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Today is the day we find out if homegrown grassroots can beat big money when the votes are counted in the Republican primary for the House District 114 seat.
The former would be Jose “Pep” Pazos, 42, a Marine who runs a condo management business and who has lived in the district all his life. His partner is former State Rep. Julio “The Good One” Robaina and his former partner is ex Miami-Dade Commissioner Juan “Zorro” Zapata — two of the few good guys who represented their constituents not special interests.
The latter would be Andrew Vargas, 35, an insurance lawyer who just moved into the neighborhood and a law office partner of State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, the appropriations chair, which is the main reason why Pazos lags behind in campaign cash: Nobody wants to piss Trujillo off.
This is why Vargas has almost $190,000 in contributions — including bundled donations from charter school interests, lobbyists like Ron Book and the Munilla family — and loaned himself another $50K for $24o,000 as of last Thursday (Feb. 15), according to the last campaign finance report. He’s been able to spend it on multiple mailers and Pazos has a measly $30,000. It’s a David and Goliath battle many political observers believe Gov. Rick Scott scheduled intentionally in order for Vargas to have an advantage.
Of the 34,000 registered Republicans in the district, a little over 3,900 have been returned so far. That includes 3,691 absentee ballots returned to the Miami-Dade Elections Department as of Friday and the 210 votes during early voting last week. The Coral Gables library has the highest number of early voting ballots cast at 160. That’s three times the 50 cast at the two southern library branches — where soneone named Andrew might do better — combined.
The winner of today’s race could very well already be decided.
Pazos has his base in the northern end of the district, where voting performance is high and absentee ballots are more tyupical. He has both the mayor of West Miami and Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes, whose district overlaps with 114, as allies. And we know him. He’s the son of a former Cuban political prisoner. And he’s run for office twice before, once losing to State Rep. Michael Bileca, before the district was redrawn, and another time in 2014, but he withdrew before qualification because his father was ill. We feel like we know him and/or want to know him.
The Miami Herald endorsement, which doesn’t always get it right, was spot on when it said that Pazos has more experience and more passion than Vargas. Las malas lenguas tell Ladra that Vargas is really running to please Trujillo, that he’s going to be Trujillo’s proxy after the state rep leaves to be an Ambassador for Donald Trump.
We do know that Vargas wasn’t going to run in this seat as recently as last summer. He was filed to run in House District 119, where State Rep. Jeanette Nunez is termed out, because he lived and grew up in Lakes of the Meadows. He only moved into 114 recently and changed seats only after former Democrat State Rep. Daisy Baez was caught living outside the district and lying about it. She was forced to resign after protesters showed up at her Coral Gables house and demanded it — protesters that some say were sent by Trujillo, who has been reportedly parading Vargas around Tallahassee, office by office.
This district has been plagued by controversy and it needs to have someone whose backstory is not so convoluted.
Ladra also thinks Pazos has the best chances against the Democrat candidate, lobbyist Javier Fernandez — if that’s what you Republivans want.
Political consultant and gypsy conartist Vanessa Brito is scheduled to appear in Miami-Dade Court Tuesday, but not on a campaign violation or the defemation charge against her.
No, this time she is defending a petite theft charge that stems from a shoplifting incident at the Target store in Midtown. Stealing clothes instead of votes.
It happened around 4 p.m. last Aug. 28. Brito — who has worked on several local political and judicial campaigns, including the 2011 recall of Mayor Carlos Alvarez — was seen going through the store, stuffing clothes, shoes, houseware items and a phone charger into a large silver bag before walking out, “passing all available cashiers and checkout points,” and walking out, reads the arrest report. Store personnel stopped her outside. Total value of the items was $118.24.
The docket history found online seems to suggest that Vanessa entered a”deferred prosecution” program in October — in which defendant’s usually pledge to take some kind of class and/or to pay the victim back — and hasn’t followed through. Because the deal was revoked on Jan. 22. The court records also indicate that she got a stay away order for the Target at 3401 N. Miami Ave.
Brito’s case is on the calendar for 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, and she will be represented by attorney Rick Yabor, not former attorney Michael Pizzi, who has represented her in other matters. Yabor would not comment on the case. Not even to tell what Brito’s got on him.
Ladra was not able to reach Brito, although I did leave messages and send texts to the cellphone I have. The number listed on the police report was disconnected. And the address on the report, 43 NW 41st St., is the New Horizons Community Mental Health Center, which provides services to the homeless as well as people with emotional or behavioral health issues. But las malas lenguas say she doesn’t live there anymore and that she moved to Daytona Beach, where she plans on getting a tattoo, according to a post on Facebook.
Daytona is where she was arrested in December for trespassing, according to the Volusia County Corrections Department. No longer the dewy ingenue, she looks in the mugshot like she was shooting up or doing meth. And that may explain the shoplifting.
Why is Ladra bringing you this news? Why is it important? Because this gifted snakeoil saleswoman continues to pretend to be a political analyst and legitimate activist. Because you never know what movement or campaign she will crawl into next, what out-of-towner will hire her to collect petition signatures, what fake recall she will conviince someone to fund, what smear campaign she will stage.
Because she is up to something.
After several months, perhaps a year or more absent from Facebook, she recently shared Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa‘s photos from the soccer announcement and has also posted items about Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
Maybe she’s trying to elbow her way into one of the county campaigns this year, having worked with some of the commissioners and judges before.
That would be another crime.
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