Broward Demos Plan Biggest Grass Roots Effort In Years For Crist
BY BUDDY NEVINS
A pumped-up Broward’s Democratic Party announced this week its biggest grass roots campaign in years for Charlie Crist.
The huge phone bank, leafleting and door knocking effort to help elect Crist governor is a last ditch effort to retain statewide relevance.
According to polls, Crist has the best chance of any Democrat to win since the 1990s. Party leaders like chair Mitch Ceasar know that if Crist loses, the Broward organization will be relegated to years of insignificance in statewide races other than the presidency.
And if Crist loses because of a weak turnout in Broward, Ceasar will damage his decades-long tenure with the failure amid an almost certain call by at least a handful of party activists for him to step down.
Ceasar is not taking any chances. He and his second-in-command and sometimes rival Cynthia Busch announced their elaborate field campaign a party meeting on Tuesday.
To an electrified crowd of about 200 activists, Ceasar implored, “If you like to walk, we have a job for you. If you don’t like to walk, we can get you on the phone….Whatever you want to do, we’ve got a job for you.”
Busch said she wanted the activists, who each represent a neighborhood polling place in the party organization, to devote at least three hours-a-week to volunteering for Crist. She said she wanted activists to canvass door-to-door in their community and get Democrats to the polls.
Ceasar said his party had raised $60,000 to print palm cards at the polls to encourage voters to vote the entire long ballot for Democrats and various referendum issues the party backs, such as the sale of $800 in school bonds.
He said the party would begin robocalls to voters within weeks.
The goal of the party is Crist winning Broward by roughly 170,000 votes to offset huge expected victories by incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott upstate.
Four years ago, Democrat Alex Sink lost to Scott by about 61,550 votes after pulling a victory margin of only roughly 131,000 in Broward.
Ceasar was blamed for a weak get-out-the-vote effort.
One of the major criticisms of Ceasar has been that he mixes his lobbying with party business. Amid the energized Democrats hoping for victory Tuesday, that issue was raised again.
Ceasar engineered the endorsement of the controversial school bonds over some objections. His management committee voted for the endorsement behind closed doors in favor of the endorsement.
But Ceasar has a history of lobbying the School Board. So does former Attorney General Robert “Bob” Butterworth, who spoke to Democrats in favor of the bonds.
Lobbyist visitor’s log from 2012. Ceasar and Butterworth are listed. (Image courtesy of Browardbeat.com reader. Click to enlarge)
Ceasar’s lobbying listed above for the Broward Math and Science charter school in Margate tied to a shadowy Turkish iman continued through last year. The group operates dozens of charter schools across the nation.
Here is a story from the DailyBroward.com on Ceasar’s client. Here is a story from CBS’ 60 Minutes on the iman who opened the Broward school.
Ceasar and bond campaign strategist Melanie Brenner denied a report that the school bond political committee had agreed to pay for the palm cards in return for being listed on them. “I wouldn’t do that,” Ceasar said.
So the push for school bonds and the property tax that accompanies them will be part of the Democrat’s platform and, more importantly, their palm card.
September 17th, 2014 at 9:49 am
Wow the Democrats are desperate. They are throwing all their weight behind a Republican pretending to be a Democrat with questionable ethics, because he polls as being the closest to a contender they’ve seen in years. They need to stop worrying about Broward (which they already have) and concentrate on the other 66 Florida Counties (which they may have about three). Scott wins simply because he is actually the lesser of two evils.
September 17th, 2014 at 10:54 am
I contributed to Charlie crust because Rick Scott has been tied too many money schemes n doesn’t care about the majority of us only the rich. But now a lobbyist Mitch Caesar year after year runs the county organization as an adjunct to his private business as a lobbyist n I have a bitter taste in my mouth. Who in Broward co represents the people who do not work for government do not get government do not make their living as influence peddlars, which is what lobbyists are. Why democrats elect an influence peddlar like Mitch Caesar to lead them might explain why the democratic voters stay home so much, we can’t vote Republican but wont vote for the lobbyists of the 1%!
September 17th, 2014 at 12:17 pm
And who knows what was promised by whom to whom?
What a bunch.
September 17th, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Please! A little relief from the insurance nightmares of the last four years. I am not forgetting that reactionary tid-bit so fast. I could care less how vile the TV campaign gets. Rothstein did NOT swindle me.{GO FIGURE}
September 17th, 2014 at 2:49 pm
Charlie Crist is going to clobber Rick Scott. The Republicans in Broward are absolutely useless. They alienate the Hispanics, women, the elderly, and voters between the ages of 18-40. They are nothing but a bunch of mean spirited bullies whose time in Florida is over. Go BLUE
September 17th, 2014 at 2:58 pm
@Ghost
Precisely stated.
