Sunny Isles Beach Commissioner Dana Goldman, who is running for Mayor, is the new Queen of Dirty Campaigning.

Not that anyone should be surprised considering all the despicable things she’s done over the years and especially, during this campaign.  Goldman was a troublemaker even before she ever got appointed to the City Commission in 2014.

On June 29, 2012, Dana and her husband, Michael Gates, sued her Condominium Association, and 17 others, including two Association employees, its Board of Directors and several of its Members.

Four years, five Amended Complaints, a second concurrent lawsuit, the Judge’s recusal, her own attorney’s withdrawal as counsel, and a combined 589 dockets later, the Judge issued a Final Order of Dismissal of Entire Case With Prejudice in both cases, in which she wrote, “Plaintiff did not present evidence sufficient to support a claim or judgment in their favor against any one of [the] Defendants in this case or any claims asserted in this lawsuit.”

A dismissal with prejudice means that “a civil lawsuit has been dismissed based on merits of the case after a judgement has been issued.  When a case is dismissed with prejudice, the plaintiff is barred from filing a lawsuit on the same issue at a later date.”

While that’s four years — and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees — that the Defendants will never get back.  According to Defendant Greg Capra’s website, Nightmare Neighbors, Goldman sued for over $20 million “over an illegal A/C line that She installed,” yet ended up paying, “$84,000 to settle in lieu of a release for over $500,000 in legal fees.”

While we have no way of confirming the terms of the Settlement Agreement, which is not a public record, we’ll take Mr. Capra’s word at face value.  After all, he lived it.

Five months after losing her lawsuits, she ran to keep her appointed seat on the Commission in November 2016, ironically against her condominium foe, Greg Capra, and won with 65.32% of the votes.

Instead of taking a victory lap for the win, she must have still been fuming over her courtroom defeat and continued feuding with her neighbors — particularly Greg Capra and his wife, Nikolina.

Since the Judge barred her from taking them back to court on the same bogus allegations, Dana settled for harassing them every chance she got.

In April, 2020, she even filmed them through their bedroom window.  In response to Peeping Tom-Gate, Dana was “invited” to the station by Sunny Isles Beach Police.

Watch!

Nevertheless, in November 2020, she ran and won again, this time getting 52.94% of the votes, and avoiding a runoff against either of her opponents, Greg Capra and Fabiola Stuyvesant.

On September 1, 2021, Sunny Isles Beach Mayor George “Bud” Scholl announced his resignation due to the increased responsibilities in his professional life as President and CEO of OneBlood blood bank.  In a farewell letter to residents, he thanked in particular Vice Mayor Larisa Svechin, who would serve as interim Mayor until a special election could be held on November 2, 2021.

In addition to Dana Goldman and Larisa Svechin, there were two other candidates, David Grossman and Jerry Joseph.  Due to the fact that none of them received 50% plus one of the votes cast, there will be a runoff on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 between the top two contenders, Dana Goldman and Larisa Svechin, who is endorsed by VotersOpinion.

Dana might have thought she would win this race as easily as she did four years ago, but Larisa’s popularity with the residents was giving her a run for her money, and she was apparently starting to worry.

Rumor has it that Jerry Joseph, who garnered 12.28% of the vote, was actually a plant installed by Dana to divert votes away from her only real rival, Larisa Svechin.  If that’s true, her scheme worked to some degree, but not enough to keep Dana out of a runoff.

It also didn’t help Dana when she became embroiled in a self-created scandal as reported by the Miami Herald on October 25, 2021, in Husband of Sunny Isles commissioner invoked wife’s position after alleged hit-and-run.

Referring to the Bal Harbor Police Department report, the Herald article reported, “When Michael Gates was accused of backing into a parked car at Bal Harbour Shops and then fleeing the scene, he told police multiple times that his wife, Dana Goldman, is an elected official in Sunny Isles Beach.”

