Voters can hear directly from the candidates in two of the more interesting state races Tuesday when the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations has its first forum after the August primary.

Former congressman and state rep David “King Nine Lives” Rivera, who won the Republican primary, and former Miami-Dade Police Lt. Robert Asencio, a Democrat, both vying for the House seat vacated by Rep. Frank Artiles move to a senate race, have confirmed, according to an email from KFHA President Michael Rosenberg.

Artiles and incumbent Democrat Sen. Dwight Bullard, who survived brutal primary attacks from carpetbagging trust fund baby Andrew Korge, have also confirmed.

The meting starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the pavilion in the Kendall Village Center, 8625 SW 124 Ave.

Expect Rivera to bring up Asencio’s disciplinary file from 2003 in which he grabbed a teenager by the neck and shirt to pull him off a school bus.

Fireworks could fly.

It’s a running joke that someday someone in the 305 will accuse a politician of child abuse. But stop laughing. Because it happened.

It’s gotten real ugly in the race for Florida House seat 118, where candidate Robert Asencio, a recently retired lieutenant with the Miami-Dade Schools Department, has been painted as a no less than an actual child abuser on an anonymous website.

Of course Asencio says these are false attacks and that they are standard for his opponent — former Congressman David Rivera. Rivera says he has nothing to do with the website, but he is the one who brought it up during a short debate Sunday on Al Punto Florida on Univision 23.

Read related story: David Rivera is baaaack — to his roots in state House race

“If you go to www.asenciocriminal.com you can see all the things my challenger has done,” Rivera said. “These are facts.”

Except the anonymos website called The Asencio Files — which claims to expose his “criminal history of child abuse, federal crimes, false police reports and taxpayer abuse” — takes those facts out of context. It centers on an internal affairs complaint against Asencio. It says that he grabbed a student and pulled him “out of his seat by the neck and shirt” on a school bus because the boy was “disrespecting him.”

It also publishes Asencio’s campaign phone number and urges people to call him and “tell him child abusers don’t belong in the Florida House of Representatives.”

The website claims to be “paid for, compiled and constructed by former police co-workers of Robert Asencio,” and promises more to come. “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Everybody knows already that I am voting for Raquel Regalado for mayor of Miami-Dade. I’ve listed my reasons for years, because it’s really a referendum on Carlos Gimenez and the lousy job he has been doing and the climate of pay-to-play politics he has created, all documented here. Just do a search on Carlos Gimenez. Go back to 2012.

But Raquel is a good candidate in her own right. In six years on the school board, she has helped turn what was once a chaotic laughing stock — the fourth largest district in the country — into a national model. She has reformed the way they do business, from an overhaul of their bus maintenance to pioneering social media and tech policies. From construction to facilities to special education — where she has helped bring education into the 21st century — Raquel has had a hands on approach to her job as one of nine school board members in charge of a $3.2 billion budget and overseeing about 50,000 employees, twice as much as the county.

She has a lot of good ideas. Just check them out on her very well written website (ahem).

And we’ve never had a woman as Miami-Dade mayor and I’m excited about that.

But there are a lot of other important races on Tuesday’s ballot, too. And because people are constantly asking me who or how I’m voting, I decided to post my recommendations for this Aug. 30th. As a proud, card-carrying NPA, this at least gives me the chance to cast a ballot, however straw it may be, in races where I otherwise have no say.

I’m not weighing in on every race, just the ones where I feel I can. And where I care. And I may not always have such an articulate and/or valid reason as I do with the mayoral race. But here goes:

FOR U.S. SENATE

Republican Marco Rubio because I don’t have to have a valid reason. See? I told you. I may not agree with a lot of his positions on issues like climate change and gay marriage, but I like him. A lot. I think he’s real and authentic and he isn’t just telling me what I want to hear. I like his story. I like his family. I like his boots. I like the way he talks. His words move me and I’m jaded AF. Ask anyone. It helps that he grew up down the street — who doesn’t want to root for the home team — and that his mom and I worked at the same K-Mart in Westchester (but I don’t know if it was at the same time). Plus I think that he cannot negatively impact gay marriage, which is legal now, or sea level rise response, which is inevitable.

Democrat Pam Keith because Ladra is half rabblerouser, like her. And because everything she says makes sense. And because the other two guys get on my nerves. Someone please tell Congressman Patrick Murphy that he shouldn’t email me more than once a day.

FOR U.S. HOUSE

DISTRICT 26: Democrat Joe Garcia, because no matter how hard she tries people just don’t like Annette Taddeo — or maybe it’s that they don’t trust her — and I still think Garcia has a better chance of beating Carlos Curbelo in November. And if Carlos Curbelo, a liar and lobbyist with a secret client list, isn’t upset this year he’ll be there forever, like Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. And we can’t have that. Garcia isn’t always right. But, like Rubio, he’s a true believer. He really thinks he’s right. He’s not doing it for a proxy. And I’ll take a true believer who just happens to be wrong sometimes to a sinister liar trying to game the system any day. The former congressman might have been beaten two years ago by Curbelo, but that was in an off year.

