Discussing the Senate race on yesterday's Ed Dean Radio program

Yesterday I was a guest on the Ed Dean Radio show to discuss the  Florida Republican primary candidates for the 2012 Senate race. You can listen to the show here (I'm on at the top of the second hour):

Ed Dean Radio | May 17, 2011

Matthew Falconer appeared at the beginning of the program. Yes, that Matt Falconer.

Falconer attempts to defend an article he wrote defending Senate President Haridopolos' management of the Senate this year, an article for which he is rightfully getting shredded.

Falconer gets confused several times about what he's trying to say, flip-flopping from his  article's "most conservative Senate" statement to whine that Haridopolos' failures were due to the Senate being filled with liberals. Ummm, can't have it both ways, Matt. Either it's the "most conservative" Senate or they're a bunch of Lefties.

He also laughably claims he is not defending Haridopolos but then turns around and attacks anyone who would criticize Haridopolos, saying that it risks muddying up the eventual Republican nominee and making them vulnerable against a Democrat opponent.

What. A. Hypocrite.

This is the same Matthew Falconer who lied so much during his failed Orange County mayoral campaign, I'm surprised his pants didn't spontaneously combust.

He lied in his attacks on Teresa Jacobs, most egregiously sending out mailers and robocalls falsely claiming Jacobs was pro-abortion. Gosh, Matt, if the rule is "don't criticize Republicans," I'm fairly sure that covers making up complete and total lies to attack a Republican.

But Falconer has a long history of making up figures when it suits him and telling blatant lies, getting caught, and almost always refusing to apologize or issue a correction.

So, yeah, if Matthew Falconer wants to be the champion for Mike Haridopolos, I think that's perfect...

...because only someone with a history of being a blatant and unapologetic liar, only someone who is very talented at sticking his head in the sand and ignoring obvious facts, only someone whose political ambitions lack an anchor in reality, could look at Mike Haridopolos' disastrous legislative session, failure on the immigration issue, and rude dismissal of the tea party and still call him a great, conservative, tea party candidate.

Make sure to tune in to my part of the program too (starts at the top of the second hour), where we debunk Haridopolos' attempts to dodge blame for the crash-and-burn of E-Verify, have a good laugh at Charlie Crist's expense, and discuss other factors that may impact the 2012 Senate race.

UPDATE: Matthew Falconer sent me an email this morning, saying that he apologized to Teresa Jacobs for lying and saying that she was pro-choice. I checked with someone with Jacobs' campaign and verified that, yes, Falconer did apologize after the primary. So I've corrected the statement above that "Falconer has a long history...of refusing to ever apologize or issue a correction" to "Falconer has a long history of...almost always refusing to apologize or issue a correction."

But the larger point is that he shouldn't have said it in the first place. To make the accusation that someone is pro-abortion in a Republican primary when the candidate has never, ever made a statement to that effect, and your source is just some person passing on unfounded hearsay ("I heard she was pro-choice...") is outrageous. Falconer admits this in his email, stating that, "with that issue I should have heard it directly from the candidate."

My point exactly. Falconer has an ugly habit of creating out of thin air an attack to throw at an opponent and his excitement for the battle leaves him no time for fact checking.

UPDATE #2: Falconer also posted his email as a comment to this post, which you can see below. I don't have time to go line-by-line through all of it, but there are a few points I'd like to make.

Falconer repeats Doug Guetzloe's lie that I made "vile attacks" on Rick Scott. I endorsed Bill McCollum in the primary and did write some posts supportive of McCollum and critical of Scott but also wrote a lot of favorable things about Scott after he was our nominee and I had a chance to meet him (see here, here, and here). I thought it would be dishonest and hypocritical to go back and purge this blog of the posts I wrote in favor of McCollum, so I left them as is. The Rick Scott campaign clearly thought I was on their team, as they invited me to be listed on the blogroll on their campaign website, and I also did a lot of volunteer work for the campaign.

Falconer slams me for using the "politics of personal destruction" and suggests that it's not acceptable to criticize other Republicans. Again, I say: what a hypocrite. Falconer is absolutely lousy at practicing what he preaches. The Orange County Mayor's race was just last year - we all remember the attacks he waged on Teresa Jacobs, and can easily do a Google search to refresh our memories.

