Geller Grabs Another Early Endorsement
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Former Senator Steve Geller has snared another union endorsement from employees working at a county- run facility.
Geller crowed that the endorsement is another repudiation of opponent Sue Gunzburger’s record.
Geller and Gunzburger are slugging it out in the 2010 Democratic primary race for the southeast Broward county commission district. She has held the seat since 1992.
The endorsement was from the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1526, whose 700 members work in Port Everglades.
“The ILA works directly at Port Everglades, which is under Broward County control, so the ILA is familiar with the record of both the incumbent and Senator Geller in this race,’ Geller’s news release stated.
The ILA endorsement letter praises Geller for his “long history of supporting working men and women. The union letter stated that it was “pleased that we will have someone on the Broward County Commission who understands the importance of the maritime community.
Geller has already received the endorsement of the Broward County firefighters, who work for the Broward Sheriff’s Office but are funded by the county commission.
He also has the backing of firefighters in Hollywood, where Gunzburger was a city commissioner before she became a county commissioner.
Early endorsements are significant because they require the unanimous approval of the union’s board of directors.
Gunzburger got an endorsement from the hotel workers union.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Geller will do anything for a vote or a $
November 5th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Congratulations to future Commissioner Steve Geller! This shows that Steve Geller is able to stay above the fray, despite the concerted efforts of little Ronnie and Bob Norman to cast Geller in false, disparaging rumors. I guess Bob Norman knew the endorsement was coming out, which is why he has increased his baseless criticism of Steve Geller!
What does it say about Gonesburger when people who are directly impacted by her, are risking their careers to go against her. It says that she has ignored the people she represents,it says that she has put personal agendas before public ones, and it says that she has been an empty suit who has done nothing more than collect a paycheck on taxpayers dime.
Sue Gonesburger, the people of Broward are tired of you and your family. Do the right thing, save your pride, and withdraw from the election!
November 5th, 2009 at 11:59 am
So Geller racks up another endorsement from a union. So what. Union endorsements aren’t free. I am sure that they endorsed him because he made an under the table deal to give them something they want. Between Geller’s slimy association with Mutual Benefits and the Rothstein firm and Gunzberger’s years of being cozy with the Bernie Friedmans of the world both of these candidates stink. I am not sure if I will hold my nose and vote for one of them or just sit this one out. I guess I will wait and see if one of them does anything that will motivate me to vote for them. I doubt it.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I’m pretty sure Stevie G is gonna have “some splaining to do” when all the mutual benefits/scott rothstein rra/gulfstream mardi gras/school board/county commission/fbi/irs/charlie crist/innappropriate lobbying/russ klenet/stacey ritter investigations are completed
November 5th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
The only endorsements that matter are those of voters on election day.
Everyone knows that unions endorse the candidates that promise them the highest raises. In that regard, given the financial situation the county is in perhaps it is an even higher endorsement of Sue Gunzburger that this and other unions are not supporting her.
That despite the fact that she has been a staunch supporter of labor throughout her career.
Nothing about Steve Geller impresses me except the fact that he can’t be trusted. We can trust Sue. And for me and my family in Hollywood that makes all the difference.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
What does a Sunrise resident care about this race?
Amazing that the Gunzburger crew is slamming Unions. Not a good legacy to leave behind…
November 5th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I love how the Gonesburger people are pointing to Geller for taking Money from Rothstein. Gonesburger took money from him and took it first. Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Once again Gonesburger people are bringing up mutual benefits. Once again, other then recommending a lists of lobbyists to mutual benefits, there’s no connection there. The only reason why the rumors persist is because of little Ron Norman or is it Bob Gunzburger’s blog!
BTW, Unions and members of unions are good, hardworking people. They are blue collared people who have been the back bone of industry. I’m tired of people bashing unions. It isn’t unions who ruined the economy, it was the unregulated businesses of wall street. It isn’t union makers earning 7 figure salaries, it’s C.E.O.’s of companies.
Union endorsements are great, and union people are honorable. Let’s elect Steve Geller and lets get rid of ALL the Gonesburgers!
November 5th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
If “out with the old” truly reflects Steve Geller’s views, then we now have a bunch more reasons not to vote for him. Everybody knows that union endorsements are exchanged for promises on salaries and benefits. It is nowhere in politics to even try to deny that.
Geller knows that the port union has 700 members. Possibly 100 live in the district and of those perhaps 50 at best will vote, probably less. All that and a $500 check. He also had to have made promises to them to find a way to increase wages to get that endorsement. That means that ordinary residents and businesses will have to pay more just so Steve can get elected.
Sorry but I don’t see that as a bargain worth transacting.
His union endorsement doesn’t impress me at all. I think this is a good time for candidates not to seek union endorsements.
