presume they, too, are all against the project.

It’s important to note that we here at VotersOpinion are not in favor of this development in the form proposed, either, so we have nothing against the reason Ruth decided to run for office.  We do, however, firmly believe that one-issue candidates are not suited for office in North Miami Beach, where the vast majority of residents who live outside of Eastern Shores, need equal representation at City Hall.

Based on Ruth’s own words at a recent candidate forum, Ruth Abeckjerr has no idea what happens west of Biscayne Boulevard – literally and figuratively, the other side of the tracks – nor does she seem to care.

Ruth did, however, stupidly – and very publicly on Facebook – decided to support the loathsome Michael Joseph, who actually voted for the very project she is adamantly against, and who is supporting one of her opponents.

We’re still shaking our heads over that one.

North Miami Beach residents deserve much better than this clueless candidate.

Henry Rafael Dube, who lives at 530 NE 178 Street, filed to run on May 27, 2019, six months after he ran and lost against Commissioner Barbara Kramer in the 2018 election.

Since that date he has raised $14,777.00 in contributions, including $300.00 in loans to his campaign.  Most of this candidate’s other contributions came from residents and businesses located in neighboring North Miami, including $1,000.00 from Sarah Jane Ternier, the wife of the ethically-challenged Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, and a $50.00 donation from the infamous North Miami carpetbagger candidate, Fake Teacher Carline Paul.

According to his website, Henry Dube lists the same six unoriginal priorities that all political candidates claim in their platforms, i.e., (1) supporting local business, (2) courteous code enforcement, (3) elderly social programs, (4) fiscal responsibility, (5) against privatization, and (6) improve public safety.

Henry also didn’t bother to attend the candidate forum sponsored by the Washington Park Voter’s Council last week, so we have no way of knowing much more about Mr. Dube other than the brief bio he posted on his website.

Speaking of his bio, we also find it curious that a 27-year old self-proclaimed “successful small business owner, Real Estate Agent, and Mortgage Loan Originator” still lives in his parents’ house.

We certainly don’t know what Henry Dube would bring to the table for the benefit of NMB residents or what he expects to accomplish as an elected official.  We see nothing here that makes Henry stand out in the crowded field of contenders.  Voters should take a hard pass on this candidate.

What can we say about Daniela Jean, who resides at 1155 NE 157 Street, that we haven’t already mentioned in a previous blog?  As we reported, on August 28, 2020 she had raised a total of $3,843.00, including a loan of $375.00.  Since that time, this candidate increased her war chest to $9,423.29 as of October 9, 2020, not a single penny of which was contributed by an actual resident of the City of North Miami Beach.

Daniela Jean has never been involved in NMB civic affairs, nor has she ever served on a city board or committee.  She has contributed absolutely nothing for the benefit of NMB residents.

The most important thing to know about Daniela Jean, however, is that she was recruited by the diabolical Michael Joseph for very nefarious reasons – to make NMB as divisive and corrupt as the City of North Miami, where Daniela actually works and apparently received her political “education.”

Keep in mind that Michael Joseph & Company’s ultimate goal is to get rid of City Manager Esmond Scott and hire the despicable Lesly Prudent to take his place.

This is the same Lesly Prudent, who is a close personal friend of the equally despicable former Commissioner Frantz Pierre, and who was fired by the City of North Miami for “financial discrepancies” in his department’s accounting.

You will recall good old Frantzie was finally arrested on July 25, 2018 and is currently standing trial on eleven felony accounts, including bribery and money laundering.  Keep in mind that Frantz had been thankfully unsuccessful in his attempts to hire Lesley Prudent as NMB city manager since 2010.

Fast forward to 2020 where Michael Joseph, a/k/a Frantzie 2.0, his colleague Commissioner Paule Villard, and his hand-picked candidate Daniela Jean are now following in Frantz Pierre’s footsteps – including his use of identity politics.

Michael and his protégé Daniela have already formed a coalition with Paule Villard to viciously attack Mayor Tony DeFillipo in a paid campaign ad aired on Haitian radio in Creole by falsely accusing him of racism.

Commissioner McKenzie Fleurimond’s name is also mentioned in the defamatory ad, even though he adamantly insisted to VotersOpinion that he nothing to do with it.  We’ll take his word for it.  For now.

We obtained a copy of the ad in Creole and had it verbally translated to us.  We are also working on obtaining a written transcript, which we will post when we get it.

In the meantime, if you speak Creole, here’s the ad:

The disclaimer on this campaign ad claims to be paid for by “Citizens for North Miami Beach,” an alleged “political committee” that is neither registered with the State of Florida nor the City of North Miami Beach.

