Update: Political Tid Bits –Smearing Granteed
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Robo calls, a cheap and particularly odious way to campaign, are again getting a big workout in Broward as primary Election Day approaches.
Odious because the calls are a pain because they interrupt what you are doing. Odious because they are often used to shiv a candidate.
Sheriff’s candidate Louis Granteed is on the receiving end of a nasty robo call ringing in homes today.
Here is what one former office holder and reader of Browardbeat.com said they heard:
“Just got a robo-call saying the Tea Party of Miami supports Louie Granteed. It was as if the Tea Party was calling to tell people to vote for Granteed because he doesn’t like minorities and other negative stuff couched in positive message.”
I got it, but my answering machine cut off much of it. I got the gist.
Granteed is opposed by candidate Scott Israel.
Interestingly enough, Israel’s campaign consultant is Amy Rose. She is also the consultant for House hopeful Louis Reinstein, another candidate who had a flap over anonymous smears this week.
Tamaractalk.com got a tape of the call which you can listen to here. The transcript, courtesy of them, is
“Hello, I’m calling for Tea Party Miami, one of the largest and most active Tea Party organizations in South Florida. We recommend conservative law and order Democrat Louie Granteed for Broward County Sheriff. Louie Granteed is a tough no-nonsense cop who won’t kowtow to minorities, civil liberties groups or good government types.Louie Granteed will crack down on illegal immigrants in Broward County. Please remember that Tea Party Miami recommends Louie Granteed for Broward County Sheriff. Paid for by Tea Party Miami 501C4 Organization”
Tea Party Miami appears to be a strange organization that hovers between pushing for casino gaming to vehemently attacking various candidates. It has no information on its website of why it would be involved in a Broward race.
One source said political operative Roger Stone has a role in the organization, but I could not confirm that from Stone at this point. Working with scamster Scott Rothstein, Stone had a role supporting Sheriff Al Lamberti in the election four years ago.
But Stone sold the name to another operative a year ago. The woman cited on a Miami television station’s blog as Stone’s secretary and the party’s chair is no longer part of the group, a source close to the Tea Party told Browardbeat.com.
The same source said the endorsement appeared to be the work of Todd Wilder, a Tallahassee operative who once was former Sheriff Ken Jenne’s political trouble-shooter. Wilder, who is familiar with the man running Tea Party Miami, is part of a committee which earlier this week misrepresented Granteed’s role in a sexual harassment scandal.
Wilder could not be reached for comment.
My feelings about this is that the “endorsement” has something to do with the Israel campaign.
Granteed would not be stupid enough to attach himself to those sentiments, which only serve to destroy his support among Democrats. He should demand the Tea Party Miami withdraw the endorsement immediately.
Supporting Franklin Sands
A Central Florida committee has gone to bat for School Board candidate Franklin Sands.
The committee is funded by the Realtors and has been active in many races statewide.
Here is the piece:
Mitch Ceasar Strikes Back
Democratic Party leader Mitch Ceasar is campaigning to hold on to his job with a professional-looking post card mailed to Democrats this week.
The mailing tailored for each neighborhood contains the names of committee members on the primary ballot who have pledged to vote to retain Ceasar as chair of the party.
Committee members from each precinct are elected next week. They then meet in December to elect the chair, an election Ceasar has won since 1996.
The piece for Ceasar’s slate states it was paid for by “your neighboor Democrats”. The return address is a Hollywood mail firm.
This mailing following one sent by Ceasar’s opponents, which states it is paid for by the Democratic Party. The party had nothing to do with it.
It contains a list of supposed endorsed candidates, including Lois Frankel for Congress.
I find it interesting that Ceasar’s opponents, who say they are trying to unify the party, are endorsing one Democrat over another in the congressional race. I’m sure this thrills supporters of Broward’s Kristin Jacobs, the other Democrat in the race.
The piece produced for Ceasar’s committee candidates is below:
August 10th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
More sleaze from Israel.
August 10th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Amy Rose=Sue Gunzburger
She was Gunzburger’s aide until recently.Rose learned every dirty trick from her. I feel sorry for Louis Granteed.