November 5th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
As I said before I am not a fan of either of these political hacks. Both have fed way to much at the public trough. But I have to laugh at Out With The Old’s statement that Gunzberger took Rothstein’s money first so she must be worse than Geller. By all accounts Gunzberger took about $10,000 from Rothstein and Geller took $50,000. Does that mean Geller is 5 times dirtier than Gunzberger? No it only means that both of these candidates will gladly take what they can get from the downtown fat cats and in turn are owned by them. The other thing that made me laugh was OWTO’s attacks on Bob Norman. New Times and Bob Norman have done more to expose political corruption in this county than anyone. His credibility exceeds both Geller’s and Gunzberger’s by miles. When I see Geller and his apoligists go after Bob it only makes me think that he must be on to something. If I was Geller the last thing I would do is attack Bob Norman or the New Times.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
1. I did not say Gonesburger was worse for taking money first from Rothstein. All I said is she took money first, and therefore shouldn’t cast stones.
2. I do not mean to attack Bob Normon but if he does have something on Geller, than out with it. If you read Bob Normon’s articles, he makes innuendos and assumptions on Geller. Geller was not part of the investigation, grand jury investigation, or federal investigation. There’s a loose connection, but since there’s a connection, he must be guilty. That’s a slippery slope argument.
It reminds me during the 2004 election when there was a rumor that the reason why there was a flu virus vaccine shortage that year was because John Edwards sued the pharmaceutical companies. Despite the fact that their was no case, or evidence to back the rumor other than the loose connection that while a practicing attorney he sued a hospital for medical malpractice, the rumor didn’t go away. If you people refuse to look at evidence and believe innuendos, then that speaks volumes about you.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Are you and Geller saying that he did not give Rothstein the “Jewish Avenger†costume that Norman has written about in his blog? Are you saying that Norman is incorrect when he posts that Geller hemmed and hawed when asked if he was giving back the $50,000 that he got from Rothstein? I believe that the vast majority of the electorate out there are going to believe Bob Norman before they believe Mr. Geller. I also noticed that in an earlier post that you say all Geller did for Joel Steinger and Mutual Benefits was recommend a lobbyist to them. Of course you forgot to mention that the lobbyist he recommended was the king of slime himself, Russ Klenet. I am sure that was just an oversight on your part. If you really believe that there was no pay to play going on between Geller and Rothstein or Geller and Mutual Benefits than I have a nice viatical settlement I would like to sell you.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Majority of Union endorsees go on to LOSE.
Hope Geller gets ALL the remaining unions to endorse him.
He is s slippery, slimy, un-indicted co-conspirator whose time will come.
Thank you ILA # 1526 for showing us even more of what Geller really is.
November 6th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Geller became friends with Joel Steinger at Mutual Benefits, did him some favors, result? Big campaign contribution.
Geller became friends with Scott Rothstein, did him some favors, result? Big campaign contribution.
Geller has been a sweetheart of the insurance and gaming industries, he’s done them a ton of favors, result? Enormous campaign contributions.
The reason why Geller always stinks is because he insists on putting his hands into shit buckets from one end of the state to the other. This is his element. To find shady interests that are not aligned with what the people need, befriend them and do them favors, and collect their campaign checks afterward.
Then, once he gets elected, they send legal work his way. This is Steve Geller’s game and he has become a master of it.
We need to move beyond that class of politician in Broward County and when the time comes Geller will at long last be exposed for the kind of person he truly is. I look very forward to those campaign ads. He is going to be exposed with a very public xray in character that is loooooong overdue.
If I was Geller, I’d befriend as many new scumbags as I could find, do them favors and collect checks. He’s going to need every nickel.
FROM BUDDY:
I love the give-and-take between the Gunzburger and Geller supporters on Browardbeat.com.
I couldn’t resist calling Geller about this comment. The comment alleges that he takes legal work from past and current campaign contributors like the Mutual Benefits insurance firm that turned out to be a scam or Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, the law firm that is in turmoil over revelations that Scott Rothstein stole money.
Geller said the following:
“I have never done legal work for Mutual Benefits, (owner)Joel Steinger or relatives of Joel Steinger. Nor did anyone at Mutual Benefits or Joel Steinger ever refer legal work to me.”
“Furthermore, I have never done legal work or had referrals from Scott Rothstein or RRA.”
“To avoid even an appearance of impropriety, I have never represented any gambling entity — the paramutuals, manufacturers, etc. — while in the Legislature. I could have legally, but I didn’t.”
“I got numerous awards from consumer groups while in the Legislature. I never got any award or anything else from the insurance industry because I voted against them. I consistantly got low scores from their trade groups and high scores from consumer organizations.”
“I also never represented any entity in the insurance industry during my time in the Florida Legislature. Again, I could have gotten legal work from them. Other leiglsators did legal work for insurance firms. I didn’t.”
“(For the reasons above) The allegations in the comment are deeply offensive.”
November 6th, 2009 at 7:52 am
I’ve been reading about Steve Geller accepting campaign contributions from Mutual Benefits and Scott Rothstein. What about all of the charities and the lengthy list of all the other politicians that have accepted money from these sources? Are you suggesting there all scumbags? Are you suggesting that a politician should run a background check on every person that gives money to their campaign?