More recently, Falconer accused any legislator who performs consulting work as being corrupt per se. "Per se" is a Latin phrase meaning "by itself," meaning that the accusation stands on its own without any further proof needed. In other words, Falconer is suggesting that the mere fact that some elected officials who work as consultants or in the business sector is automatic, irrefutable proof that they are corrupt. One legislator that Falconer singles out is State Senator Mike Fasano, a Republican. As usual, Falconer's rule that no one is allowed to criticize Republicans must not apply to him.

There are many, many other examples of Falconer attacking Republicans, usually with little merit behind the attacks. Back in March, he wrote a post viciously attacking Congressman John Mica, claiming that Mica had awarded two $1.6 million earmarks to two companies that contributed $500.00 and $1,250.00 to his campaign fund. Seriously? Look, special interests' influence on elected officials is a legitimate topic of concern, but accusing a Republican Congressman of selling his vote for $500.00 is just plain ridiculous.

I also find it interesting that Falconer goes after me for criticizing Haridopolos, saying "Instead of tearing down Mike I plan to continue to influence him to get more conservative legislation accomplished," but apparently that same standard does not apply to Congressman Mica. If Falconer is going to write the rulebook for how conservatives are allowed to act, then maybe he should figure out how to agree with himself on what those rules are first.

Falconer also directs me to "try outlining policy differences." That's funny, that's exactly what I am doing when I point out issues with legislation and how this year's session went. If a Republican is doing something that in my opinion is unethical or not true to conservative principles, I'm going to criticize them.

Erick Erickson, the Editor of RedState, has stated that RedState's mission is "to fight the left and clean up the right," and that their philosophy is to be "conservatives in primaries and Republicans in general elections." I couldn't agree more with both of those statements, and I will continue to exercise my First Amendment rights to point out when Republicans are failing to "walk the walk."

Thoughts on the primary results (UPDATED)

I woke up this morning with some of the strongest conflicted feelings I can remember after an election.  Extremely happy about some races, accepting of the results in others, and heartbroken over a few.  Here's some of my thoughts... 

GOVERNOR - REPUBLICAN PRIMARY 

OMG we elected Voldemort.

Seriously though, readers of this site know I was supporting Bill McCollum.  Many of us in Central Florida have known McCollum for years.  He was never very flashy but I was impressed with his anti-gang task force and work fighting against consumer fraud and internet predators.  This race frustrated me immensely because Rick Scott's negative campaigning included so many exaggerations and, in my opinion, misrepresentations.  To claim that McCollum was implicit in the whole Jim Greer debacle was beyond misleading, considering that McCollum was one of the people pushing Greer out of the RPOF chairman's position, and even those recorded phone calls between Greer and Delmar Johnson showed Greer viewed McCollum as an adversary, not an ally.  

I also am hesitant about the idea that our elections are for sale.  There isn't a single person out there who believes Scott would have been taking a photo with confetti raining down on his shiny head if not for the $50 million he invested in his TV and direct mail blitzkrieg campaign.  Here's just a little something fun I made this afternoon as I was thinking about the race (click image for full-size view):

All uses of ebay and RPOF trademarks are for parody or satirical purposes.
It's just a joke, people.

Bottom line, Bill and Ingrid McCollum are good people who have done a lot for our state and the Republican Party, and I am honored to have been able to get to know them and to have voted for Bill McCollum this year.  I really believe he was a better candidate and would have had an easier time beating Alex Sink.

That being said, there is no way I am going to support Alex Sink, and I encourage all other Republicans to hop on the Scott bandwagon with me now.  Do it for these two reasons: the Governor's veto power can block many legislative efforts, and the influence over the redistricting process.  I was hesitant on Scott before because he has very little track record to know what to expect from him, but can only continue to hope that he will stick to his conservative campaign promises and be a good leader for our state and our party. 

ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSION - PRIMARY 

There will be a runoff in District 4, but Jennifer Thompson seems to have a substantial lead.  She has worked very hard in this race and has been knocking on doors and meeting with district residents for several years now.  She has shown she is willing to spend time to do the research and fully understand the issues, and I believe she will be an asset for the County Commission, and a great representative for the people of Orange County.  I congratulate her on the job well done so far and predict a solid victory in November. 

DISTRICT 33 - REPUBLICAN PRIMARY 

Very happy to see Jason Brodeur get the "W" last night.  Beyond just supporting a fellow Gator, I've known Jason for years through his work with the Young Republicans and have always found him to be a stand-up guy.  Say what you want about Seminole County politics, anyone who knows Jason knows what kind of person he is.  Hopefully he will prevail in November, and I look forward to seeing him in Tallahassee. 

