After losing the congressional Republican primary to Maria Elvira Salazar, Angie Chirino — daughter of Cuban salsa sensation Willy Chirino — wants to run for Florida Senate in District 39.
She joins Pinecrest Councilwoman Anna Hochkammer, a Democrat, in seeking the seat currently occupied by Sen. Anitere Flores, who is termed out and rumored to be eyeing a county seat — even possibly a mayoral run in 2020 (more on that later).
This open race, a unique opportunity in South Florida, is likely to attract a few more would-be candidates before qualifying even begins next year. Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez had originally and early on filed paperwork to seek the seat, which many believed was hers by right, but then she became the running mate to Gov. Ron DeSantis. She has since returned more than $3,000 in contributions, indicating that she will stay with DeSantis through the four-year term, even though she wants a South Florida office to work in (more on that later).
Chirino came in fifth in the nine-way primary last year that put Salazar in a contest with Democrat Donna Shalala, who eventually won the general election. That may only account for less than 7%, but it’s 2,678 people who she got to vote for her once before.
“I know this community extremely well,” Chirino said in a statement launching her campaign.
“District 39 is full of extraordinary people, and my diverse professional background has thoroughly prepared me to be a strong voice for all residents of our community.
It’s vital that we do everything possible to give the next generation of South Floridians the best start in life, especially those from challenging backgrounds.
One of the best ways we can do that is to address critical quality-of-life issues. For too long, South Florida families have been forced to spend too much of their valuable time stuck in traffic and too much of their hard-earned money on tolls.
I plan to be a tireless advocate for effectively addressing this issue as well as for state policies that protect our seniors and the beautiful environment we all enjoy.
There’s no question these are tough issues, but I believe working together, we can strengthen our economy and make sure South Florida continues to be the best place to live in the country.”

Chirino also worked for the Voices For Children Foundation, representing children in foster care.

Hochkammer, a relative newcomer who moved into the area in 2009 and served as PTA president at Palmetto High, has served as vice mayor in Pinecrest, where she was elected in 2016.
She also released a statement when she announced her bid. In part, it said:
“The state of public education and the constant attacks by the Legislature, and lack of real funding and opportunity keeps me up at night.
“I know the only place I can make a real difference in the lives of children and families in Florida is in Tallahassee. I am excited about the journey ahead to represent the wonderfully diverse and vibrant communities that make up District 39.”
More than 5,000 people voted to put Hochkammer in office in 2009, but Pinecrest sits outside the Senate district’s boundaries. Florida law requires legislators to live in Florida for at least two years before Election Day, but they can move into the district on Election Day as long as they live there while they represent the district. Hochkammer has said she is renting a condo in Key Largo, which is in the district.
There are likely to be other candidates for this open seat before qualifying really starts.