So funny to see them want to change the inevitable outcome.
Had Crist kept his outsized political ambitions in check in 2010 and run for the 2nd term for guv, he would be sitting pretty and assessing the lay of the land for the next higher office.
Come Nov 5 he will know first hand how Nan Rich felt on Aug 27, realizing his options are very limited and not sure if he’ll ever hold a political office again.
September 17th, 2014 at 4:59 pm
Local 10 ran a story only five days ago about how Mitch Ceasar was secretly hired by Southwest Ranches (a city with a VERY slimy history) – supposedly to do legal work – and how Ceasar is instead lobbying Broward county commissioners on behalf of Southwest Ranches (against Pembroke Pines)…
http://www.local10.com/news/southwest-ranches-quietly-hires-democratic-party-leader-in-fight-against-pembroke-pines/28036840
FROM BUDDY:
Very, very interesting.
Bob Norman is right: Ceasar is lobbying.
They can call it “legal work.” However, attorneys are hired for “legal work” have no reason to meet with county commissioners.
September 17th, 2014 at 5:10 pm
@4 – One of my favorite reporters, Toluse Olorunnipa, did a great story slamming the Potemkin insurance companies that Rick Scott is feeding Citizens policyholders to…
http://www.tampabay.com/news/a-closer-look-at-five-insurers-taking-a-big-chunk-of-citizens-property/1254674
And here’s the recent Sun-Sentinel story explaining how Rick Scott is, right now, pushing over 400 thousand Floridians right into the jaws of these sharks…
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-citizens-takeout-20140904,0,3034051.story
September 17th, 2014 at 5:17 pm
Another excellent story slamming the Potemkin insurance companies Rick Scott is shoving Floridians toward:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/banking/yet-another-costly-mistake-florida-has-made-about-homeowners-insurance/2185974
September 17th, 2014 at 6:13 pm
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/nvra/affiliation.asp
There are 11,856,694 registered voters today in Florida.
Republicans – 4,155,928
Democrat – 4,610,113
Others/
Non-Affiliated – 349,891
2,740,762
So maybe the Libertarian will be a spoiler
September 17th, 2014 at 6:32 pm
“After attending ‘political meetings’ in Washington, D.C. yesterday (09-08-14), Charlie Crist will appear this evening at a D.C. fundraiser thrown by Obama inner-circle members Jim Messina and Teddy Goff. Since switching to the Democrat Party, Crist has embraced failed Obama Administration policies, even saying ‘God bless’ President Obama for passing ObamaCare. It’s no wonder Crist’s poll numbers are sinking just like President Obama’s. Was Crist summoned to D.C. by Team Obama for ‘political meetings’ to discuss how he and the President can rebound before Election Day?”
http://www.rga.org/homepage/crists-and-obamas-sinking-ships/
And worse, BHO was in Tampa McDill today to talk ISIS to troops and low and behold he flew in last night and stayed over.
Is it possible for a cozy fundraiser to prop up support for Crist with locals?
It rained like mad all day yesteray and today so he couldn’t squeeze in golfing.
My Vote is for Scott
September 17th, 2014 at 10:26 pm
The only person that was asking the hard questions to Runcie was the State Commiteeman, Ken Evans. He serves on the school board audit committee and knew details others on management didn’t know. Many on management felt he would vote NO. It was obvious that he voted YES reluctantly.
September 17th, 2014 at 10:28 pm
county records show that Mitch Ceasar signed a form stating that he was representing Southwest Ranches and was there to meet with a commissioner. The form was one that lobbyists fill out. It’s public record and an admission by Ceasar that he is a liar.
September 17th, 2014 at 11:29 pm
Señora Sanchez,
You are correct. Gov Scott will lose Broward by a wide margin. Thank goodness for the other 66 counties.
At dios mio,
La Republicana
September 18th, 2014 at 10:29 am
I want to personally thank Mr. Caesar and the local Democrat activists for organizing support for a staunch Democrat like Chain Gang Charlie. Maybe Mitt Romney will run as a Democrat in 2016 and they can support him too.
September 19th, 2014 at 5:29 am
Mitch Cesar is the Republicans best weapon because he doesn’t care about Democrats winning, only making a living from lobbying. He has never won an election in his life except his own as chairman, a job he uses for his lobbying. Jim Davis, Alex Sink and Buddy McKay all lost on his watch. He is goofy clown who can’t earn a living without his chairman job and that is the only reason he does it. Look into him, Buddy.
September 22nd, 2014 at 3:08 pm
It is a hoot listening to Republicans whining about Charlie Crist changing parties to run for governor. Charlie says the party left him he didn’t leave the party.
The same words were said by Democrat turned Republican Bob Martinez when he switched parties to run for governor.
FROM BUDDY:
Ronald Reagan: “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me”.