November 6th, 2009 at 10:29 am
There is a big difference between a charity accepting money and a politician accepting money from these guys. They give to the charity hoping to look good or legitimize themselves. While that may not be great it is not the same as politicians taking their money. They give to the politicians expecting a specific payback in return. If the politician doesn’t give them any favors than no harm no foul. However when the politician gives a quid pro quo back to the contributor than he has crossed the line and should be held accountable. If you can’t see the difference than you aren’t looking hard enough.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Gunzberger NOT getting these endorsements plus Geller outraising her with those lobbyist dollars seems to back up her claims that she remains pretty independent of all the wheeler-dealer insiders, special interests and smoky backroom deals. It’s pretty clear Geller is the choice of the “politics as usual” crowd who have had enough of Gunzberger and her independence on the commission.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
The only thing legitimate about Rothstein is that he gave to charity. If I was at these charities, I would not give a nickel back. They have no duty to do it and should not. Let the authorities take Rothstein’s houses and cars and yachts and so forth to pay the bills. Leave the charities alone.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I’m glad Buddy got Geller on the record responding to what everybody knows.
That’s just perfect! Thank you, Buddy!
Now he can be quoted, and also exposed as a liar when the truth about his dealings and voting record comes out. If you don’t have a good living room recliner folks, go buy one. The TV ads on this issue are going to be amazing.
Can hardly wait. By the time Sue Gunzburger finishes with Steve Geller, he will be about 4 feet tall and weigh 85 pounds. He made a huge mistake thinking she was weak in a political fight.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Ron Gunzburger gets paid from Lori Parrish, but spends all day posting on blogs in different names. Do something about that, Lori!
November 6th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
G vs G:
Are you crazy or just burying your head in the sand?’
Gunzburger’s campaign kickoff had the name of every major lobbyist in town on it. She’s raking in the money from the usual suspects, typically right before or after she votes for their issues. The heavy lobbyist money has gone for Sue, with some occasional minor “covering” by some of the lobbyists, who think Geller will win, but are still raising money for Sue now because she’s leaning on them. Hard. Pay to Play. Remember, she’s voting now, Geller’s not.
And Lori, Broward Reader was right. Doesn’t Ron have to work sometime, or is it one of those deals that whenever he does political stuff (most of the time), it happens to be considered “break”?
November 7th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Sue Gunzburger has been a puppet of her son Ronnie for years. He vets every commission agenda and tells her how to vote. He got his job because his mom was a commissioner and the property appraiser gets her money from the commission. (His sister got her job the same way.) Sue Gunzburger is a commissioner to provide employment for her family and to enrich her family through the sale of plastic bus benches to the county. She must go.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Old Ghost: You are getting ….. well ….. old. You keep reposting the same comment again and again. Yawn. Come up with something new.
For the rest of you: Does anyone really believe Geller will stay in the race for Commissioner is that ethics panel adds a County Charter provision which bans County Commissioners (lobbyists, lawyers, bond salesmen, etc etc) from representing anyone for money before any city in Broward, Broward hospital district, Broward water district, etc. If Geller is barred from working IN BROWARD as a “government affairs” lawyer (i.e., lobbyist) work in Broward, would he really want the job? Answer: No way!!! To Geller this election is only about Geller finding a way to leverage his elective office to generate side lobbying income into his own pocket. Just like he did for years while serving in Tallahassee to the tune of $600,000+ per year in lobbying income, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Anyone who backs Geller is just a dupe in his personal enrichment scheme.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Buddy, G v G makes a point worth asking Steve Geller. If county rules were to prohibit county commissioners from being lobbyists in Broward or from legally representing any client doing government business with any city, would he still be interested in running and serving?
It is a fair question given all the talk about him just being into politics to feed his legal practice.
In the absence of such rules, would he be willing to voluntarily forego any lobbying in Broward or representing any government clients in order to put to rest all this stuff about him padding his law practice by being an elected official? Also a fair question.
How he answers that would make a big impression on this voter given all the talk.
FROM BUDDY: I agree. He should answer that question.
November 10th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
You GONEsburger people kill me. You keep speculating about what Geller MIGHT do (which is a nicer way of saying you’re outright lying and pulling stuff out your asses), but how about some FACTS??? Instead of just saying “When the truth gets out…”. If you know something, spit it out…otherwise shut up with your innuendo.
We should all just be happy that Sue doesn’t have any MORE relatives to feed off of the taxpayers or Broward County would be broke. Gerry gets the big plastics contract, daughter works for the sheriff and sues when they actually want her to work for her pay, and Ronnie-boy plays politics all day while working for Lori Parrish.
Sue is the definitive “Politics As Usual” candidate with cronyism, nepotism, deep-pocket lobbyists, and political threats.
All I can say is Thanks, Sue, for 18 years of service and have a happy retirement.