SEMINOLE COUNTY COMMISSION - REPUBLICAN PRIMARY 

Very, very happy to see John Horan victorious last night.  Nothing personal against McLean, as I've said, I've only met the guy once and he seems friendly enough, but I've known Horan since 2002 and know him to be smart, ethical, honest, a dedicated conservative, and just all-around good guy.  

I know the campaign spent a lot of time and effort doing the grassroots work, and looks like it paid off - I heard that he won every precinct where the campaign walked.  I called last night to congratulate him and he was so happy and humbly appreciative of the community support.  This is a guy who really cares about Seminole County and I think he'll do a great job on the Commission. 

MORE COMMENTS COMING LATER...I know which races I've left out...don't worry...will update post soon... 

OK, here's an update... 

JUDICIAL RACES 

I was pleased to see Rand Wallis and Michael Rudisill re-elected to the bench.  In my opinion, if a judge hasn't done anything unethical, then that judge should be retained.  There is an unfortunate practice of running against judges to settle a grudge, prove a point, or, in one race a few years ago, to get revenge against the judge for unfavorable rulings.  A judge is not supposed to worry about being popular, but only about being fair, honest, fair, ethical, fair, unbiased, and did I mention, FAIR.  The role of the judge is to review the facts and evidence, apply the law consistently, and make a ruling based on that.

It is completely ridiculous that Judge Clayton Simmons even drew an opponent, much less was defeated yesterday.  He is so well-respected in the legal community and has done a wonderful job during his years on the bench. Simmons' son was campaigning at the same precinct in Oviedo with me yesterday and was working so hard for his dad, my heart is just breaking for their family.  I do not know Linda Schoonover, I've never met her, but she made some disparaging comments about Simmons on her website, quoting a Sentinel article to insinuate he had done something improper.  Not true...and so disappointing to see a judicial candidate engage in that kind of behavior.

Regarding the Group 5 County Court race, I am so proud of Amir Ladan and all our wonderful volunteers who gave countless hours walking neighborhoods, phone banking, and surviving Tuesday's downpour to campaign at the precincts.  I really loved working with Amir's family too, and feel honored that I got to be a part of their lives these past few months.  Amir's dad has such an inspirational story, and mom Zelda is just so awesome, I don't have words for it.  His wife, Trish, was such a dedicated supporter of her husband, and daughter Ashley is so darn sweet, and asked such neat questions about the elections process.  She asked me last night when we would know the results, and when I told her that her daddy had lost but could run again sometime, her response was "well, maybe not right away.  I like having him at home."  So cute.

Amir was a first time candidate battling against opponents with better name ID and the ability to self-finance their campaigns, but he worked very hard and ran a positive ethical campaign.  I am disappointed in one of the opponent's negative mail, and disgusted with some of the ugly attempts to spread false rumors by certain people.  I believe very strongly that Amir was the most qualified for the seat, and that he will go on to one day soon wear those black robes.

In general, I am left feeling extremely dissatisfied with judicial elections.  There are so many restrictions on what events the candidates can attend, what they can say, what they can do, that it just exacerbates the confusion and disinterest most people have for the judiciary.  It is extremely challenging for a judicial candidate to get their message to the voters, and it seems the only way to do it is to throw a big pile of money around.  Mike Thomas summed it up well in a blog post earlier discussing his predictions right before the polls closed:

Various judge races: Who knows? Who cares? You know, we shouldn’t elect judges. I think it is a very dangerous thing. I think if I had $100,000 I could become a judge.

Sigh...sad thing is, it's pretty true.  Drop $100K in a campaign account, and unless there are photos out there of you kicking a puppy or engaged in some sort of odd sexual fetish, you can probably get elected judge.   

CONGRESS DISTRICT 8 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY 

I voted for Kurt Kelly, but I have no problem with Dan Webster.  If he had gotten in the race earlier, I would have happily endorsed him out of the gate.  My hesitation was due to his hesitation in getting in the race.  Other candidates, notably Kelly and O'Donoghue, sacrificed a lot to get into the race because Webster had not jumped in: took a financial hit on their businesses, time away from their families, enduring the glare of the media spotlight, and Kelly gave up his State House seat, which was considered a safe bet for reelection.

