George and Heather Moraitis Celebrate Upset
BY BUDDY NEVINS
George Moraitis wasn’t supposed to win.
He was not the favorite of the party machine, but the GOP insiders forgot to tell the voters. Moraitis edged out the chosen candidate David Maymon in the Republican primary for the northeast Broward Florida House District 91’s seat.
Moraitis now needs to beat Barbra Stern, the Democratic nominee.
District 91 has been held by state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, who is trying to move up to the state Senate. It lies mostly east of Federal Highway in north Broward.
One of Moraitis’ biggest assets is wife Heather, a former Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale president who proved herself a terrific organizer. She has been a community activist, is tireless and has a Rolodex full of contacts.
Another asset: Moraitis is a life-long resident of the district, a graduate of Fort Lauderdale High, the Naval Academy and the University of Florida Law School. Bottom line is he knows a lot of voters personally.
The picture below shows the Moraitis’ celebrating their victory and thanking voters at the corner of Oakland Park Boulevard and Federal Highway. The photo is courtesy of Geoffrey Joynt and taken by Richard Kalehoff.
Click on photo for a bigger view of George and Heather
August 26th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
All Broward residents should be thankful for this! The Republican Party should realize an exceptional candidate when they see one and George certainly is one. Well done all around!!
August 26th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
George was the best candidate. David was a newcomer and came across as a smarmy kid who believed he was entitled to the nomination. I’m glad George won.
August 26th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Brilliant work Judy Stern, just brilliant.
August 27th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Grass roots in action!!!!!
God bless the USA. He has the 91st District with this upset. Onward….soldiers!
August 27th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Congratulations! Out with the old and in with the new. We can’t think of a better people’s choice to have an unencumbered candidate, It was a good race which was fairly won.
August 27th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Don’t count out the support of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Very pro-active members of that congregation were instrumental in grass roots GOTV efforts.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Please riddle me this, why would a spouse be happy that the other is off to Tallahassee leaving you alone/single?
just remember what happened when Ritter went, she came back with Klenet.
FROM BUDDY:
Dear happy?
Even I am not that cynical.
Marriages fail because of weakness in the relationship, not because of the location of the spouses. I would admit that two months in Tallahassee can put a strain on a marriage. Most legislators — male and female — survive it without a problem. Remember, legislators are home almost every weekend.
This reporter went through three sessions and many special sessions and came home to the same woman, who remains my wife today.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:30 am
If Moriatis wife is the blonde in the picture, let me know when he is leaving her. I want to be first in line.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
who pays to have them travel back and forth every weekend?
FROM BUDDY:
You and I do.
August 27th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
As then President of my GOP club, I stayed neutral in the Primary but advised all candidates: Work your district and don’t worry about the so called “insiders” or BREC members, which I’m part of.
All politics is local. Congrats to George and Heather!
August 27th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I’m a Democrat in District 91, but would consider voting for an “R”. Moraitis doesn’t seem like some sort of rigid fundamentalist (e.g. homophobe, creationist, no abortion even if raped, etc.) anti-government ideologue (e.g. any tax has been and always will be evil). Is that the case?
August 27th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
The district has 100,000 registered voters…and 10,000 of them voted. This is hardly “the people’s choice.” Further, of that 10,000, Moraitis edged out Maymon by 234 votes. It paints a portrait of an apathetic voter bloc who didn’t feel too enthused about either candidate. And, come on, Moraitis isn’t a smarmy kid who felt entitled to the nomination? A dude spoon-fed by his rich attorney daddy his whole life who spent a few perfunctory years at the Naval Academy and rode out the name his daddy made for the family since the 50s? Yawn.
August 27th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
The Junior League…the Presbyterian Church…a family name… Moraitis sure sounds like an elitist patrician future country club president to me. If you think this is some sort of “new conservative” you should return to Earth. Sounds like the same old thing and I’m really not convinced the guy has any ideas. Maymon at least had some fire.
August 27th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Moraitis conducted himself the right way in the end. Yomin needs a shower after this. Moraits owes this entire thing to his wife though. Not a single person out there thought this guy had a clue what he was doing. I heard him debate a few weeks back and it was scary.
