Sunrise’s Wishner Buys $5,000 Scooter With Campaign Cash
BY BUDDY NEVINS
What has happened to Sunrise?
Sunrise Mayor John Lomelo used to ride around town 30 years ago in a Cadillac befitting the chief executive of the city.
Sunrise Mayor Roger Wishner is using a scooter.paid for with campaign funds.
The biggest campaign expense Wishner reported in the first quarter of 2010 was a $5,000 scooter from Rick Case Honda.
Why does the mayor’s campaign need a scooter? To scoot around town, no doubt.
He also picked up $371 scooter carry bags from Rick Case.
(By the way, Rick Case and his wife are two of the biggest Republican contributors in Broward County.)
I wonder what will happen to that scooter after the campaign is over. Want to bet it will be parked in Wishner’s garage?
Is this another example of elected officials abusing the campaign laws?
Hmmmmm.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Now Wishner can get with Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober who bought a Segway with his campaign cash.
The two can have a competition for the “Least Dignified Campaign Vehicle” in Broward County.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Roger is already a disgrace. Sheila Alu is right. He has changed. Power has gone to his head and he feels he is entitled to use his campaign as his personal pot of money. I hope he takes that scooter and rides off into the sunset and takes his handpicked City Attorney Michelson with him.
April 21st, 2010 at 1:25 pm
How many more things does Wishner have to do before he gets a REAL challenger. Sheila are you not GETTING this? There are people who are wary of you who will support you because Wishner has gone off the reservation. Do you think anything can save him? Do you think that this is his last mess up? He was in the courthouse the other day and people were lightly mocking him TO HIS FACE! about being Mayor/Commissioner for life.
The Scooter won’t save him either. In this race you would be Bober and he would be the corrupt, tin eared sitting Mayor who raised a ton of cash, used attack PACs and in the end lost to a corruption fighting sitting commissioner because Gulianti like Wishner was SUPPORT rich but VOTE poor.
ALU = BOBER
April 21st, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Now that made me chuckle. Just the image is hilarious. What a joke, with the little goggles and scrunched up face. He probably bought the backless chaps, “what a wannabee”.
April 21st, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Wonder where that is parked now? Anyone get a picture of the Mayor riding on that zooped up moped?
April 21st, 2010 at 2:28 pm
I doubt the contributors to the campaign will care: virtually none of the money raised by the Mayor is raised from the residents of the City of Sunrise.
He has raised money from the corporate interests:
Out of State contractors (wonder why they care who Mayor is?), including one that is only located in Colorado (who also contributed to Sofield’s campaign).
Out of City contractors (wonder why they care who the Mayor is?)
All of the Garbage Companies
Out of City Real Estate Companies
Health Insurance Companies
Lobbyist Lawyers
Consulting companies
And his fundraisers have been in Jacksonville (according to expense reports, but no money raised there) and Tallahassee campaign meetings (with the lobbyists and contractors?).
Virtually no Sunrise residents. Why? Why do corporate interests, contractors, garbage companies, and lobbyists care who the Mayor of Sunrise is?
Doubt they will complain about a silly scooter.
April 21st, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Plenty of other unnecessary amenities on his expenditure log, as well. The question is, is when is he going to get his fur coat, his fur hat, and his gold capped tooth to go along with his pimp attitude, and the wad of gangster cash he carries around in his pocket? He surely is prostituting the city!
April 21st, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Soon we’ll be seeing Roger Wishner dining at an exclusive restaurant with Ken Keechl… but which campaign will pick up the tab??
April 21st, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Speaking of Keechl: In July 2008 and October 2008 Wishner did pay rent with campaign fund money for 759 Shotgun Road (even tho campaign address is listed as somewhere else in Sunrise). Property appraiser search shows that property as being presently owned by Wishner Holdings LLC. Is that anything like what Keechl did?
April 21st, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Buddy — why not ask Wishner why he bought a scooter for the campaign, to whom is it registered, and where it is being stored? Is it legal to use campaign funds to buy transportation?
April 21st, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Since when did donors get to have a line item veto of a candidate’s campaign budget? If they think they’re buying something for their money, then they shouldn’t give. It’s not taxpayer money, it shouldn’t be held to the same standard.