August 10th, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Tonight I received at least 10 calls attacking opponents or from political groups (like the tea party though I get them from democrats too which is curious why I get them from both sides). I hung up on every one of them.
When will someone realize that those calls don’t work. They actually turn you off of who they want you to vote for (though I ignore them).
Most effective thing that helps me vote for someone is material talking about what a candidate has done and what they believe in, not attacking the other side. Though election pieces that don’t really say anything (which is very common) has the opposite effect.
BTW, everyone here has already voted so leave us alone.
August 10th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
>> I feel sorry for Louis Granteed.
That’s almost like feeling sorry for that Sandusky chap.
August 10th, 2012 at 11:29 pm
Many people I know received the false dirty mail pieces this week and robo calls funded and aproved by Scott Israel once again lying about Lou Granteed which has been the worst most despicable campaiging we have ever seen. This is why Scott Israel could never win. How far will Israel go, how low will he go, at what point would he stop abusing his position if ever elected and would there ever be boundaries??/ I don’t think he has any common sense or boundaries. Scott Israel keeps lying and falsely attacking his opponent Lou Granteed because he is going to lose and he knows it. Lou Granteed must be doing terrific to be the brunt of two dirty mail pieces filled with lies and four dirty robo calls in two days. I like that Lou Granteed has remarkable control to not get distracted or off course. I would never vote for Israel because of his dispicable politics and lying about an opponent for his own personal gain, especially since Lou Granteed runs a professional and clean campaign. That’s what voters like.
Buddy, I am happy you are calling Israel out for his lies and attack ads and robo calls.., especially when you indepedently proved him to be lying.
Granteed on AUGUST 14TH
August 10th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Yeah…I feel sorry for Granteed too since I asked him to run so he could split the D vote. Well, truth be told, I don’t feel sorry for him…I just used him too. HaHaHa. If the FBI asks for me, tell them I am out.
August 10th, 2012 at 11:38 pm
Just for the record.. I spoke to Louie Granteed earlier tonight and he is in no way shape or form involved in the robo calls nor is his campaign involved or supporter by anything associated by the t party.
BACK TO ME; This is all Scott Israel paying for and sending out the negative campaign literature and robo calls because Louie Granteed has an excellent campaign and is heavily supported all over Broward.
Israel is desperate and on Tuesday, August 14, Scott Israel’s political career will be over once and for all. Israel is desperate and will try anything he can to try and beat Louie Granteed, which is doubtful….
August 10th, 2012 at 11:57 pm
Did the Tea Party actually endorse Granted?
August 11th, 2012 at 5:43 am
I voted early already and it damn sure wasn’t for anyone supporting Mitch Sleazer.
August 11th, 2012 at 9:05 am
Chaz, you’re an idiot
August 11th, 2012 at 9:52 am
http://teapartymiami.org/granteed.html
August 11th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Looks like Osgood got desparate and Attacked Tory alston last week as well. So much for the “minister” playing fair
August 11th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Whoever is advising and doing this certainly isn’t earning their money…I’ve received several of these, even though the SOE reports my absentee ballot was returned on July 20.
And campaign advisor worth their salt gets the absentee ballot and pulls calls to people who have already voted.
August 11th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Check this out from Bob Norman today – the Tea Party Miami is fake! http://www.local10.com/news/blogs/bobnorman/-Dirty-trickster-Roger-Stone-behind-sheriff-s-race-smear/-/3223354/16075448/-/9fme3az/-/index.html
“In 2008, the infamous political “dirty trickster” Roger Stone made a big impact on the Broward County sheriff’s race with a series of attack ads aimed at Democratic candidate Scott Israel.
That was back when Stone — who gained political infamy as a “dirty trickster” for Richard Nixon — was working as the political director for Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, who backed Republican candidate Al Lamberti, who of course went on to win the race.
Well now Stone is back in a big — and, yes, dirty — way in this sheriff’s race, and it appears this time he’s working in the interest of Scott Israel.