Still, Dan Webster has an established conservative track record.  We know what we are getting with him, and I am confident that he would continue that same great record in Washington.  I am happy to officially endorse him today and will be voting for him in November without reservation.  I believe he will be a great replacement for our train wreck of a congressional representative, Alan Grayson.

 CONGRESS DISTRICT 24 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY 

I am just devastated and heartbroken about this race, and still shocked and horrified over the desperate and unethical way that Craig Miller ran his campaign.  The ridiculous and repetitive misrepresentations about Karen Diebel's record were one thing, but his last minute mailer full of lies and personal attacks from the vicious liberals Beth Dillaha and Margie Bridges was a new low.  I have never been so disappointed and disgusted in a [so-called] Republican candidate.  

All the information and feedback I'm getting is that the mailer did not help Miller at all, but did throw enough mud and confusion around that Sandy Adams was able to just stand by and reap the benefit of seeming above the fray.  I am somewhat gratified to see Miller come in third.  I do hope that the Adams campaign sends Miller a nice thank you note for knocking Karen out of Sandy's way.

Mark my words, today's simpering endorsement of Adams is the last we'll hear of Craig Miller.  We never heard a peep from him before this race, and I will faint and fall to the ground if he actually gets out there and works for Adams or any other Republican candidate, or does anything for the party other than maybe writing a check.

I am extremely proud of Karen Diebel and the wonderful team that worked on her campaign.  It was a privilege and an honor to work with these dedicated conservatives and downright fun people.  I've gained some treasured new friends through this campaign, and will always respect Karen for her strength in the face of adversity, her genuine kindness, her focus on her goals, her respect for other people.  I am honored to call her a friend.

Some have questioned Karen's delay in endorsing Sandy Adams.  Let's all calm down and not lose our minds over a few hours.  The sole and only reason for the delay was that the campaign was getting reports from the Orange SOE and I think the Brevard one too that there were some factors present that might trigger the statutorily required automatic recount.  No one was making any accusations of fraud or improper activity related to the election and there was never any discussion about filing suit or otherwise following in sore loser Al Gore's footsteps.  There was just simply an extremely close race and a desire to let the system work as it is supposed to.

Earlier today, the Diebel campaign issued the following press release, congratulating Sandy Adams and wishing her the best in the effort to take District 24 back from Kosmas:

For Immediate Release
August 25, 2010

Former Winter Park Vice-Mayor, businesswoman, and former candidate for US Congress District 24, Karen Diebel congratulates Sandy Adams on winning the Republican nomination for Congress.

“I will never stop championing the values I fought for in this campaign – border security, lower taxes, the right to life, and market-based solutions to our health care system. The first step in the battle is unseating liberal Suzanne Kosmas and restoring conservative representation to our district. Throughout the next couple of months, I will support Sandy in her efforts to take back this seat,” said Diebel.

Diebel, whose campaign came within one percentage point of victory, is very appreciative of all those who supported her throughout the past year.

“This campaign was a hard-fought effort and one that we can all be proud of. I want to thank my family, friends, staff, and volunteers for their love and support and dedicating countless hours to our effort. I also want to thank the many conservative leaders who stood strongly behind our campaign, especially Gov. Mike Huckabee, Bay Buchanan, Congressman Dick Schulze, Winter Park Mayor Ken Bradley, Mat Staver, and Concerned Women for America PAC,” Diebel concluded.

ORANGE COUNTY MAYOR 

Left this one for last because I really wanted to end on a happy note.  In case you missed it, here are the results in this race:

Teresa Jacobs - 42%

Bill Segal - 23%

Linda Stewart - 19%

Matthew Falconer  - 15%

...leaving Jacobs and Segal in the runoff for November.  Oh yeah, and Matt Falconer dead last.  I'm glad to see that the people of Orange County were smart enough to not fall for Falconer's outlandish ideas, personal attacks on his opponents, and constant lies.  

Contrast Falconer with Linda Stewart, who should be proud of herself for running a positive and ethical campaign where she was vastly outmatched financially.  I disagree with many of her political positions, but she is a nice person and her grassroots campaigning was impressive.

From the Sentinel:

The strong finish for Jacobs, a Republican, indicates voters accepted her as a reformer and fiscal conservative in the campaign.

She overcame the nearly $1 million raised and spent by Segal and outside business groups backing his campaign. Jacobs said her strong support showed that the "hearts and minds and votes" of Orange residents "cannot be bought."

