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After being a no-show at every debate and the Miami Herald editorial board screening, Andrew Vargas, the very shy Republican candidate in the special election for Florida House District 114 phoned it in on Actualidad Radio’s morning program last week, where the other two candidates had been debating (and egging him on) for almost 18 minutes.
Immediately, Vargas had excuses. Who had Actualidad actually contacted in his campaign? Why, campaign manager Alex Miranda, said Roberto Rodriguez Tejera. Well, it must have been a miscommunication because Vargas said he would have been there, even though he would rather debate in English. “We speak English,” Ricardo Brown told him.
As for the other debates, the Herald knew his positions since February, when he interviewed with them for the primary endorsement (which he didn’t get) and he had nothing new to add, Vargas said. And the other forums? Well, they were liberal traps, naturally. Not just the League of Women Voters (right), who we now know is viewed by the local GOP as a Democrat organization. But all o’ them! Every. Single. One.
“The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce was a Democratic forum?” That question was asked with a slightly incredulous tone by Democrat candidate Javier Fernandez, who probably did not get that warm and fuzzy feeling when he actually showed up for that one.
Read related: In House 114 race, Andrew Vargas won’t speak for himself, lets PACs attack
The radio broadcast, available online here, got sorta warm and fuzzy when Vargas said he was willing to debate Fernandez and NPA candidate (read: Republican plant) Liz de las Cuevas anytime, anywhere. This is easy to claim eight days before the election ends Tuesday and after every debate has already passed. Hundreds if not thousands of absentee ballots have already been returned. Vargas knew there was no time for another debate. That’s why he’s willing to do it now. Disingenuous, to say the least. He thinks we’re stupid.
Fernandez, who has been desperate to tackle Vargas on the issues, said he’d be willing to do it the next day. Or later on Facebook.
“I have invited you several times. Whatever venue, whatever language you want,” he said. “You can choose the forum. Facebook. West Miami. A Republican club. I am not afraid of the issues. The forum can be wherever.”
“I am willing to do it any day. But let’s do it in a just way,” said Vargas, who was a no show three days later Thursday at the taping of a Univision debate that will air at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Because he can’t debate the issues. Because he’s afraid of questions about his insurance industry lawsuits and the PAC that has been attacking him and the stinky $350,000 second mortgage he got from his PAC treasurer.
Read related: Andrew Vargas’ 350K home loan looks like a 3rd party political contribution
Apparently, “a just way” means when he can call it in on the phone so he can have someone (read: law partner and puppeteer Carlos Trujillo, a state rep tapped by Donald Trump to be U.S. Ambassador to the OAS) feed him patent answers while the phone is on mute. Does he think we haven’t been teenagers  once before?
This is a serious race and, as Brown reminded the candidates, voters have been disappointed over and over again by their state reps in this district. By snubbing his nose at legitimate forums and debates, calling the credibility of some into question simply because they are not his band, and then phoning it in at the 11th hour while the answers are likely being fed to you, Vargas is doing the voters a disservice.
And one has to wonder if (read: assume that) he would be the same guy if elected May 1 — ignoring everyone but his base.

