As promised, VotersOpinion obtained an official translation of a defamatory campaign ad played on Haitian radio last week.  We sent the audio recording of the ad to Translators Unlimited, LLC in Plantation, Florida, for a “Haitian Creole to English translation.”

And it’s far worse than even we imagined.

The ad claimed to be “paid for and approved” by “the concerned citizens of North Miami Beach who are not affiliated with any candidates and any campaigns.”

According to an October 27, 2020 Miami Herald article about “anonymous lies” and other election shenanigans, this type of advertising is illegal.

As an example, the Herald reported that the disclaimer on a defamatory anonymous website containing “allegedly” false information about Hallandale Beach Commissioner Michele Lazarow, is listed as “a concerned citizen of Hallandale Beach, and I have free speech guaranteed by the 1st amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

According to UM law professor and campaign finance expert, Francis Hill, “the website appeared to violate state election laws that require political communications to disclose who paid for them.”

Since we have it on good authority that the funding behind this ad was arranged by shady political operative Lesly Prudent, we’re not surprised that laws were broken.

Prudent, however, would not commission a campaign ad out of the goodness of his heart.  Political operatives don’t electioneer unless there’s something in it for them.  In Prudent’s case, he’s hoping for a majority on the North Miami Beach City Commission to appoint him as city manager.  This has been his goal since 2010 when former Commissioner Frantz Pierre began promising him the job.  With Frantz off the dais, thanks to his arrest for 11 felony counts, Prudent saw his hopes dashed until 2018, when Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond and Paule Villard were elected.

When it comes to municipal campaigns, there is nothing that rankles us more than politicians who play the race card and use identity politics to divide a city.

And yet, Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, and Paule Villard, who were obviously behind this creepy campaign ad, are playing those exact dirty political games.

In their radio ad, the anonymous “concerned citizens” state, “Before the last elections which were held in the city of North Miami Beach, we had zero representation.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the royal “we” referred to is the relatively small Haitian community living in North Miami Beach, who allegedly claim they previously had no representation.

Well, except for the seven duly elected officials who sit on the dais at City Hall, of course, who actually do represent ALL the residents of North Miami Beach, and not just the Haitian community (or any one specific ethnic, racial, or religious group in the city).

The ad continues with, “We voted for three candidates: Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard. The team who is working for the people!”

Well, except for the fact there is an entire team of seven elected officials who are supposed to be working for ALL the people of North Miami Beach, not just the Haitian community.

The three of them also falsely accuse Mayor Anthony DeFillipo of being so upset about three Haitians sitting on the Commission, that he “put candidates to compete [with] Michael Joseph and McKenzie Fleurimond.”

Well, except for the fact Antonio Ortega and Liliya Spektor decided to run for office of their own free will, and are not controlled by the Mayor.

The same can’t be said for the puppet candidate Daniela Jean, who was purposely installed by Michael and McKenzie so they can “reinforce the team” and “defend the interests of ‘the community’ in the city of North Miami Beach,” as they stated in their repugnant campaign ad.

Apparently, this “team” has absolutely no intention of working with their colleagues on the dais for the benefit of ALL the residents of North Miami Beach.

And finally, the defamatory radio ad claims that the Mayor was “condemned” for making “racist comments against the Haitians,” which the ad does not explain, and which is also patently false.

Michael Joseph led the charge to censure (not “condemn” as the ad declares) the Mayor for a comment he posted on Facebook regarding Paule Villard’s push to fire former Clerk Pamela Latimore, an African American.

Ironically, Tony’s comment was in response to a post by Elizabeth Judd, also an African American, who wrote:

Ms. Judd then followed up with:

We didn’t see Michael, McKenzie and Paule attack Elizabeth Judd for accusing them of promulgating “mistrust between Haitian Americans and African Americans.”

Yet, somehow, Mayor DeFillipo was the problem for agreeing with her.

Talk about divisive!

Finally, the ad urges listeners to vote for Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, and Daniela Jean because “It’s teamwork that wins.”

Michael, McKenzie, Paule, and now Daniela have made their goal crystal clear.  You don’t even have to read between the lines.

They have no intention of working with their colleagues for the good of ALL residents of North Miami Beach – they only want to “reinforce the team.”

Which actually means they want a majority vote for the sole benefit of ONLY the Haitian community.

Not the African American community.

Not the Hispanic community.

Not the white community.

ONLY the Haitian community.

It doesn’t get any more divisive than that!

As much as we despise identity politics, we can play the same game.

If the Fab Four want “equal representation” on the dais, let’s take a look at the actual demographics of North Miami Beach, and come up with an “equitable” solution.

According to the United States Census Bureau, here are the demographics of North Miami Beach:

Regardless of ethnic background, whites make up 50.4% and blacks make up 41.4% of the population.

Hispanics may be of any race, and “are included in the applicable race categories,” according to the Census Bureau.  They make up 37.4% of the NMB population.  Non-Hispanic whites, on the other hand, represent only 18%.

We now turn to a Brookings Institute Report on the South Florida Haitian community, which breaks down the demographics by city.

If Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard, and Daniela Jean want “equal representation,” here’s what those quotas would look like.

There are seven seats on the dais, each representing roughly 14% of the total membership.  Since individuals can’t be divided into fractions, we’ll have to improvise a bit to make sure that each race/ethnic group gets a “fair share” of representation.

• Non-Hispanic whites and Haitians make up 18% and 19.4%, respectively, so they each get one Commissioner.
• Hispanics of any race make up 37.4%, so Hispanics get two Commissioners.
• Non-Haitian blacks make up 22% of the population, and make up more than one fifth of the population, they get to have two Commissioners.
• And finally, even though this group only makes up 4.8% of the population, but are still entitled to “equal representation,” the final Commissioner must be either an Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, or an individual of Two or More Races.

If Michael, McKenzie and Paule really want “equal representation” for their Haitian community, then two of them have to step down.

Which two of you will volunteer?

Or, and here’s a novel idea…

THEY CAN STOP PLAYING IDENTITY POLITICS AND URGE VOTERS TO

ELECT THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR THE JOB!

That contemptible radio ad commissioned by Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, and Paule Villard through their surrogate, Lesly Prudent, speaks volumes.

And make no mistake, Michael is the ringleader of this divisive “team” that excludes more than 80% of the city’s residents.

If you want a more inclusive form of government, please fire Michael Joseph and…

VOTE FOR A REAL TEAM PLAYER, ANTONIO ORTEGA!

North Miami Beach residents deserve better!

Stephanie