The latest robocall attack on Israel’s Democratic primary opponent, Louie Granteed, came last night in the form of an “endorsement” for Granteed from an entity that calls itself Tea Party Miami. Here’s the exact words of the woman who voices the call:
“I’m calling for Tea Party Miami, one of the largest and most active tea party organizations in South Florida. We recommend conservative law and order Democrat Louie Granteed for Broward County sheriff. Louie Granteed is a tough no-nonsense cop who won’t kowtow to minorities, civil liberties groups, or good-government types. Louie Granteed will crack down on illegal immigrants in Broward County. Please remember that Tea Party Miami recommends Louie Granteed for Broward County sheriff. Paid for by Tea Party Miami C-4 organization.”
What’s the real message of that ad aimed at Broward Democrats? That Granteed is a conservative, racist, anti-immigrant thug.
So is that Granteed’s message? Of course not. Granteed told me he has never had any involvement with any Tea Party group and had no idea who the Tea Party Miami was. His stance on immigration is actually well-measured; in fact Granteed says the issue is a federal one and opposes local law enforcement agencies taking illegal immigrants into custody unless they have committed a crime with a complaining victim.
The Miami Tea Party, for the record, is … Roger Stone. He and his associates created the group last year; serving as chairwoman of the group is Dianne Thorne, Stone’s administrative assistant. The group has mirrored Stone’s interests all along. For instance, after the Scott Rothstein bankruptcy sued Stone for $400,000 in a clawback action, Tea Party Miami began bashing Rothstein bankruptcy trustee Herbert Stettin, as “Florida’s most corrupt judge.”
Now literally as I’m writing this post, Tea Party Miami has sent me an email blast endorsing Granteed. Here’s the text:
Hollywood Police Officer Louie Granteed is one tough cop. That’s why Tea Party Miami, the largest and most active Tea Party organization in Miami-Dade County and our affiliate the South Florida Tea Party both recommend Louie Granteed, in the Broward County Democratic Primary for Sheriff August 14th.
Louie Granteed is a real law and order conservative. Granteed is a former Republican who will be tough on crime and crack down on illegal immigrants in Broward county. Granteed is clearly a better choice than Democrat Scott J. Israel, a strong supporter of President Obama and an opponent of racial profiling by the BSO.
Granteed could be depended on not to kow-tow to minorities, civil liberties groups and good government types. Granteed didn’t pander by seeking the support of the left-wing Broward based Gwen Cherry Chapter of the Women’s Political Caucus. The choice between Granteed and Republican Sheriff Al Lamberti will be a difficult one. We applaud Lamberti for inviting Rep. Allen West to address the BSO 9/11 Memorial.
We recommend Tea Party members who are registered Democrats vote for Granteed.
For Republicans in Broward, Tea Party Miami also recommends former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner for Congress in the 22nd district and Karen Harrington for Congress in the 23rd district and Mike Lameyer for State Senate District 34.
Here we go again. Notice that the criticism of Israel is that he’s a “strong supporter of President Obama,” something the vast majority of Democratic voters in Tuesday’s primary share in common. The other is that Israel is against racial-profiling, aka he’s not a racist. You can almost hear Stone chuckling in the background when he sends out this stuff.
Interestingly, the email also mentions that it will be difficult for Tea Party Miami to choose between Granteed and Lamberti, a Republican, in the general election, mentioning that Lamberti invited right-wing Congressman Allen West to a 911 event. Judging by this and other tea leaves, it appears that Stone is ultimately gunning for Lamberti, the man he helped elect last time with Rothstein’s money. So maybe the sheriff will get the next Miami Tea Party endorsement. We’ll see.”
FROM BUDDY:
Stone denied this Channel 10 post, which does not quote Stone. Stone told Browardbeat.com he had no role in the smear. I posted a story about his comments.
August 11th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Thanks for connecting the dots Buddy. We got the hit mail outs from Reinstein this week, calling his opponent a tea party supporter.
Amy Rose and her band of misfits should be held accountable after this election for their dirty tactics. I for one will not support a candidate who stoops to that level!!
August 11th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Is a PAC exempt from following the election laws?
Why is it OK for the PAC supporting Franklin Sands to identify him as “the Democratic candidate” for School Board when the candidates themselves are not allowed to use party affiliation on their campaign flyers?
This is another example of dirty politics and unethical behavior from a candidate.