"I don't think you can buy passion and commitment," said Jacobs, who spent $217,000 on her campaign.

The article also mentions some petty sour grapes from Falconer, who stated that he would not endorse Jacobs or Segal.  Apparently he's still believing that he was "the only conservative in the race!"

I spoke to Teresa's husband Bruce earlier today and they are both so thrilled and humbled by how many people voted for Teresa and have continued to support her during the campaign.  She is so happy and ready to continue the fight all the way to November.  Teresa and her daughter Lisa waved signs this morning at the corner of Curry Ford and 436:

Teresa's sign says "Thank You" (click to enlarge)

Bill Segal's campaign sent out an email earlier today, wasting no time in attacking Teresa, saying that voters had a choice between Segal or "a lobbyist who ran to the far-right to rally social conservatives to her cause."  C'mon, Bill, you're better than that.  You know darn well that's not accurate.  As I wrote last Friday:

Let's be clear.  Teresa Jacobs has never been a lobbyist.  She's also never been a Olympic synchronized swimmer or a ninja or a pomegranate whatever other silly things one could imagine.  

And I just simply have not seen any "running to the far-right to rally social conservatives."  The only time Teresa addressed any of those kind of issues was to speak out against Matthew Falconer's lies that she was a liberal and pro-abortion.  Teresa did not proselytize on the topic, merely pointed out that her personal beliefs are pro-life.  I think a dose of reality is needed here...abortion is simply not an issue that county commissions would be expected to address or have power or influence over.  There is no need to worry that she would turn the Orange County Commission into some sort of vehicle for social conservative crusades. 

Teresa Jacobs ran a great campaign and her large margin of victory shows she has great name ID and high popularity in our community.  I am looking forward to continuing to support her campaign and cheer her to victory in November.    
 

Troubles continue to mount for Matthew Falconer

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Orlando Sentinel | Orange County Mayoral Candidate Falconer owes $64,000 in property taxes

Orange County mayoral candidate Matthew Falconer owes $64,000 in delinquent property taxes to Osceola and Lee counties, records show, but the commercial real-estate investor said Friday he was unaware of any unpaid tax bills...

The properties in question are a Vine Street strip mall in Kissimmee assessed at $1.7 million in 2009, with $42,853 in taxes owed, and vacant land in Fort Myers assessed at $1.1 million, with $21,122 owed in 2009 taxes.

Falconer, who has campaigned on the promise of fiscal conservatism, drew fire from opponent Teresa Jacobs, who asked if he is "really running because he cares about public service or because he needs a job?"

The article also discusses a PAC called "Concerned Citizens of Orange County," which is backing Bill Segal and attacking Teresa Jacobs and Linda Stewart.  This group has been sending out attack mailers, and a robocall which I received today that falsely called Jacobs a lobbyist.  

I strongly disagree with  the statements by Segal's spokesman, Josh Wilson, attempting to defend their false attack on Jacobs.  Wilson justifies calling Jacobs a lobbyist because her employer "touted [her] political skills" on its website, saying, "[i]f a lobbyist is not one who uses political skills, then who does?" 

What a moron.  Josh, words have meaning.  You can't just decide to make up your own definitions.  "Lobbyist" is a specific term with a specific legal meaning.  Teresa Jacobs is not, and has never been, a lobbyist for FDOT (as Falconer has falsely claimed), her current employer (as Segal's backers are now falsely claiming), or anyone else either.  Josh, you apparently think you have political skills, are you a lobbyist? 

Let's be clear.  Teresa Jacobs has never been a lobbyist.  She's also never been a Olympic synchronized swimmer or a ninja or a pomegranate whatever other silly things one could imagine. 

It really says a lot about Teresa Jacobs' opponents that the only way they can attack her is to misrepresent her positions, distort her record, or just make up flat out lies.  Every day this campaign goes on just further cements my opinion that Teresa Jacobs is hands-down the best choice to represent my hometown community as our Orange County Mayor.

Questions continue to pile up about Matt Falconer's finances

Looks like I'm not the only one asking questions about Matt Falconer's financial status.  One of Falconer's main reasons he cites for why voters should select him as our next Orange County Mayor is his success as a businessman and developer.  However, a recent WFTV-9 report throws some serious doubt on Falconer's so-called success story:

WFTV.com | Mayoral Candidate Falconer's Finances in Question

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Public records raise serious questions about one of the leading candidates for Orange County mayor and whether he's being honest with voters.

