Senator Uses Lobbyist To Open Campaign
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The letter below in state files vividly illustrates how lobbyists and office holders are intertwined.
Here we have lobbyist Judy Stern opening a campaign account to launch the re-election of state Sen. Maria Sachs, the Delray Beach Democrat who represents a large portion of Northeastern Broward along with parts of Palm Beach County.
Stern is not currently a registered lobbyist in Tallahassee. Stern has lobbied in Tallahassee in the past.
She continues to do a lot of work in Broward and worked on Sachs’ campaign last year.
Interestedly enough, Sachs is in Tallahassee regularly so she could have easily brought the papers to the state Division of Elections personally.
February 10th, 2013 at 2:20 pm
It will be interesting to see if Judy’s daughter, Barbra Stern (FEC Commissioner), recuses herself in the upcoming hearing regarding Sachs multiple ethics complaints.
FROM BUDDY: A very interesting question. But Barbra Stern is an elections commissioners, not an ethics commissioner. Two different agencies. From the Elections Commission website:
Barbra Stern was appointed to the Commission in
2012. Commissioner Stern is an Senior Associate
with the Law Offices of Bohdan Neswiacheny. She is
experienced in construction defect litigation and first
party property damage claims. She has extensive
experience in the areas of labor and employment law.
Commissioner Stern also handles all aspects of
insurance defense including premises liability,
security, personal injury, coverage disputes and
commercial litigation. She has been a member of the
Broward County Bar Association, the National
Association of Professional Women and currently serves as the Chair of the Fort
Lauderdale Community Appearance Board. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from
Nova Southeastern University Shepard Board Law Center and her Bachelor of Science
in Business Administration from the University of Florida. Commissioner Stern currently
resides in Broward County
February 10th, 2013 at 2:25 pm
You wonder what Judy stern has promised Maria Sachs?
February 10th, 2013 at 3:49 pm
An d the point of your story here Buddy? What so if Judy Stern wasn’t opening the campaign, and say it was someone else besides Judy Stern than what? Seems to me some of you, just can;t enough of her. Good for Judy Stern. So then we bash Judy, and for what putting her down, when this is what she does for a living. If she sold make up at Macy’s then we say nothing ?. I mean really. Go Judy go.
February 10th, 2013 at 4:17 pm
Sachs will learn she can make friends with a snake until it bites you.
February 10th, 2013 at 4:57 pm
At least Maria didn’t take limo to file the paperwork.
February 10th, 2013 at 6:10 pm
I believe she is facing ethics and elections complaints. I should have said elections in this case.
February 10th, 2013 at 6:20 pm
Connect the dots aka Tom Lauder or Mike Ahearn or Cronie – get your facts straight please! Thank you Buddy for alerting the masses that I am not on the ethics commission.
February 10th, 2013 at 6:25 pm
Maria Sachs and Judy Stern are two peas in a pod.
February 10th, 2013 at 7:02 pm
Yup, let’s put someone with an elections violation on the elections commission.
February 10th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
I have $20 that says Judy Stern sent this to Nevins through a third party just to get her name out in a sad attempt to still appear relevant. Lets face it Stern has not had a major win besides a municipal races since 2006. With this article she can claim she is tied in with someone who won an election in 2012.
February 11th, 2013 at 8:56 am
Judy is probably the only consultant who would take on Sachs at this point in time. From what I have been told, Chris Smith couldn’t keep anyone working for her very long because she is certifiably nuts. Her last consultant, Richard Giorgio is a very talented campaign guy out of WPB but he must have run for the hills after November. Judy Stern is a disaster when it comes to running campaigns and instantly makes this a winnable seat for anyone, forget about what party they belong to.
February 13th, 2013 at 8:44 am
I always find it interesting that the same people continue to bash Judy Stern. She most have figured you losers out. I also find it sad that her daughter who has a great reputation in the community with high standards and known for her fairness is always dragged into your hate for her Mother. Sounds like a bunch of jealous people in the same line of business wishing they could get the jobs she gets.
February 13th, 2013 at 10:35 am
What exactly is Judy Stern’s record over the last 5-6 years ?
FROM BUDDY:
Win and lose.
Like every political consultants, Stern loses her share but doesn’t like to talk about those races.
She is not alone.
Every consultant loses their share and avoids the subject. Here is my advice for prospective candidates. Ask any consultant you are considering hiring what races they lost in the last five years. When they quote statistics — “I won 90 percent of my races in the last cycle” — ask how many of those candidates were unopposed. Then ask somebody else in politics to verify the information they gave you because consultants spin like tops (Is this because they are soooo used to shading the truth in their ads?).
And be suspicious of any consultant who wants to handle everything — advertising preparation, mailing, scheduling, fund raising, etc. Nobody — NOBODY– is an expert in everything. Demand that the best person in each field be used (For instance, Stern farms out her mail pieces. She is right to do so.). And TV advertising is a specialty — get someone in that field to do your TV ads.
All that said, I greatly enjoy spending time talking with consultants. They are true political junkies like me. They love the game of politics and the gossip that surrounds it. Like me.
Who’s up and who’s down? Who’s running for what…in four years? Who’s dirty and who’s clean…and who is sleeping with who? In many ways local politics is a soap opera with continuing characters (Lori Parrish, Ken Jenne, Stacy Ritter, Judy Stern, Dan Lewis, etc.) whose lives have intertwined for a generation. But as soapy as it is, local politics has very serious consequences.
So Stern? She has been a principal player in Broward politics for a generation. To paraphrase what Longfellow wrote: When Judy is good, she is very, very good and when she is bad, she is horrid. She is a complicated woman with some real political expertise who loses some and wins some and remains on top (or near the top) after 30 years (Stern is already involved in her next election cycle. She was seen lunching in Tallahassee today, Feb. 13, with her latest client, state Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, who is running for county commission in 2014.).
February 13th, 2013 at 5:43 pm
Thanks Buddy for keeping us up to date. The above should have been a separate item. Who is gonna read all the comments?