FROM BUDDY:
If office holders are frivolous with campaign money because it is not their own, they are liable to do the same with taxpayers money.
It is an attitude of entltlement. They believe there are entitled to spend the money any way they see fit.
Campaign funds were never meant to be a perk of office.
This is a matter for the IRS. The agency should examine these cases to see if the proper taxes are being paid.
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:30 am
wow, being irresponsuble with other peoples money ear marked to buy influence for there projects in the city,bundle money for candidates of there choice, using money designed for there campaign and then using it for your personal use when you are financially well heeled,maybe next they should furnish there house invest there money in gold and buy a new car,if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck it i9s a duck.
The reason he may have purchased the scooter,maybe he was afraid that if the garbage trucks were on the streets there would be to much traffic????????????
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:50 am
8:15 — I could not disagree more. Why do you think the Repubs are so upset with the Steele underlings using campaign funds raised for adult-theme events.
And, there are in fact some restrictions on the use of Campaign Funds. More importantly, there should be. These funds are given “in trust” that the candidate will use purely for campaign purposes and the use of the funds (and who gave the funds) gives the electorate some insight into the behaviour and attitude of the candidate.
Remember, this is not a personal slush fund. Sure, it looks like some treat it as a supplement to income. They take the maximum allowable by law as “Misc campaign expenses” (Wishner has NOT). For instance, Phyllis Hope has and does take the maximum $$ every quarter like clockwork. Is it truly for personal expense associated with a vibrant campaign and lots of “misc campaign expenses” OR is it a raiding of the campaign account treated like “supplemental income” — doesnt matter because the law allows her to do that and she takes FULL advantage of it. She needs the money (I am sure she will say because she is campaigning so hard and so much o her own money gets spent on little things that add up). That’s why she needs to get her car fixed on the campaign funds etc. So, yes, the donors can say “You go and take what you need” and the electorate can say, “Are you really that hard up for money or are you really campaigning that hard”. Considering she virtually no fundraisers to speak of (and the events she goes to she should be going to as a school board member anyway, one must wonder.
There are the concerns over Keechl’s reimbursment of rent for his home. Legal or not, right or wrong it nonetheless raised concerns. Wishner it is said above reimbursed rent to a property he owned as well.
So, there should be accountability and the electorate should consider from whom money is given AND how a candidate uses that money.
FROM BUDDY:
I agree with your last statement.
There are many office holders who use their campaign accounts as a personal piggy bank.
The law needs to be tightened and the Internal Revenue Service needs to examine some of these office holders. If you are buying computers or scooters and using it for personal use, especially after a campaign is over, you should declare it as income.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:05 am
Wishner is there for himself. If you ever wanted to stop ‘Politics as Usual,’ this is the classic case to stop. In all the years he has served, I can’t think of anything that he personally directed that wasn’t aimed to benefit him. I have never met someone so sure of himself that actually really doesn’t know much at all.
He is so sure of himself (or full of himself) that he has raised $80000 and thinks that he will win so easily, that Wishner goes out a buys a $5000 scooter. What a waste!
Even recently when Tamarac and Lauderhill Mayors and Commissioners had to come to Sunrise to defend Sunrise residents (by the way Thank You Tamarac and Lauderhill on that), he was looking to serve himself.
I wonder how much did Wishner have contributed to his campaign from those people? Can’t fault the developers. They may have not won yet, but they did get their moneys worth. At least Wishner tried to help them. He just didn’t succeed.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:20 am
I hate to be a contrarian, but if he uses that in his campaign to get around neighborhoods, why is this any less legitimate than buying computers, software, phones and phone service, etc?
It sure solves the problem of getting into gated communities!
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:21 am
PS. I WOULD think that if this stuff is converted to personal use, it would have to be declared as personal income on your taxes. But that is a federal tax issue, not a state campaign finance issue.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:35 am
it is a campaign issue you should be using money for campiagn issues,that is why there is a campaign report,the hardware and all the other stuff I agree.but come on a scooter for going into gated communities,besides in most campaigns when you go into a gated community usaully a resident of that communty lets you in ,besides he is the mayor for crying out loud getting into a gated community should not be an issue,but this has been going on a longtime without being challenged by our state attoney who has been awoken from his slumber about campaign finance reform after 34 years
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:07 am
7:21: Yes, I agree — if the Mayor of Sunrise is actually going to be tooling around in the summer rains (wearing a helmet I hope since we do not want another succession problem), then I agree, no problem using the funds. Do really think the Mayor of Sunrise is gonna do that? Seriously.