We have also learned that this defamatory ad was really paid for by none other than Lesly Prudent.

The alleged “racism” they are referring to is Mayor Tony DeFillipo’s support of Antonio Ortega, a Latino, against Michael, who is Haitian.  By doing so, the three are publicly accusing Tony of “silencing black voices.”

The truth is that Haitians make up less than 20% of the total North Miami Beach population, while Latinos – the fastest growing demographic in the country – now make up almost 40% of the city’s population.

By injecting race, ethnicity, and identity politics into a North Miami Beach election, Michael Joseph, Daniela Jean, and Paule Villard are only proving themselves to be the real racists by silencing Latino voices!

Are you beginning to see the bigger picture?  We sure are.

Aside from Daniela Jean’s complete lack of credentials to be a North Miami Beach Commissioner, residents certainly don’t need another divisive troublemaker like Michael Joseph on the dais.

Ketley Joachim, who has lived at 210 NE 170 Street for 25 years, filed to run on August 27, 2019 and has raised $13,478.00 in contributions.  Only $800.00 of that amount was a loan to her campaign, while the majority of the 181 donations she’s received as of October 9, 2020 came from her friends and neighbors who live in North Miami Beach.

It’s worthy to note that, unlike Crony Capitalist Michael Joseph, Ketley did not receive any contributions from Big Development.  This is not to say that she is against development.  In fact, we personally know that Ketley is a strong proponent of responsible development that will be harmonious with the surrounding neighborhoods and will not create more traffic problems for residents.  But, she’s certainly in no one’s pocket!

We also personally know that Ketley is the one candidate for this seat who has been the most civically active in North Miami Beach government affairs.  She has served on numerous boards and committees, and volunteers literally hundreds of hours a month to help residents with anything they need.  She always rises to the occasion when called on to volunteer her time and resources.  Ketley is so determined to serve from the dais, that this is her fourth attempt.  She is literally unstoppable.

In our opinion, Ketley Joachim is one of only three candidates in this race who are worthy of your consideration.

Which brings us to Margie Love, who has lived at 1579 NE 169 Street for 35 years.  Margie filed to run on June 12, 2020.  She is self-funding her campaign, and has already spent $45,564.30 of her own personal money to do so.  This is not to say that Margie doesn’t have any support from the community.  In fact, Margie Love is an institution in North Miami Beach, and is one of the front runners in this election.  By not taking donations, Margie is making a statement that she’s in nobody’s pocket.

While we don’t necessarily think it’s a great idea to self-fund a campaign, we certainly can’t argue with her reasons.

Like Ketley, Margie is bound and determined to get elected, whatever it takes.  And like Ketley, Margie truly loves North Miami Beach and wants to be of service to each and every resident in the city.

We certainly can’t argue with that, either.

And finally, Diane Weiss Raulson, who lives at 3601 NE 170 Street, Apt. 604, filed to run on March 1, 2019.  This candidate has raised $17,575.00 as of October 9, 2020, of which $600.00 are loans from herself.  The vast majority of her donations are from businesses, and almost all contributions came from outside the City of North Miami Beach.

This is not surprising, though, since Diane has been involved with municipal government in Miami-Dade County for over 20 years.

In addition to her service on two of the most important in the city – the Public Utility Commission and the Police and Fire Retirement Board, she also served on the Miami-Dade County Fire Board.  In 1988 Diane also co-founded Miami-Dade County Days in Tallahassee, or “Dade Days.”  This is a major annual event held for public officials to help them serve their respective communities.

Impressive resume aside, Diane Weiss Raulson may be well known among the political class and government officials of South Florida and beyond, but unlike Ketley Joachim and Margie Love, hers is not a household name among ordinary residents of North Miami Beach.  Nevertheless, given her extensive knowledge and public experience, there is no doubt that Diane would make an excellent choice for Commissioner.

Those are the six contenders for the seat soon to be vacated by Phyllis Smith.  She will be a tough act to follow, in more ways than one.

Neither Ruth Abeckjerr, Henry Dube, nor Daniela Jean have contributed anything to NMB or its residents.

None of them are deserving of your vote.

Three candidates, Ketley Joachim, Margie Love, and Diane Raulson, on the other hand, have already proven their commitment to service and their dedication to the City of North Miami Beach.

We predict there will be a runoff election for this seat since it’s unlikely that any of the candidates will receive more than 50% of the vote.

We also predict that the two final contenders will be among Ketley, Margie and Diane.  Any one of those three individuals would be a excellent choice for Commissioner.

North Miami Beach residents deserve the very best.

Stephanie