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Tallahassee’s worst kept secret is out. Ladra had heard about an affair between senators Anitere Flores and Oscar Braynon III for more than a year, maybe two. But we didn’t care. Not then. Not really. Not so much now, either. It was only mildly interesting because of its bipartisan nature. Flores is an ultra conserative Republican in District 39 (Kendall). Braynon is a Democrat in District 35 (Miami Gardens).
Other than that, it’s a pretty garden variety soap opera. What should bother people is that someone put secret surveillance on two duly elected lawmakers for some special interest purpose. It isn’t sexual harassment, though it is being bunched into group thought with Jack Latvala‘s and Jeff Clemens‘ very real transgressions. It isn’t corruption — as in the city of Hialeah, where the former mayor’s chief of staff got his side dish a job she was wholly unqualified for (more on that later). It isn’t even non-feasance — unless there was taxpayer paid travel that was unnecessary so the lovebirds could coo far from home. But, really, who can prove “unnecessary”? You say tomato blah blah.
At the end of the day, we are talking about the actions of two consenting adults, longtime friends, on their own time in their own personal space. It is none of our business. Ladra would be far more concerned with all the people rumored to be sleeping around in local government and at the school board, where it’s allegedly led to jobs and contracts.
So why is everybody getting their panties in a bunch about this? Because of  perceived partisan conflicts of interests?
Some folks say Braynon — the minority leader who sought and fundraised for Democrat candidates — tossed his little love bunny an easy peasy candidate in the 2016 election on purpose. Or did you think Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is the best the blue party can do? This is that race that trustfund baby Andrew “Richie Rich” Korge abandoned because, as he said, he was getting no Dem love. Others say the affair may be why Flores blocked those open carry bills last year that most of her colleagues supported. As if Braynon threatened to cockblock her if she didn’t block glocks at committee? Poppycock.
This is all smoke and mirrors intended to keep us away from the real story: Who paid for the secret surveillance and anonymous website and, as importantly, to what end? Is the NRA behind it? This is possible. And the ramifications are far more important than some nerdy policy pillow talk. It’s why there should be an state or FBI investigation.
Many political observers think that former Sen. Frank Artiles — who was forced to resign in shame after a racist and sexist rant with black legislators at a Tallahassee eatery — was the one behind this website as a kind of payback. The video tape that was taken via a secret camera was installed by a private investigator that has reportedly worked for one of Artiles’ well-known Tallahassee lobbyist buddies. But while Artiles certainly has the (un)ethical fortitude to do something like this, we’ve never seen him have such follow through before. He’s all bark, no bite. And how would he fund it? Artiles is mean spirited, but smear campaigns cost money. The NRA has tons of that.
Las malas lenguas told Ladra that there could be an ethics complaint coming. But that was a month ago and nothing has happened. Because there really was no ethics violation. If anything, the relationship proves that Republicans and Democrats can work together if they take their clothes off. I suggest they add a Nude Days to the themed schedule at the capitol, like Lobby Days, Dade Days, Children’s Days and Dentists Day.
No, Ladra thinks maybe the front page story in the Miami Herald was the end game. Maybe that was really the intent of the smear job anonymous website that outed the affair days before session began, with video tape and photographs to go with the allegations but no specific accusations as to just how those affections allegedly affected Florida voters and residents (hint: it didn’t). Ladra suspects there will be no ethics charge coming. In fact, there’s been very little fallout so far, which no doubt was the intention of the lawmakers strange, joint mea culpa “forgive us” announcement as the session began.
“As this 2018 session of the Florida Legislature gets underway, we do not want gossip and rumors to distract from the important business of the people, That’s why we are issuing this brief statement to acknowledge that our longtime friendship evolved to a level that we deeply regret. We have sought the forgiveness of our families, and also seek the forgiveness of our constituents and God. We ask everyone else to respect and provide our families the privacy that they deserve as we move past this to focus on the important work ahead.”
Since then? Nada. Silencio. People have, indeed, given them their privacy.
But (sorry, Anitere) we will hear of this again — in political mailers and TV ads. Not by the Dems. They don’t attack each other with the same relish the Republicans have for one another. And hasn’t Anitere borne the brunt of the slutshaming in this case, although both she and Braynon are married? How sexist is that? Anyway, even though Flores is termed out this year, everyone knows she has (had?) other political ambitions right here at home (otherwise she’d have to get a real job). Some think county commissioner. Others believe Miami-Dade mayor is more her size. She could also be headed up, into Congress or U.S. Senate. Why not? Either way, Flores was unlikely to fade into the footnotes — until now. A young mother of two, this can’t be easy on her personally. And if she runs, especially for anything so fiercely competitive and dirty as county mayor, she will have to face a wildly ugly negative and selatious smear campaign. She may choose not to.
Which may have been the idea. And that is why this needs to be investigated. Because the whole thing could have been set up by political operatives pre-empting Flores’ future electability. Think about it. She would be a formidable fundraiser and supremely viable 2020 candidate for mayor. And you know there is a long list of people already eyeing that job for themselves. County commissioners Esteban Bovo and Xavier Suarez are just the most obvious.
So then wouldn’t this be political extortion? It is not sexual harassment but it is, at the very least, political harassment, which is just as bad if not worse. If the intention here is to run someone out of office, in other words silence Braynon or Flores or, worse, coerce them to vote a particular way — or to push a particular bill through committee — then this entire smear campaign should be investigated as a crime. Even if it was Artiles behind it, the voters in Senate District 40 — where he intends to challenge Sen. Annette Taddeo (never thought I’d be typing those words) this year, believe it or not — deserve to know the lengths to which Magilla Gorilla will go to avenge his detractors.
Who paid that investigator for the video and whoever built the website? Was it Artiles? Was it the NRA? Was it someone else? Shouldn’t we find out?
Ladra calls on the FLDE and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the creation of the website and the video tape that implicated the two legislators. After all, today it’s Flores and Branyon, but tomorrow it could be another senator, a state rep or your friendly, local city council member being strongarmed by the NRA or some solid waste company or gaming giant. Ladra sees a whole cottage industry exploding if there are no consequences.
Not for Flores and Braynon. But for whoever could be extorting them.