All candidates file financial disclosure forms. On Matthew Falconer's form, he stated his net worth was $12.1 million, but public records show serious discrepancies that suggest he may actually be millions of dollars in debt.

Matthew Falconer, a candidate for Orange County Mayor, said the Windermere house he calls home was worth $775,000 to him on this financial disclosure form filed in June where he reported a net worth of more than $12 million.

But records from the Orange County comptroller show Falconer deeded the house entirely to his wife in March of last year, putting the actual value to Falconer at zero.

 

...after WFTV reviewed loan documents for 18 other commercial properties owned by Falconer, it was discovered the businessman, who stresses his experience as a successful developer, might be underwater, or "in the red," by hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars.  

 

Falconer says the Kirkman Commons strip mall is worth more than $1.1 million to him, but WFTV found his outstanding debt on the property was about $4 million in 2007.  

 

Falconer won't show WFTV the documents to prove how much he's paid off since then, but based on current values provided by the property appraiser he could be as much as $2 million in the red.  

 

In fact, mortgage documents and records from several property appraisers show similar discrepancies on all of Falconer's properties.

...despite repeated requests for financial records to back up his claims, Falconer said he didn't have time to show them to WFTV...Falconer told WFTV he has appraisals for each of his properties. WFTV gave him more than a week to provide them, but he refused.  He insists he's actually understated his net worth.

You can see the unedited video interview with WFTV's Eric Rasmussen and Matthew Falconer here.

Orange County Citizens speak out in support of Teresa Jacobs

YouTube | Teresa For Mayor

Complaint to be filed against Matthew Falconer

I'll add some more comments and thoughts on this later...but today I'm filing a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission against Matthew Falconer.  It's a large file with multiple attachments, and I don't want to slow down this site too much, so if you want to view the documents, please go to my Scribd site here, or just directly to the attachment explaining the alleged violations here.

Short story is that Falconer has viciously and maliciously lied about Teresa Jacobs and her record, and repeatedly failed to comply with even the most basic election law and campaign finance regulations.  I honestly got tired of searching for violations because there were just so darn many.  At some point in my search, I decided I had killed enough trees and had already racked up a high enough postage bill for the documents I had found so far.  Just to illustrate how extensive Falconer's disregard for the elections laws seems to be, I have yet to find a single example of Falconer sending out a campaign fundraising invite where he included the correct disclaimers and other statutorily required language.

Some of this may sound like small potatoes but, in my opinion, the sheer number of the violations shows Falconer's complete and utter disregard for the law.  If you want to run for office, it is your responsibility to learn the election laws and regulations and comply with them.  Matthew Falconer is not special - he has to follow the same rules as everyone else.  

Falconer has already shown his arrogant disregard for other people's property rights and willingness to misrepresent facts and figures in his desperate quest for elected office.  In my complaint, I describe just a small sample of his dishonesty and disregard for our election laws.       

And finally, I am not working for Teresa Jacobs or her campaign and they have not paid me for filing this complaint.   Pointing out Matt Falconer's many misrepresentations and contradictions is just a fun little hobby of mine.  As I've told Falconer and his supporters many, many times, I don't like liars, and I really don't like liars who hang on to their lies and refuse to apologize or correct the record.  I am filing this complaint for the very simple reason that I think Matt Falconer has no business anywhere near elected office and as a life-long Floridian and native Orange County resident, I want the only the best for our elected representatives.  

If you don't like Matt Falconer's lies and ugly campaign tactics, why not give some money to Teresa Jacobs?  Today is the last day for donations before the primary - you have until midnight tonight.  And don't forget to vote!  Early voting goes through Saturday and the election is August 24th.

Matt Falconer can't even remember who owns his house

Here's something peculiar...

As a candidate for Orange County Mayor, Matthew Falconer was required to file a document disclosing his financial status, assets and liabilities.  Here is the "Form 6" that Falconer filed on June 17, 2010:

Even Fred Brummer endorses Teresa Jacobs

From the Sentinel blogs today:

Stunner! Brummer: Jacobs "most qualified" for Orange Mayor | Central Florida Political Pulse | Orlando Sentinel

Orange County Commissioner Fred Brummer had plenty of run-ins with fellow Republican Teresa Jacobs when the two served on the same board for a couple years, even once issuing a terse memo that asked her to stop chatting on her cell phone while she sat next to him.

