Steve Geller Resurfaces After Crushing Defeat
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Former state Sen. Steve Geller is back!
Bruised by his stinging defeat to Sue Gunzburger in the Democratic primary for county commission last August, Geller is slowly easing his way back into politics.
No, he’s not running. He says he’s helpingDemocrats.
“Right now I have no plans to run for anything at anytime, Geller says.
Geller still has a political committee Floridians For A Stronger Tomorrow. He will be using its money to help organize Democrats and reward volunteers in the 2012 election.
His first effort was to buy a table for Democratic activists to a Century Village of Pembroke Pines event last month. He also placed an ad in the event’s program.
The committee plans to kick in $5-$10,000 in the next election cycle. He hopes the money will help pump up the Democratic turnout in places like Century Village and Hollybrook.
Geller says he will concentrate his efforts for Democrats in South Broward. That’s where he believes the small amount of money he can raise could make a difference.
Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow had around $6,500 left at the end of last year. Tens of thousands were spent during Geller’s campaign for county commission in 2010.
The Democrats in the condos need the help because the seniors, who once powered the political machine, are dying off.
Feeding The Gorilla
“The condos were once the 800-pound gorilla, Geller says. “Now they are more like the 400-pound gorilla. Still big, but not what they were. Maybe I can help them be a 600-pound gorilla.
Geller first got elected when the condo voters were political kings. A member of the state House 1988-98, he then moved up to the state Senate 1998-2008. He served one term as Senate Democratic leader.
After leaving the Legislature, he spent over a year running for county commission against Gunzburger. He lost the August 2010 Democratic primary 44 to 56 percent.
One target of his comeback effort is volunteers who work on Democratic campaigns. He plans to energize them by reward them. His committee will buy the best, most productive volunteers tickets to political events.
The idea is not original and is a proven a way to solidify support among condo voters. The late powerbroker Hamilton Forman rewarded condo bosses in his political machine with tickets to charity and political dinners.
Geller insists he is not laying the ground work for a future campaign. With redistricting, no one even knows the boundaries of the future county commission or state senate districts, he points out.
I must point out, however, that the only person appearing in his Century Village ad is Geller!
Here is what he says for the record:
“I will not be a candidate in 2012. I can’t tell you whether or not I’ll be a candidate in 2012, 2016, 18 or 20If don’t even know (with redistricting) if they’ll be anything to run for.
Welcome back, Steve. You are always great copy!
March 5th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Steve Geller has a lot to offer and I hope he stays involved with the Democratic Party. We need everybody we can get in 2012.
March 5th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
From what I’m hearing, Geller has been working this year in Tallahassee as an unregistered lobbyist on behalf of the gaming and insurance industries.
He was a scumbag. He is a scumbag. He will always be a scumbag. If … if … he ever decided to become a candidate again in the future, I’d be shocked if he could get himself elected to anything higher again than Cooper City Commissioner.
I was hoping he was politically dead after his landslide defeat last year. But I guess scumbag lobbyist Geller didn’t get the message.
March 6th, 2011 at 10:40 am
Sounds like he is bribing people with free dinners and political event tickets to keep them in his corner. It figures.
March 6th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Buddy:
Thanks for welcoming me back. I didn’t realize I’d ever left. After I lost the primary, I went on to raise over $100,000 for the Florida Democratic Party and Statewide Democratic candidates.
I have no plans to run for anything in the future, but at 52, I’m obviously not prepared to say I’ll never run for anything again. I will not run for anything in 2012. Right now I’m working at my law practice, working with the Florida democratic Party (pro bono) on reapportionment, and doing what I can to help rebuild the Democratic party in South Broward. Our voter turnout in the 2010 general election was clearly unacceptable.
Truthiness/Ron: Why pick a fight with me? I’m no longer fighting the last election with your mom. I don’t say anything bad about her. She’s a Democratic elected official, and I wish her well. You know that the insurers hate me because I fought them, why continue to make things up about my representing them? I have no plans to run against your Mom again, why are you goading me?
I’m focused on strengthening the Democrats, and I’m putting my money where my mouth is. Let’s look forward and not backward, and let the last election be over.
Steve Geller
March 6th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
I’ve never been a big fan of Geller, but to the extent he can improve the fortunes of Democrats in Florida, good for him.
Unfortunately, Broward is not where we need the improvement.
March 7th, 2011 at 7:33 am
There is nothing Geller offers that isn’t about him, everything his service to others is merely a pretext for his own forward movement. His new interest is redistricting. Another way of saying he wants to carve out some district just right so he can win there. Watch and see. Geller is not a public servant he is a self-server who uses the public for his own private gain. What he needs to do is run against Sobel if he wants a job so much. With all his many faults he is better than her.
March 7th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Hey Truthiness,
You are a real A-Hole! shut up. Don’t get Stone Cold fired up at you. I knows who you are.
Geller-Gunzburger is over, just like Ali-Frazier.