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Municipal and state candidates wait in the wings

If anyone ever made an argument for term limits, it was Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban Bovo just last week when he was sworn in as the new chairman of the board and talked about actually making decisions in the next two years ticktockclockbecause, after all, this is his last term and he’s got a looming deadline.

“We embark on a new era, an era that is tied directly to term limits, and that is going to affect how we conduct the business of the people of Miami-Dade,” Bovo said “It becomes very clear to me that we have to work in an expedited fashion.”

It becomes very clear to me that Bovo and the others in their last term, have been forced to act, rather than talk about acting, by the fact that the clock is ticking. What? Have they beeen dawdling up to now? Just passing the time? Do they need to have a fire under their, uh, feet to make things happen?

Apparently so.

Read related story: Carlos Gimenez, er, Stevie Bovo wins commission chair

Bovo ain’t alone in preparing his exit. Term limits approved by voters in 2012 mean that six commissioners will be out of office and replaced in 2020 (Jordan, Edmonson, Barreiro, Suarez, Moss and Bovo). Another six will be replaced in 2022 (Monestime, Heyman, Levine Cava, Sosa, Souto and Diaz), leaving only newly elected Commissioner Joe Martinez (that sounds weird) on the dais with 12 fresh faces. Although “fresh” might be an overstatement.

This is the 305, after all, where recycling politicians is not just a sport, it’s a cottage industry. The most likely replacements will be electeds who move up the political ladder from municipal office or down from the state legislature to Miami-Dade.

It’s no secret, for example, that State Sen. Anitere Flores hasaniterecindy long been eyeing Commissioner Javier Souto‘s county seat and that former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner is waiting for Commissioner Xavier Suarez to be termed out so she can run for an open seat.

Flores pretty much has it in the bag. But Lerner might find, however, that it’s not going to be just handed over to her. Coral Gables Commissioner Vince Lago surely has higher aspirations and Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, who is termed out this year, may find retirement boring. Anything is better than Mayor Carlos Gimenez wanting his old seat back or, knock on wood, his lobbyist son, who just started his own consulting firm wheeling and dealing for Latin American interests who want the ear of our President Donald Trump.

Read related story: Mayor’s son lobbies Trump with silent, same ol’ partners

Some districts have more potential hopefuls waiting in the wings than others. Take Commissioner Bruno Barreiro‘s seat. His replacement could come from either Miami Beach or the city of Miami. Maybe Miami Commissioner FrankDeede Weithorn, Michael Gongora Carollo hasn’t filed paperwork because he’s thinking of jumping the bridge to the 111 building. Ladra wouldn’t be surprised at all if former Commissioner Marc Sarnoff ran. He’s been conspicuously quiet. And what if former Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla thinks the city of Miami is too small for him?

But this is also an opportunity for former Miami Beach Commissioners Deede Weithorn and Michael Gongora (pictured here), both of whom lost state bids last year. It very well could turn into a Miami vs. Miami Beach thing.

District 13 might also get a clusterbunch of candidates when Bovo runs for mayor in 2020. Ladra suspects that newly-elected Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid has aspirations beyond the town. He just seems so ambitious. And he’s worked closely with Bovo on several district initiatives. Chances are, just from the sheer number of them, that he will have a challenge out of Hialeah. Maybe Carlos Hernandez. Maybe Vivian Casals-Munoz. Maybe even State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez, who has been quietly lobbying for the megamall development in Northwest Miami-Dade, which is coming before the commission this week (more on that later).