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UPDATED: Democrat Javier Fernandez is running against two Republicans in the special election for House District 114.
The official Republican is Andrew Vargas, law partner of former State Rep. and U.S. Ambassador to the OAS, Donald Trump lackey Carlos Trujillo. The unofficial Republican is the alleged “independent” candidate, Liz de las Cuevas, who entered the race as a Republican originally and was registered Republican until eight days before the qualifying deadline. No joke. Eight days before she qualified on Dec. 28, she changed her party affiliation to NPA.
But, hey, she still likes to take pictures with Gov. Rick Scott.
The candidate touted as the “true progressive” was in Hialeah on April 10 when Scott announced his run for U.S. Senate. De las Cuevas was back in the City of Retrogress six days later at the Trump “USA Open for Business” event touting his tax plan at the Bucky Dent Gymnasium. Vargas, the partner of Trump’s hand-picked OAS guy, didn’t take time off the campaign to go, but de las Cuevas did. And  Latinas for Trump co-founder Denise Galvez Turros liked her photo, left. Thumbs up!
Then de las Cuevas attended the Lincoln Day Dinner, the Miami-Dade GOP’s biggest annual fundraiser, on April 20. And in a debate on Actualidad Radio last week, she admitted that she would likely vote with the Republicans most often.
Then there’s Evelio Medina, a MAGA true believer behind the Deplorables Nation organization and events, and de las Cuevas campaign manager. Medina called Ladra Friday, coincidentally (read: not) five minutes after we called Vargas’ accountant and funky mortgage holder Richie Puerto. Ladra would love to see some law enforcement agency subpoena Medina’s phone records when they investigate that third party campaign contribution (Do you hear me, Kathy Fernandez Rundle, or do you only punish Democrats?)
Read related: Andrew Vargas’ $350K home loan looks like a 3rd party political contribution
When I mentioned that this went against his cult, Medina said he was de las Cuevas’ “cousin” and that blood was thicker than political waters. But Ladra’s not buying it.
Especially since there has been a shady political action committee working on the NPA candidate’s behalf for months, hitting Fernandez with negative mailers and touting de las Cuevas as the “true progressive.” This sketchy PAC, People for a Progressive Florida, has not reported a single contribution or expense, even though it has sent out more than a dozen mailers — and should have been investigated months ago and shut down or else why even have campaign finance laws in the first place.
People for a Progressive Florida was formed around the same time that de las Cuevas changed her party registration from Republican to NPA.
De las Cuevas has not raised much. She got donations for a total of $11,265 and loaned herself $9,000. Yet de las Cuevas has benefited from multiple mailers (like the one photographed right) — sent only to Democrat and NPA voters — urging them to reject Fernandez as a fake Democrat and vote for the real progressive in the race, de las Cuevas. So someone is investing in her. But we don’t know who because no information has been reported — which is what the Republicans would do if the money were theirs.
Read related: In 114 race, Andrew Vargas won’t speak for himself, lets PACs attack
All of this leads to only one logical conclusion: Liz de las Cuevas is a Republican plantidate, put into the race solely to siphon or peel votes from Fernandez, who can only win with large swaths of independents voting blue. Smart but sneaky strategy.
Ladra hopes that the Democrats and NPAs in District 114 are smarter.
De Las Cuevas finally called me back Saturday afternoon, a couple of hours after this was posted, to try to explain herself. She confirmed that she was originally running as a Republican but changed to NPA because she didn’t want to be a third wheel in a primary. “There were two other men running in the primary,” she says, referring to Vargas and Jose Pazos. “I didn’t want to participate in what I knew would be a negative campaign.”
Riiiiight. Because what female candidate with no name recognition wouldn’t want to catch the fallout from a negative attack race between two guys with no name recognition?
Asked if she truly considers herself a progressive, de las Cuevas answered affirmatively. “I am running a morally correct campaign, that is why I am not taking money from the parties,” she said, repeating over and over that she is an educator (which usually means she doesn’t work in the classroom).
But for someone who is allegedly so smart, she acts dumb when it comes time to put her progressive policy where her mouth is. She knows she is going to win. And, although she says she has nothing to do with the PAC that is obviously helping her — or, rather, helping Vargas, since she knows she is not going to win — she wouldn’t do what a true principled progressive would do and that is get off the ballot to give Fernandez, who would definitely advocate the progressive view in Tallahassee, a chance.
“I don’t care about that,” she answered when Ladra said that if Vargas got elected it was likely because of her. A true progressive, eh?
“I’m not stepping out of the race because I don’t feel like it,” she said, adding that she will run for office again.
Maybe next time she should be honest and run as a Republican. She can use that picture with Rick Scott in her campaign materials.
 

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A political action committee that continues to attack the Democrat candidate for Florida House District 114 may not the only sign of dark money in that special election. The Republican candidate got a second mortgage on his home last December for $350,000 from the treasurer of another political action committee working on his behalf.
The special election, which ends Tuesday, was called by Gov. Rick Scott after former State Rep. Daisy Baez resigned after she was caught lying about living in the district. Andrew Vargas lives in the district, dear voters. He may only have moved here recently, but he is so invested in his new home that he is, in fact, underwater in the South Miami house he bought with is wife in 2015.
Or is he? Could a second balloon mortgage loan he got four months ago, from the treasurer of one of his political action committees, actually be a campaign contribution? An illegal, third party campaign contribution?
Vargas, the law partner of U.S. Ambassador and former State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, got a second mortgage on his home last December for $350,000, even though he was still paying off a $468,000 first mortgage on a house that is assessed at $526,786. What bank would approve such a deal? Well, none probably. That is why he turned to his friend and firm’s accountant, Richard Puerto — who also happens to be the treasurer on his Citizens for Accountability and Transparency political action committee, which has been attacking Democrat Javier Fernandez for weeks.
Puerto made the loan Dec. 18, coincidentally (or maybe not) 10 days before the qualifying deadline for the special election. According to county clerk records, it looks like an interest-only loan — and the interest may only be $10 — payable in a year, so it has to be paid back a month after the November election.
The timing is not the only thing that is sus’. So is the source.
How does Puerto, 35, a partner in a small accounting firm who lives in a modest two-bedroom Dadeland area Kendall condo assessed at $133,165, also happen to have liquid large to loan just like that? That is the $350,000 question.
“Because I work like a dog. I have no life,” Puerto (photographed left) told Ladra Friday.
After explaining how this reeked of a third party contribution, and someone using the accountant as a conduit to hide the true source, Puerto said he understood the perception, but promised it was just him helping out a pal.
“It’s a mortgage, a normal mortgage. It has nothing to do with a donation. It only has to do with building a house,” he said.
“I’ve known Andrew for a very long time. I’m very proud of him and I hope he wins,” Puerto added. “I gave him a fair market loan. We’ve had various business transactions and his credit is an 850 with me.
“It’s a totally legit loan. It’s a line of credit, really.”
So it’s a $350,000 line of credit? Thanks for the clarification.
It’s not like Ladra is grasping at straws here. Vargas — who wouldn’t return multiple phone calls and text messages — has already shown a penchant for hiding behind secret funds. There has already been another PAC that has been attacking Fernandez since before the primary, but People for a Progressive Florida has not reported a single contribution or expense in their required campaign finance reports.
We just had to be sure. And, really, all we have now is a possible best case scenario. At worst, this is a third party contribution, impossible to track, and voters will never know who Vargas — who has been able to loan his campaign at least $60,000 — is truly going to represent in Tallahassee.
At best? He’s not terribly fiscally responsible.

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