State Atty Investigates State Rep’s Campaign
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The Broward State Attorney’s Office is investigating state Rep. Shevrin Jones’ campaign expenses, a well-placed courthouse source said.
The source said a Browardbeat.com post triggered the investigation into Jones’ spending at restaurants in addition to a campaign loan repayment.
Jones’ campaign spent roughly $2,000 of the $9,350 he raised on “meetings” and “campaign meetings” in various restaurants, according to his latest campaign expenditure report for the period through June 30.
All the meals were outside the West Park Democrat’s district.
In the last quarter, seven of the nine campaign expenses were for a “meeting” at a restaurant.
They included such places as Timpano on East Las Olas Boulevard ($71.50), Big Pink in Miami Beach ($59.44), Bar Louie in Miami ($126.25), Brio Tuscan Grill on East Las Olas Boulevard ($64.89) and Michael Mina, a restaurant in the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas ($241.39), which is listed as “fundraising meal expense.”
In the first quarter of the year, 13 of 16 expenses disclosed were for a “campaign meeting” at a restaurant.
Two such campaign meetings took place in San Francisco. Jones spent $101.24 at the Neptune Waterfront Grill at the 39 Pier and $157.30 at Catch on Market Street.
Other restaurants choices were eclectic, everything from Grand Lux Cafe in Aventura ($111.43) to Balans Restaurant, an import to Miami from London featuring international cuisine ($112.24).
He also paid himself more than $2,600 as a “loan reimbursement,” yet no loan from him was made to the campaign, according to the disclosure documents.
That charge was removed after the Browardbeat.com post. Jones said that listing a “loan reimbursement” was an accounting mistake and he amended it after the story was posted.
The West Park Democrat could not be reached for comment.
The original story posted Aug. 2 is here.
August 12th, 2013 at 12:26 pm
Do you expect Shevrin to meet with high-end donors in West Park? I mean, let’s be serious for a second.
This will go nowhere.
FROM BUDDY:
I wrote: “All the meals were outside the West Park Democrat’s district.”
That district includes portions of Dania Beach, much of Hollywood, part of Miramar in addition to West Park. So, “let’s be serious for a second.” With the exception of his campaign kickoff at Hollywood Station along Dixie Highway in Hollywood, he spent nothing on meals in his district.
By the way, Nick, many “high-end donors” eat in regular moderately priced restaurants. I’ve been at both fund raisers and campaign meetings in such places with “high-end donors” and candidates.
August 12th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Good. He finally filed his correct ethics disclosure 2 months late. Too bad he didn’t do it properly. Somehow he made $115k last year as a teacher and his wife is unemployed. Yet he failed to attach his W2 as directed. Lets go people someone needs to challenge this man who thinks he is above the law.
August 12th, 2013 at 3:25 pm
This is why nobody respects the members of the Legislature.
August 12th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Nick Steffens is Stacy Ritter’s bitch. Ritter used her last campaign account in a very similar manner to Jones, so that explains everything about his comments.
August 12th, 2013 at 4:08 pm
None of these seem like outrageous charges to me. South Florida is one of the most expensive places to dine out in the Country. San Francisco and Las Vegas are even more expensive than South Florida.
I hope he gets this cleared up. Shevrin is such a nice guy.
August 12th, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Well spending to 250 bucks @ the Bellagio for dinner is not that outragious. What was he doing in Vegas anyhow?
August 12th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
I love the fact fact Nick is trying to be Mr. know it all. He must have a crystal ball, because he can see the future.That must be why he ran for area leader and lost. Afer that, he decided to run for school board. He used a picture of Michelle Obama, and got reprimanded for making it look like she was supporting him. Then he doesn’t even show up to campaign against Freedman, because he had paid staff to campaign for him.
August 13th, 2013 at 6:55 pm
This is racial profiling.
Jones is an honest man who has done nothing wrong.
How much has Satz taken in campaign contributions from big law-firms he cuts breaks for everyday ?
August 13th, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Creating an investigation against Jones is political racism. Campaign meetings have to happen somewhere and restaurants are a very straightforward place to have them. If you examine those who stirred this up you will see that no African Americans are in the group against Shevrin Jones. Good people doing their jobs should not be attacked this way.
August 13th, 2013 at 8:09 pm
The Sentinel picks up on this story and speaks of who brought this trouble to Shevrin Jones. How much has Satz taken in contributions from the big time law firms he protects? Jones is an honest man this investigation seems racially motivated to me.
August 14th, 2013 at 12:57 am
I wonder what the State Attorney Mike Satz has spent over $13,000 on in 2013????