Homestead Mayor Jeff Porter ought to run for Daniella Levine Cava‘s seat in District 8. It’s really a good way to jeffdaniellacontinue to advocate for your hometown, which is largely ignored. Ladra thinks he’d get the support of the Democrats and labor groups that supported Daniella. We would have said former Sen. Dwight Bullard would run for Levine’s or Moss’s seat — whichever one he lived in — except he apparently moved to Gadsen County to run for chairman of the Florida Democratic Party. He may move back. It’s not unthinkable. And don’t count former Commissioner Lynda Bell out. Sure, she lost to Levine Cava in 2012, but she could come back. Stranger things have happened. Recently. The very Repubican pro-life advocate may feel empowered.

Read related story: Voters replace Luigi Boria with first mayor J.C. Bermudez

Former Doral Councilwoman Sandra Ruiz might jump at the chance sandraluigito run for Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz‘s seat. She might finally be able to win one, with the Democratic Party’s help again, especially if her only opponent is Sweetwater Mayor Orlando Lopez. But there’s always the hope of a rematch. After all, former Doral Mayor Luigi Boria , who loaned himself quite a bit for a failed mayoral re-election, has the money to run another race if his ego gets the best of him. And, now, he also has the time. But Ruiz likely has the support of Doral Mayor J.C. Bermudez, who just beat Boria decidedly in November. That is, if he doesn’t run himself. It isn’t entirely out of the question either; Bermudez at one point mulled a run for county mayor.

Certainly, Ladra has forgotten some notable recyclables who are just chomping at the bit. Please feel free to add your own predictions in the comments below.

Of course, all these “new” people — recycled electeds and any fresh faces that may sprout — start with the clock running already. Nobody is going to get 27 years, like Souto and Commissioner Dennis Moss will have served by the time they are forced to leave the dais almost, practically at gunpoint. The new batch of commissioners will have only eight short (?) years to get things done and that’s it. Then there’s a whole new crop of people coming in every four years. The turnaround should be a fantastic motivator.

Maybe we should shorten term limits to four years. Imagine how much more would get done.


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It may be a contentious election year with many close races as the Democratic Party tries to snatch up seiu presser living wagesome red seats and Republicans try to hold on and/or turn a few of their own.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t still get along, right?

A bi-partisan group of electeds in three contested races got together last week to promote living wage legislation that would pay a minimum wage of $15 an hour instead of $8.10 an hour.

The press conference came on the heels of an announcement Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity that the state’s minimum wage would go from $8.05 per hour to $8.10 per hour. Elected officials around the state are saying that this token nickel raise is simply not enough to keep up with the much more rapidly increasing cost of living.

But Ladra bets most of them are Democrats. In Miami we had two, count ’em, two Republicans.

Taking a break from their campaigns for low-wage workers this morning:

  • Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who despite her attack ads calling him a drunk driver, is facing the most serious challenge to her since Annette Taddeo, the OG version (in her first bid for office in 2008) from Democrat Scott Fuhrman.
  • State Senator Anitere Flores, who faces attacks of her own from the Florida Democratic Party as they support Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in a redrawn district that is pretty evenly split, or maybe favors Republicans by just a tad. But will they come out to vote?
  • State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, who left the comfort of a guaranteed slide back to the House migueldlpjrodso he could change chambers with a challenge to the ever popular Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla in what has become one of the roughest local campaigns this year (more on that later).

Wait a minute. Didn’t the SEIU endorse DLP? Well, Local 1991 did. They represent the nurses and staff at Jackson and also endorsed Flores, Ros-Lehtinen and Sen. Rene Garcia. The other two locals, 1199 and 32BJ endorsed J-Rod in District 37.

Read related story: Public employee labor union backs three GOP legislators

Ros-Lehtinen has long touted her ability to reach across the aisle and build consensus. She is known to be pro equal rights and she seems to have some sanity regarding climate change. She recently helped write a bipartisan letter to UNESCO about Jerusalem and introduced bipartisan a bills to restore rights of Holocaust survivors. And she’s not voting for Donald Trump.

Still, Ladra is pretty sure it was uncomfortable for her and Flores to be standing with J-Rod while he’s attacking their friend, the Flagship DLP, on the airwaves on a year when he could very well lose his seat — even if they were on opposite sides of the podium.