August 27th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
All that said Moraitis is by far the best candidate coming out of Broward in a long time and might just be enough to buy Broward GOP some needed goodwill after they lost all of it.
Maymon’s childish antics came home to roost. The man is totally finished after this if he wasn’t already. How Broward tried to put up a guy who lost his Home Health Care License in Palm Beach and got cited in Broward for not even doing background checks on care workers and nurses will be a blemish that will be hard for all of his lunatic supporters to recover from. If we never hear from him again it will be too soon.
August 27th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Thanks for your thoughts, Yomin!
August 27th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
I am a very old supporter of George—have known him and his parents since he was an earnest young midshiopman at Annapolis, MD, USNA. He is everything a candidate SHOULD be, but rarely is. Nope, he is not eloquent–he has never been a litigator, a community organizer, a “schmoozer” type lobbyist, or a brillaint orator. This country already has one Supreme Brilliant Orator who says very little in a flowery, showy style. George”only” served as a U.S Navy submarine officer for 8 years, where he had to make serious decisions to protect and best utilize his men and their vessel and equipment. He ONLY graduated first in his law class at U of F.
Yes, his wife Heather is gorgeous.
She is a fantastically smart lady and a excellent mother, as well as being very active in causes which improve our community. Good for Heather and good for George!
I am a 68 year old lady with many ties to many different groups of people in this community. I have lived here at the same address since 1952, and have been extolling George’s virtues and values to anyone and everyone who would listen ever since I knew he was running. God bless everyone who believed in George and who voted for him. He will serve us well—
Mary P. Taylor
August 28th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Who would ever want the support of Coral Ridge Presbyterian?
August 28th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Louis Sullivan,
It was the people’s choice. 90,000 decided not to vote. They know the most important vote is the one on November 2 when the republican canidate will retain the district 91 seat once again. Way to go Moraitis!
August 28th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Is it just me or is it a little bit much that David Maymon is still attacking his opponents? He has yet to publicly concede and he’s still throwing plenty of mud. And of course, whoever speaks out against the dumb bolt who pledged to make war against several real Members of the Florida House for the speakership must be Yomin, Barbra or Judy Stern. There was a post that went out listing all of his ethnic baiting against both of his opponents. If he never shows his swarmy face again in Broward politics it will be too soon!
August 28th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
PS BikerDan = MotorCycle Freak Put-On Wannabe David Maymon slinging even more mud at both of his former opponents, for anyone who doesn’t see the obvious. Another nail in his political coffin. Let’s just make sure there’s no Freddy Krueger sequel to his last sorry political act.
August 29th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Yomin is still running against David Maymon even though there isn’t a race going on anymore.
August 29th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
David,
Everybody in Broward who knows you despises you. Get a life and stop blogging. Signed, BREC, Yomin Postelnik, Matt Gaetz and Judy Stern
Really none of the above but have your fun.
Oh, and BikerDan is a much better moniker for you than Obsessed much? is.
Scratch that. They both fit you.
August 29th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
I have always been a Moraitis supporter but this guy Yomin is a nut.
August 29th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
David, we know you’ve always been a Moraitis supporter. The campaign that you ran shows as much. I agree, he’s a fine man worthy of all our support. We told you that a while ago. No need to keep flaming against Yomin. He’d have been better than you too. Take a chill, smell the roses and move on. Be happy. Quit blogging.
August 30th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Interesting that all the BREC-favored candidates (i.e. those who have come to meetings for a long time or were the most closely affiliated with BREC) lost:
Maymon
Lowry
McCollum
Kevin Tynan.
A trend?
Calfloridia speaks the truth above:
“Work your district and don’t worry about the so called “insiders†or BREC members. All politics is local.”
October 4th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
I am a democrat, and plan to vote for a democrat for most of the other races. I did not vote for George Moraitis on the primaries because I could not, since they were closed elections. However I personally know George, he was our real estate attorney when we purchased our home. He was the most decent, honest, professional and just plain nice attorney we have ever dealt with. I will vote for him in November , because I rather have a decent, honest Republican in office, than a Democrat I don’t know. Those qualities are hard to find. You have our votes George.