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/campaign-finance/cam-finance-index.shtml
FROM BUDDY:
Most of the money was not spent in 2013. It largely spent in November for his victory party, election day campaigning and palm cards on election day.
The only two 2013 expenses before his campaign closed its books was $3014.49 was paid 1/24 as a loan repayment to Satz. And on the same day Satz donated $60 to the American Cancer Society from his campaign, which received the money from an anonymous source as cash.
August 14th, 2013 at 7:43 am
Satz does his job, investigating possible violations of the law, getting grief. He ignores possible violations of law despite reports in the newspaper, getting grief.
He can’t win.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:00 am
I am suspicious whenever I see people go out of their way to nit pick through expense account records on politicians. Shevrin Jones does some fine work for his community. There seems to be an effort going forward to vilify any legislators who wish to reform the stand-your-ground law in Florida. Many of those lawmakers are black. Do you think white legislators don’t have restaurant tabs listed on their disclosure reports? Do you think white legislators don’t receive lobbyist monies? I would in fact defy anyone to find even one legislator who doesn’t have such items as restaurants listed or didn’t take lobbyist money. That would be a real story.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:11 am
He is guilty of nothing except being black while holding elected office.
August 14th, 2013 at 11:09 am
Buddy,
You should be ashamed of yourself! You are only doing this because he is young and black! This is racism at its best! Why don’t you callout the other legislators also, and stop picking only on the black kid!
August 14th, 2013 at 1:14 pm
This is racially motivated.
Jones has done nothing white politicians don’t do.
ones is an honest man who has done nothing wrong. How much has Satz taken in campaign contributions from big law-firms he cuts breaks for everyday???
August 14th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Nick Steffens sadly has that syndrome in Parkland that many of my neighbors have. He talks a lot, but obviously wouldn’t set foot in West Park. What a racist he is. I guess high end donors like he thinks he is deserve to be bought meals down the street at Gulfstream, but a locally owned and operated West Park restaurant wouldn’t be good enough for him.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:48 pm
This is the white power structure at work. Worried about a black man holding elected office. Come to the 21st century Florida.
August 14th, 2013 at 9:11 pm
sad to read double standard comments dumbed down to his color being why he is singled out.
seeing the jacksons, both lawyers, sentenced today in chicago for mis-using, mis-spending campaign donations, and not declaring/paying taxes confirms there is a double standard for electeds, in spite of the preaching we are ‘equal under the law’, until its broken
August 14th, 2013 at 10:12 pm
Was it also “racially motivated” when Stacy Ritter was under heavy fire for eating her way through every expensive restaurant imaginable (and washing it all down with the most expensive wines as well)? Commenters on this site and elsewhere were saying that Ritter was likely headed for a lengthy stay in a South Broward women’s prison. Ritter squirmed out of it and got away with the typical slap on the wrist – apparently those prison cells are something Satz would rather use on cases of marijuana possession involving poor defendants who can’t afford the very expensive lawyers that Stacy Ritter has working for her.
No politician should treat his or her campaign account as a source of epicurean delight. These are political funds intended by their contributors for use only as an efficiently used method of advancing the political causes the candidate stands for.
To abuse those campaign funds in this egregiously self-serving way is to spectacularly violate the public trust.
August 14th, 2013 at 11:38 pm
Satz continues to disproportionately prosecute African Americans regardless of the severity or the nature of their crimes.
August 15th, 2013 at 10:48 am
Not that I owe a response, but I’ve actually been to West Park and spoken to residents there during party-building activities. I also went to law school in Newark and volunteered at an elementary school there.
August 15th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
@#17: Nick has been to the Koinonia Church in West Park. He is a lot of things, but a racist is not one of them.
August 15th, 2013 at 7:42 pm
I’ve been to party building events too. I’ve heard the young Democrats poor mouth Shevrin. They’re not happy he isn’t supporting Mr Beam. Nick Steffens may not be a racist but he’s definitely a boob.
August 19th, 2013 at 2:14 am
Katie Edwards vs. Mike Satz…
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[…] The cost of incarcerating a drug offender for a mandatory three-year prison sentence in Florida is estimated at $58,400, while the cost of treatment in a work release program is $19,130, according to an analysis by the Florida Office of Program and Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. Meanwhile, Florida’s crime rate is at a 41-year low but the prison population continues to grow with non-violent, first-time offenders […] Rep. Katie Edwards, a freshman Democrat from Sunrise, sponsored legislation last year that would have allowed judges to depart from mandatory minimum sentences […] “Tell me what threat [imprisoned non-violent drug offenders] are to society, because they are a threat to the state budget.”
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Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/18/v-fullstory/3569910/push-for-leniency-in-drug-sentencing.html