The article continued, “Gates backed his 2021 Genesis into the side of a car while trying to park in the valet lot of Bal Harbour Shops.  After hitting the car, Gates parked in a space a few rows over before a valet worker told him he couldn’t park there and he left the area.  Gates and Goldman were confronted by police when they returned from dinner, and after police had reviewed surveillance footage of the incident.  Police said Gates named a series of objects he thought he had struck, including a pole, a curb and a traffic cone. There were no poles or traffic cones in the vicinity, according to police.”

Although she was a passenger in her husband’s car at the time of the accident, Dana denied any responsibility whatsoever.  In an email to the Miami Herald Goldman said, “Let’s be clear, this is my husband’s legal problem, not mine.  Goldman said in an email. I was NOT driving the vehicle, I was NOT paying attention while I was a passenger.”

Yeah, right.

During this election season, Dana Goldman has allegedly violated multiple ethical and campaign laws for which complaints have been filed.

The Florida Elections Commission is investigating her for repeatedly omitting the word “for” in her campaign ads.  By merely advertising “Elect Dana Goldman Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach,” instead of “Elect Dana Goldman for Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach,” she is in violation of Florida Statute 106.143(6), which specifically states that, “such advertisement must include the word “for” between the candidate’s name and the office for which the candidate is running, in order that incumbency is not implied.”

Another complaint filed with the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust alleges that “Goldman has been slandering [her opponent Larisa] Svechin by accusing her of improperly using the word ‘re-elect’ in her campaign for Mayor, when in fact, the Ethics Commission and the Florida Elections Commission have previously issued opinions stating that an appointed Mayor can use the word “re-elect” when campaigning for re-election.”

While these may seem like minor infractions to those unfamiliar with campaign laws and ethical codes, there are very clear reasons for their existence.  Most of the time, the agencies tasked with enforcing those laws take them seriously, especially the Florida Elections Commission.

The Miami-Dade Ethics Commission not so much, but we digress.

Of all the dirty campaign tricks Dana has played, nothing is more heinous than her most recent campaign mailer attacking her opponent by furtively insinuating that if Larisa is elected as Mayor, people will die.

Yes, she’s that despicable!

On February 10, 2021, an 11-year old boy was attempting to cross the street in Sunny Isles Beach when he was hit by a car and later died.  In June, the Champlain Towers South condominium collapsed, killing 97 people.

When voters opened their mailboxes last week to discover a repugnant “electioneering communication,” it was patently obvious that Dana was using those tragedies to her advantage.

While Dana Goldman insists she had nothing to do with that hideous campaign ad, public records tell a different story.

The ad was paid for by The Democracy Project, Inc., a political committee (PAC) registered with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections since August 30, 2013.  Campaign finance activity during this election cycle since September 9, 2021 includes the following four contributions:

• $10,000 from HB Capital Management LLC, which is run by HB Manager LLC, which is run by Steven Hurowitz, who is a major hotelier and developer in Sunny Isles Beach.
• $3,000 from Septaria US, LLC, which is run by Verzasca Management LLC, which is run by Darius Kasparaitis and Timur Lobanov of Verzasca Group, the developer of the controversial Aurora Sunny Isles Beach Condo, for which Dana Goldman voted.
• $5,000 from R.K. Associates, a prominent developer in South Florida, including Sunny Isles Beach.
• $2,000 from the Mayoral candidate herself, Dana Goldman!

On October 25, 2021, The Democracy Project, Inc. expended $8,765 for “electioneering communication.”

The money for these disgusting campaign ads may not have come directly from Dana’s campaign account, yet she clearly had a hand in raising money for this PAC to help her get elected.

Ironically, Dana has no problem prostituting herself out to developers for campaign cash, yet she has the audacity to accuse Larisa Svechin of allowing developers to “walk all over her.”

By filing frivolous lawsuits against her own neighbors and then stalking them, by allowing her husband to benefit by her position as an elected official, and by campaigning on the backs of dead men, women and children, Dana Goldman has proven she is unfit to be an elected official anywhere, much less as the Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach.

On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, please vote responsibly.

RE-ELECT LARISA “LAURA” SVECHIN FOR MAYOR!

Stephanie