And I am not sure how he will get the scooter over (or under) the gates or how that makes campaigning easier. That is a silly suggestion.
Your suggestion that it is a Federal tax issue is true, but it is also a potential state election law issue + important for voters to know.
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:23 am
Whats is the diference in renting your own property in you district or renting from someone eles,NOTHING,it is lotally legal
petty people why don’t you run for office and pay rent to who cares for a campaign office ,If people are that small minded Lord Help us all, Campaign money is to rent an office,have meeting send out mailers, get your people and work hard to get elected
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:30 am
All he cared about in Tallahasse was getting his golf license plate. One of the worst Reps we had and everyone knew he didn’t want to be there. Why doesn’t anyone see him for who he is?
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
yes also when he ran for the county commission race and finsh last even alex facette I know I spelled it wrong ,finished ahead of him wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
FROM BUDDY: I think that’s Alex Fekete.
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I am a businessman who had 3 season seats in the Bank-Atlantic Center’s exclusive ADT Club. Economic conditions mandate that I cannot make this expenditure next year.
These seats cost $10,000.00 each for all of the events at the center.
There, the food and open bar are all inclusive.
I have personally seen Roger Wishner there enjoying these facilities with his entire family on a regular basis.
Who pays for this? His Campaign? The City of Sunrise?
The City has a Suite there which typically costs $80,000.00 a year before a single $5.00 hot-dog or $4.00 soda is ever wheeled into the suite.
Who pays for that while the rest of us work like dogs to even survive.
Hmmmmmmmm.
No wonder people dislike politicians.
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Forget all this since makes no difference. No one is running against him and even if they did and mayor lost, mayor says he gets his old seat back. Change will never come.
FROM BUDDY:
Nothing will change unless these people are exposed.
April 22nd, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I certainly hope Wishner put the gift from ADT on a gift report. I have inquired and found that even if it is a City event, so Wishner can attend for free, his family isn’t included since it wasn’t open for free to the public, and he must include it for them. Probably he needed to do it as well. If it is valued over $100, it gets even more interesting.
Buddy, do you want to check out if he filed anything?
FROM BUDDY:
I’m sure some journalist will check. It will be Browardbeat.com, The New Times or the very able Susannah Bryan of the Sun-Sentinel.
April 22nd, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Buddy: you, of course, absolutely correct. But without willing talented candidates who can inspire the belief in the higher ideals of governance and representation, apathy and the depths of inevitability take over. That does not mean we give up expposing conduct. However, when you see the $$ raised by corporate interests, it is hard to compete if the people do not collectively ask for more.
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Did the scooter come with “spinners”?
And no not the 110# variety.
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Heard it was a retro-moped and not some fancy vespa type. But, aint seen no pictures yet.
April 23rd, 2010 at 5:44 am
Maybe we shouldn’t be so hard on Wishner. This scooter may not be worth talking about. After all, we haven’t seen a picture to verify the type, quality, or conndition that would warrant the value of $5,000.00 dollars.
April 23rd, 2010 at 6:05 am
Dont forget the saddle bags for about $400.
April 23rd, 2010 at 9:16 am
As far as the Bank Atlantic he’s just following in the footsteps of his predecessor. Feren never missed a concert or sporting event, bringing along not just family but friends too, and dining in style. How he got away with it and that deposit from Tao and etc. etc. etc. is beyond me.
April 23rd, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Marty, oh Marty … where are you? Expected you might take a position on Buddy’s piece on Michelson. You didn’t. Expected at least something in defense of your boy Wishner. Silence. I thought maybe you might have disappeared in to cyberspace, but I see you are busy criticizing Tamarac, the School Board and posting other musings. But, tumble-weed quality silence on Wishner. Hmmmmmmmm. Wonder why.
April 23rd, 2010 at 8:56 pm
frist the city gets s free suite in lu of the fact police and fire are paid for by the city,including the traffic and security detail,and buddy thanks for the correction on Feketes spelling