August 11th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
There is misinformation being published here and there and the people deserve better. Most voters in Broward know that there are crooks in the mix who run for governmental positions. Ken Jenne is a good example. Granteed is as dirty as they come and certain detractors are positing oblique references to political operatives to hide the truth. Political operatives are not running for office here. It is a clear choice between a mob connected corrupt police officer and a decent, hardworking candidate.
August 11th, 2012 at 5:53 pm
It concerns me when someone blogs something but admits they only heard a portion of the message on an answering machine. Surely, it would not be permitted in court. There are few certainties in our political system but it works. The bad press on Granteed is overwhelming. I will cast my vote for Israel.
August 11th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
You guys are crazy. We shouldn’t even begin to consider a strip club frequenter – while on duty- as our Sheriff. Louie Granteed is the WORST candidate possible. He has been exposed for sexually harassing a female cop and the judge ordered a settlement of $200k paid for by the taxpayers. The guy is a creep!!!
August 11th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
When the comments greatly exceed the length of the article, we move into a trouble zone. Granteed suffers from the same corruption as did Ken Jenne. Oblique references to famous political operatives like Roger Stone are designed to throw you off the real issue. I will be casing my vote for someone who will be a great sheriff not a corrupt cop, that would be Israel.
August 11th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
I see the Israel cronies are flooding the comment section with their LIES about Granteed again.
Granteed is the decent, hard working, honest family man in this race.
Scott Israel has been arrested.
Scott Israel has been sued for bad debts.
Scott Israel was sued for being a deadbeat father.
Scott Israel abandoned his first born son.
Scott Israel was fired from his previous law enforcement job.
Shoulkd I go on Israel cronies?
August 11th, 2012 at 7:44 pm
Speculating who is behind smear campaigns from both sides seems like a waste of time.
Why not just look at the facts. Scott Israel has 25-years of law enforcement experience. In fact, Scott Israel was named Police Chief of the Year for successfully arresting a Serial Murderer, Eddie Lee Mosley & was named Officer of the Month on two other occasion.
What has Granteed done other then spend on-duty hours in strip clubs? He was recently sued for sexual harassment and the judge ruled in the woman’s favor. He is a slimebag and has no place as Sheriff-or in politics for that matter.
Scott Israel is my choice
August 11th, 2012 at 9:20 pm
“He has been exposed for sexually harassing a female cop” and her name is Melody Ridgley Fortunato and according to the Florida Bar she happens to be pretty dishonest:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA
THE FLORIDA BAR,
Case No. SC96979
VS.
MELODY RIDGLEY FORTUNATO
Respondent
_______________________________
THE FLORIDA BAR’S INITIAL BRIEF
ADRIA E. QUINTELA, #897000
Bar Counsel
The Florida Bar
5900 North Andrews Avenue
Suite 835
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) 772-2245
JOHN ANTHONY BOGGS, #253847
Staff Counsel
The Florida Bar
650 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300
(850) 561-5839
JOHN F. HARKNESS, JR., #123390
Executive Director
The Florida Bar
650 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300
(850) 561-5839
CONCLUSION
The case law as so The Florida Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions clearly
support that suspension is the appropriate discipline in this case. Respondent knowingly
violated a court order and then lied to the referee time and time again to cover up her
reasons for not obeying the court order. Respondent also lied to the referee about
having a “file” in the Robbins case to justify the fee charged. Respondent’s conduct
was deceitful. Her motives were corrupt and her actions demonstrated total disrespect
and disregard for the grievance process. Such conduct cannot be tolerated in a member
of The Florida Bar.
Based on the case law and the Standards, the appropriate sanction for violation
of the rules set forth herein is a ninety-one (91) day suspension.
WHEREFORE, The Florida Bar respectfully requests this court to enter an order
suspending the respondent for ninety-one (91) days.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________________
August 11th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
Mark Anthony
No suprise that MELODY RIDGLEY FORTUNATO is a liar and suspeneded for 91 days. Israel attracts all of the unethical people….
August 11th, 2012 at 10:40 pm
I will vote for Scott Israel because Lamberti is dirty and Granteed is a plant.
August 11th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
If Louie the Liar is so honorable why is his ex-wife living in a dumpy villa in Hollywood while he lives in a half a million dollar home twice the size of hers in Ft Lauderdale? And how does a cop afford a half million dollar home anyway?