Read related story: Awkward! Annette Taddeo, Joe Garcia face off with polite jabs

DISTRICT 27:

Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen because none of the others can hit the ground running. IRL is a legend who still has a little pull in D.C. With Republicans. With Democrats. She is a popular senior in high school. She is not a Freshman transplant. She will be able to do more.

Democrat Scott Fuhrman because it doesn’t really matter since nobody can beat Ileana, not even a Democrat in a Hillary year. Her gay cred with a transgeder son and her pro-Dreamer immigration stance makes her a crossover darling. But Fuhrman is fun to watch and might make a good elected — one day. So let’s give him the practice.

There’s more. Please press this “continue reading” button to “turn the page.”

The Kendall Federation of Homeowners Association will host seven candidate forums between Monday and Tuesday for voters who live in the western part of Miami-Dade.

Last week, the group hosted forums for the county commission race in District 11 and the congressional Democratic primary race in District 26.

Monday’s series focuses on three state races:

• In Senate District 39, The KFHA has gotten confirmation from Senator Dwight Bullard and his challenger, golden trust fund kid Andrew Korge, unless he is arrested before that for the allegations that he tried to bribe Bullard out of the race (more on that later).
• In House District 115, they will have Democrats Ross Hancock and Jeffrey Solomon, who are vying in the primary to go up against State Rep. Michael Bileca in November.
• In House District 118, they have gotten confirmation from everybody except former Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell, who lost a really embarrassing race against Daniella Levine Cava in 2014. That includes former State Rep. and Congressman David Rivera. The other candidates are Carlos Pria, Anthony Rodriguez and Stephen Rojas Tallon. They are all after the seat vacated by State Rep. Frank Artiles, who will face the winner of the primary

Tuesday is for county races, but it appears that Commissioner Dennis Moss is not going to represent. At least he had not confirmed as of Sunday night, said KFHA President Michael Rosenberg. Moss’ challenger, Earl Beaver, is listed.

Read related story: Awkward! Annette Taddeo, Joe Garcia face off with polite jabs

The way it works is that candidates give an introduction and then are there to answer a number of questions before the audience. It does not work like a debate, although the candidates can take turns answering the questions and it did turn out to be debate-like last week between congressional candidates Annette Taddeo and former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia.

The other forums Tuesday are:

• School Board Member Lubby Navarro — a lobbyist who has never been elected because she was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to replace lobbyist Carlos Curbelo when he became a congressman — and her challenger Aster Mohammed, who unfortunately doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance on South Beach.
• Speaking of snowballs, Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Farid Khavari, who has lost this contest twice, getting 0.4 percent in 2011 and 0.85 percent in 2012. He must be encouraged by the doubling of his support! He insisted on a chance to address the audience since Raquel Regalado got the opportunity last week. Mayor Carlos Gimenez snubbed the group and has declined several debate requests (more on that later).
• In the race for Kendall’s Community Council 12, sub-area 124, three candidates want to fill out what is probably the busiest of the zoned zoning boards.  Angela Vazquez, who is currently the incumbent and chair of the council, is being challenged by Christopher Leon and Frank de la Paz.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Kendall Village Center ‘Civic Pavilion, 8625 SW 124 Ave., right in front of the movie theater.

Let’s face it, the big draw here is going to be the Bullard vs. Korge fight, which Ladra suggests the KFHA present as the last forum, to keep the audience there. And the undercover agents.

Unless Lynda Bell decides to make an appearance. She could steal the show.

Apparently, he is serious.

Former Congressman David Rivera, old “King Nine Lives” himself, is really running for the seat in State House district 118, vacated by Rep. Frank Artiles‘ dash to a Senate race (more on that later). On Monday, Rivera turned in signatures to qualify by petition. The Florida Division of Elections allows candidates to qualify by petition rather than pay the $1,781 fee. Rivera needed to have 1% of the 90,371 registered voters — or 904 signatures. The Elections Division verified he had 955 Monday.

Qualifying for state legislative seats is not until June 20 through the 24th. But, by law, the Florida Division of Elections can accept and hold qualifying papers beginning Jnne 6. Rivera turned the signatures in on the very first day he could.

“Qualifying by petition is a strong sign of voter support,” Rivera told Ladra on Tuesday. “Plus, it shows that no one will outwork me in this election.”

Read related story: David Rivera collects signatures for 2016 House run

Some malas lenguas believed Rivera was faking the petition drive he started in 2014 — to shake off investigators who can’t seem to indict or arrest him on any charges. Well, maybe. Because I think he had to go back to those people or get new Hancocks after he filed his campaign account information in March.

The newly drawn district overlaps quite a bit with his former congressional district, now held by U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, and maybe a little with the district Rivera last served in the Florida House from 2003 to 2011.