Take you toxicity out to the Dump (and take one on the way over, for you are overflowing at the moment)
March 7th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
I tip my hat to Mr Geller. I had nothing to do with his last election. Heck, it’s not even my district.
I will say this, at a time when 5 minority incumbent judges (3 African Americans and 2 Hispanics) were targeted and received white opponents, Steve Geller went to bat for them. He went to bat for Judges Williams, Gillespie, Rudd Robinson, Rebollo and Rodriguez.
For the uninformed, there are 90 judges. Had all five minority judge lost, it would have left 2 black and 2 hispanic.
Thank you Steve Geller. Continuing helping the Democratic party and become a public servant again. You are a man that does the right thing.
March 7th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
From what most of us saw Geller was very busy losing his own race and did nothing for those judges. He didn’t raise them money and didn’t campaign with or for them either. They are not allowed to campaign with partisan candidates. What you’re saying sounds untrue. Prove me wrong with some facts.
March 8th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Actually, I did raise at least $1,000 for each of them, (total over $5,000) and did campaign for them, because I saw this as an attack on the minority judges. This was fairly well known in the legal community, perhaps not so much in the general community, where I was running my own race.
I’ve agreed to help the Florida Democratic Party on reapportionment because they asked me to help them. I was the lead Senate Democrat on Senate reapportionment, and personally changed the map in a way that gave us two more seats. Reapportionment would effect the 2012 Senate. I’m not running in 2012. While I have no plans to run for anything, the earliest that I might consider running is for the Sobel seat after she retires. I would not run against her. I’m a loyal person, and she supported me in my race. The earliest that her seat should be open is 2016.
Let me try this again. I have no specific plans to run for anything. I’m definitely not running for anything in 2012. I’ve put the 2010 race behind me, and assume that Sue would be happy to do the same. I’m just focusing on helping Democrats. To the extent that helping Democrats means that we have a better economy, more fairness in government, better education, and a better quality of life, then I guess I am doing something to help myself.
March 8th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
“I’m a loyal person.” Translation: I can’t risk a race with Sobel in 2012.
“I’m not running in 2012.” Translation: I’m planning a County run in 2014 if I can get the district drawn right. Senate in 2016 is my last chance.
“I’m working on reapportionment to help Democrats.” Translation: I must get a district drawn just for me.
“I helped the minority judges.” Translation: Who cares about the minorities let’s talk about me.
“Me, me, me.” Translation: Steve Geller.
March 8th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
When he helped the minorty judges, it wasn’t about me me me because he had nothing to gain from it.
It was the right thing to do and for doing that Steve Geller stands out as a leader of Broward County.
Those that don’t care about diversity on the bench and elsewhere and those that don’t care about other good Democratic ideals and principles know who they are.
None of this has to do with the Gunzberger race.
March 9th, 2011 at 2:46 am
You know, people who vote Democrat and people who support Democrats should not be spitting in the faces of those who try to not only work on improving the party’s finances and infrastructure, but who have a talent for describing the party’s prospects and the electoral system as it is to ordinary people who also want to see the Democrats gain ground in Florida.
What we saw in the last election was an entirely deplorable performance by administrators of the party both in Broward and state-wide as well as those running the Sink campaign- the candidate herself included.
Rather than re-hashing old animosities or calling names, I will remind everyone here who reads these posts and these comments that the Florida Democratic Party and the Broward Democratic infrastructure has not recently offered any prospects that should be taken for granted.
We need all the help we can get, especially from highly-experienced people who are outstanding public speakers and who boldly stay in the game over the years.
If you don’t personally trust Steve Geller or believe he’s the man for the job in regards to legal work or elected office, that’s your prerogative, but I kindly suggest that Democrats in Broward lay off the bashing when it comes to those actually out there trying to raise the party’s prospects.
There is absolutely enough self-dealing out there and enough conflicts of interests that have damaged prospects for both participation from more people who might have something to contribute as well as electoral prospects for Democrats throughout the state.
Steve Geller should be commended for his long history of working within the party, standing by the party’s best interests, and for continuing to do so even when that raises suspicions and gossip in this forum in regards to his motives and his character.
Besides which, I’ll also assert that you can do A LOT worse than Steve Geller. When it comes to describing the inner workings of a legislature, explaining the causes at hand and giving a talk to the general public in order to generate interest in elections and Democratic Party interests, your mother, Mr. Truthiness, could take some lessons from Geller.
March 10th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
to Truthiness a.k.a. Ron Gunz-flip ‘da-burgur:
You are a real low life jerk because Stone Cold says so and ‘dat’s ‘da BOTTOM LINE!
March 10th, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Andrew,
Well said!
March 11th, 2011 at 11:10 am
to David Brown:
Hey, pardner, how about you and me grabbing a beer and then calling out Toothiness Gunz- OvercookedBurger for a hoe down old good country backyard wrasslin’ match!