Geller Couldn’t Overcome His Past
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Steve Geller’s past caught up with him Tuesday.
Early in his two-year campaign for county commission, Geller told me he knew his career as a lobbyist and his ties to insurance Ponzi scammer Joel Steinger would haunt him in the election.
What he didn’t realize is how early and how often County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger would pound him with it. Her campaign eviscerated the former state Senator with his own resume.
Geller never was able to counter the attacks. He made it worse by stumbling into one of the memorable campaign blunders I have ever witnessed.
By Election Day, his campaign had collapsed amid mixed messages and poorly conceived ads.
Gunzburger started hitting Geller with clever cable TV ads in mid-May. The ads never stopped, cementing in the voter’s mind the image of Geller as a lobbyist and influence peddler.
Most local campaigns couldn’t afford 20 mailed advertisements and seven different cable TV ads in Hollywood, Hallandale Beach and Pembroke Pines. Gunzburger, a multi-millionaire, had the advantage of being able to pour at least $110,000 into her own campaign when needed. She also collected well over $300,000 in contributions.
The ads were harsh, but accurate. They were backed up by a website which cited dozens of newspaper stories and documents as sources for the charges.
But Geller created his biggest problem himself. He supported the ill-conceived, short-lived sheriff’s investigation in July of Gunzburger.
Instead of staying in the background, Geller made the clumsiest move of his political life. He held a news conference justifying the investigation, which foolishly tied him to it.
As I wrote before, Geller left that news conference with the stench of a political dirty trick all over him.
The news conference gave Gunzburger the opportunity to rightfully charge that Geller was involved in a heavy handed smear along with Sheriff Al Lamberti her longtime political opponent.
It was downhill from there.
Gunzburger’s fervent defense of ethics reforms in July and August against the vocal opposition of other county commissioners helped her. It fixed the image of her as a fighter for clean government, which didn’t hurt when running against lobbyist Geller.
The former state senator also created another one of his campaign problems the enmity of political media wizard Stan Adkins.
Adkins had a falling out with Geller years ago. He worked for the Gunzburger campaign at cost, fashioning deadly, on-target attack ads which lacerated Geller as pay back, according to Ron Gunzburger, Sue’s campaign manager and son.
Ron Gunzburger plotted overall strategy and it was dazzling, especially an e-mail campaign against the BSO investigation which resulted in Lamberti dropping it quickly and clearing Sue.
Fabulous ads, a pitch perfect campaign and Sue Gunzburger’s admirable record on the environment and ethics.
Geller never had a chance.
August 25th, 2010 at 12:37 am
Steve Geller was his own worse enemy.
Buddy, you are on point with this one.
It did not take a crystal ball to see through Geller’s sleaze.
He is a despicable opportunist who got exactly what he deserved tonight.
I and 5,504 other voters apparently agreed he is unfit to sit on the Broward County Commission.
Somehow, he does not fit in well with the apparent cleansing the Commission is going through or about to go through.
Buh bye Steve! We won’t miss you.
August 25th, 2010 at 1:01 am
What will be interesting to see is if his law firm dumps him. He won’t be able to bring in as much business now that he won’t be on the county commission.
August 25th, 2010 at 1:54 am
Tommy the fry cook may be flipping burgers soon after this one! he’s got Nora Rupert to tie himself over until November, but that’s it. Buddy, you forgot to mention that McCarthyism piece at the end from Geller. Hilarious!
August 25th, 2010 at 9:01 am
God help us, 4 more years of a true zero…..
00000000000000000 ……
Ronnie, start doing some work now that you don’t have to run your mom’s campaign out of Lori’s office …..Mike Satz, umm, how about investigating Ronnie’s abuse of public tax dollars with his salary.
August 27th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Political media wizard Stan Adkins does it once again!