It also overlaps with parts of the county commission district that former Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell represented at the county and also as Homestead mayor. Bell, who was the first incumbent to be beaten in decades when Daniella Levine-Cava whooped her in 2014 — has also filed account documents to run for House District 118. But she has not turned in any petition signatures.

Read related story: Levine-Cava gets to work while Lynda Bell finishes term

There are two other Republicans crowding that primary. Anthony Rodriguez seems to be Artiles’ handpicked successor — if it weren’t for Rivera — and Steven Anthony Rojas Tallon, whose anglo-Hispanic name is too long for the ballot, I am sure. Both have been campaigning since at least February, but Rodriguez has raised $17,000 compared to Rojas $2,450.

Still, most campaign observers say this will be a two-person race between the two recycled politicos, each with their own baggage. Bell has her battles with labor, her right-to-life badge of honor and her attempts to help her family’s chain link fencing company through county legislation. And ol’ Nine Lives gets his name because he keeps dodging investigations into his campaign financing and tactics, which include the alleged financing of a 2012 Democratic ringer. Nothing ever sticks, and you want to believe it’s a government conspiracy.

Maybe it’s a devil-you-know thing, but they are the two everyone is watching.

Bell raised almost $15,000 in her first month, at least a third of which came from her political sugar daddy, developer Wayne Rosen.

Rivera raised almost five times that, with $71,000 collected in donations in March and April. The Division of Elections did not have his May report online.

But why am I not surprised?

Former Congressman David Rivera is going back to his roots.

Rivera told everyone earlier this month that he was running for state House in the seat abandoned by Rep. Frank Artiles (R-Kendall), who is leaving his final term to run for the Senate.

There’s even a kick-off fundraiser Tuesday at one of his old haunts, Cuban Crafters, owned by former State Rep. and Sen. Al Gutman.

Rivera is serious about House District 118. It overlaps with the area he represented in Congress for two years and also includes much of the area he ruled as a state rep from 2003 to 2011.

Those were the glory days, huh? Rivera was pals and roomies with Sen. Marco Rubio, then a House Speaker and future presidential contender. He had both more success and fun as a state rep than he did in D.C. He still hangs around in Tallahassee a lot, where he does God knows what. “Consulting,” he calls it. Deals, I think. And reminiscing. He would love nothing more than to return to the original chamber he served in.

And it’s not unimaginable.

Read related story: David Rivera collects petition signatures for 2016 House run

Sure, Rivera lost his congressional seat to Joe Garcia in 2012, but he was dogged by headlines and news reports of an investigation into campaign finance violations –– not bribery or graft or any real crime — that seems to have never bore any fruit and has apparently fizzled away. Sources say the U.S. Attorney is loathe to call the case on his one and only witness, the somewhat unstable (read: batshit crazy) Ana Alliegro, who has apparently resurfaced with a story about Rivera attacking her when he was with friends in Tally. They can’t call her now.

And sure, Rivera has a primary to get through first. There are already two other Republicans running for that seat.

One is Anthony Rodriguez, who Ladra believes is Artiles’ handpicked successor. It’s just a gut feeling. That and this picture from one of the representative’s self-serving Farm Share events.

And then there is a guy named Steven Rojas Tallon, a 33-year-old father of four who nonetheless has time to work as some kind of program lead for talent development at FIU in an initiative with the Beacon Council and also still serve on the county board tasked with overseeing the $2.8 billion general obligation bond. Quien es la palanca?

And — just to make things more interesting — there is the rumor that former Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell is going to jump into this race for House 118. She is probably salivating at the possibility and some say she may announce next month.

And sure, the last time Rivera was in a primary, he lost miserably, coming in a distant fourth behind Carlos Curbelo, Joe Martinez and Ed MacDougall in the congressional race for his old seat. He only got 8 percent, less than half of what MacDougall, the anglo former mayor of Cutler Bay, got. Que pena!

But this is a different voter geography. Bell and Rodriguez and Rojas Tallon could somehow split the anti-Rivera votes between them, and Rivera could slide into the general with his very deep base of loyalists and face off against the relatively unknown Robert Asencio, a former Miami-Dade Schools Police lieutenant and public labor champion who has already spent $12,000 of the $20K he has raised in a year.

Read related story: David Rivera has no past, only a future at Cuba Nostalgia

And sure, Obama won the district with 51.7 percent of the vote in 2012.

But people keep forgetting that Obama is not on the ticket. And Hillary isn’t as inspiring. Also, another Democrat ran in 2014, one recruited by the party who should have performed very well. But he was crushed in an off year with Artiles getting 58 percent of the vote — almost ten points more than Gov. Rick Scott only got, which indicates that voters are willing to vote for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another on the same ballot.

And we’re talking about David Rivera here. The Teflon Man. Ol’ Nine Lives, himself.

Ladra will start taking bets now.