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Debbie Mucarsel-Powell had four endorsements to announce last week in her challenge to the election2016popular and veteran Sen. Anitere Flores.

Problem is, she didn’t really. She only had two. Or, at best, three.

A social media graphic was posted Thursday boasting the endorsements of Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, who got a lot of love from the Democratic Party in her non-partisan 2014 race and is paying it back; Monroe County Commissioner Heather Carruthers, Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace and Goulds activist J.L. Demps.

But Demps said he didn’t endorse her. In fact, he endorsed Flores.

“I met her and I did have a conversation with her,” Demps told Ladra about Mucarsell. “She’s a very nice person also.”

But why would she get the idea that he had endorsed her? “I don’t know,” he said.

floresmucarselMucarsel-Powell, who describes herself as a professional fund raiser for non profits and organizations, told Ladra that Demps inclusion was due to “confusion, a mix up.” They had met at an school event in Goulds and when they spoke afterwards she assumed she had his support. But her campaign manager, Kate Coyne-McCoy, admitted that they did not have a signed endorsement form from Dumps.

Flores does.

“This didn’t surprise me, because there are so many false allegations coming from her campaign,” the senator told Ladra, referring to mailers that have gone out against the incumbent. “How can she be trusted if all she’s doing is lying to confuse voters?”

Read related story: Democratic Party throws GOP right bloc at Anitere Flores

When it comes to Wallace, Mucarsel-Powell says there is no confusion. “I had his support from the very first day I met him,” she told Ladra. Coyne-McCoy didn’t know if she had a signed endorsement form from him Saturday but said she would check.

It’s not like Flores needs him. She’s got a hefty list of endorsements, including the PBA, AFSCME, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the United Faculty of Miami-Dade, Monroe Sheriff Rick Ramsay, the Florida Professional Firefighters Associations and all seven elected officials in Homestead, which is in the district — even though most are Democrats (only Commissioner Jon Burgess is a Republican).

Meanwhile, maybe Mucarsel-Powell should stick with the very predictable endorsements she really has: Emily’s List, SAVE Dade and the Democratic Veterans of Florida.

And make sure they sign the endorsement forms.


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It seems like every Democrat candidate is using Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump FloresGunsMailerin their mailers against their counter party opponents. Our mailboxes are full of Trump comparisons in what is a very obvious concerted effort to motivate Democrats and keep disgusted Republican voters home (read: GOTV and voter suppression). 

But Trump isn’t enough for Sen. Anitere Flores. So the Florida Democratic Party has thrown the entire GOP conservative bloc against her.

In their attempt to turn that Senate seat blue, the state Dems have sent out mailers attacking Anitere on her time as president of Doral “College,” an extension of charter high schools that is still not accredited, and her votes on guns. That’s the one that shows not only Trump but a menagerie of the most right Republicans of our time.

“On a scale from 1 to extremely wrong on gun issues, Anitere Flores is off the charts,” says the mailer, next to a photo of the senator and photos of Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott and Ben floresblocCarson. Ted Freaking Cruz?!

What? No George Bush? When did he stop being the villain we blame for everything?

And you’d think the smart consultants at the Florida Democratic Party would do Congressman Patrick Murphy a solid by including a photo of Sen. Marco Rubio in this photographic line-up, but noooooo. Maybe they didn’t want to piss off all the Cuban voters.

The mailer goes on to say that Flores is a “radical Republican… endangering our community and our families” and that she voted to let guns at Disney World, public parks and workplaces. But not really.

In 2008, she did vote for a bill — which passed and was known as the “Bring Your Gun to Work” law — that would let anybody who already has a concealed weapons permit, except teachers and people who work with fireworks, to take their guns to their place of work and leave them in the car. More recently, in 2015, she voted to strengthen “stand your ground” laws that make it difficult to prosecute questionable “self-defense” shootings.

But that’s not putting guns in daycares.

And when it says she voted to remove all local gun laws, what it means is that she voted for a statewide law that would not allow local municipalities to keep or create their own gun legislation.

What it doesn’t say is that Flores was also the only Florida Republican who signed off requesting a special session on gun control after the mass Orlando shooting this year.

Sarah Palin would not approve.


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