Now Brummer says Jacobs is the best candidate in the county mayor’s race.  Why such a stunner? This is the same man who muttered two years ago, “Thank God,” when Jacobs pointed out that she was about to leave office.

“It’s a real oil and water situation, and I don’t know how you put that aside,” Brummer said of his own “personal issues” with Jacobs. “But you have to face facts: she’s the most qualified candidate in the race.”

It’s no surprise the Apopka Republican would not side with his Democratic colleagues: Linda Stewart and Bill Segal. But the other Republican in the race, Matthew Falconer, makes “wild promises he can never keep” Brummer said, such as  delivering a toll increase repeal, or suggesting sports and arts venues paid for with tourist taxes means less teachers, when currently, those hotel taxes can’t be legally spent on schools.

A stunner indeed.  Fred and Teresa have never been BFFs, so Matty must have really ticked him off.  Falconer should have done some better research on what people in the Apopka area actually thought about the Wekiva Parkway before calling it a "Road to Nowhere."  Oh wait, silly me, Matt Falconer never checks his facts before shooting his mouth off, why would he do that for Apopka?

Matthew Falconer: is he stupid or does he think the voters are, PART II

Here's an update to my post earlier this week, "Matthew Falconer, is he stupid or does he think the voters are," which looked at Falconer's unconstitutional, illegal, and impossible proposals for changing Orange County government.  I'm not the only one who has analyzed Falconer's ideas and found them sorely lacking in truth, feasibility, and common sense.

Rick Geller is a local attorney who currently serves on the Orange County Planning & Zoning Board.  He has a blog at www.RickGeller.com, where he writes about "law, the community, and local government."

In a recent post, "Overstating SunRail's Cost to Orange County," Geller analyzes in detail Falconer's claims regarding SunRail.

I encourage you to read the entire article, there's a lot of great detail and Geller has clearly done his research.

Regarding the overall cost of the SunRail project:

Mayoral candidate Matthew Falconer sent a mailer accusing his opponents of voting for a "$1.6 billion rail system."  His opponents did, in fact, support SunRail, but they did not vote for anything close to a $1.6 billion Orange County budget obligation.  The SunRail Interlocal Agreement, excerpted below, shows Orange County's actual share of SunRail expenditures will amount to just over $40 million over seven years...

$40 million is a lot of money--and Orange County needs to monitor to make sure it's spent wisely--but the cost is in line with expenditures for typical road widening projects.  For example, the Planning and Zoning Board voted two months ago on a $75 million road widening project for Southeast Orange County--covering only four miles.  (SunRail will ultimately span 61 miles)...

Regarding Falconer's lawsuit against Orange County:

Matthew filed a lawsuit calling SunRail "unconstitutional" on the grounds that operations and maintenance after seven years would require expenditures of property taxes without a popular vote.  Matthew faces an uphill legal battle.  He will need to demonstrate that the Interlocal Agreement removes local government funding flexibility.  The Interlocal Agreement does no such thing and, further, each local government's share of debt service must come from "non-ad volorem sources," that is, not from property taxes.  

Regarding Falconer's claim that the voters rejected SunRail:

Matthew claims the voters rejected SunRail.  They didn't.  Seven years ago when Mobility 20/20 appeared on the ballot, voters rejected a different system, on a different route (not on the CSX line), intermixed with I-4 toll lanes (derided as "Lexus lanes"), and an acceleration of the County's voluminous roadbuilding schedule...

Don't forget that Falconer himself didn't even bother to vote on Mobility 20/20, even though the ballot was mailed to his house. 

Don't say I didn't warn you...

I have had several people tell me that they enjoy reading the blog, love the snarky humor, but also said, "I hope I never end up on your bad side!"  Well, fear not.  Nixon had an extensive "enemies list," but it's really easy to stay off my "list," two simple rules:

Rule #1: Don't lie.  If you do say something that's not true, then admit it, say you're sorry, and correct the mistake. 

Rule #2: Don't be a jerk.  Criticizing political opponents based on their voting record, the feasibility of their campaign promises, and their statements and actions is legitimate, and a valid way to illustrate differences between candidates.  Misrepresenting an opponent's record so you can call them a "liberal" or issuing personal attacks, not cool.    

So there you go.  Two simple rules.  Follow them, and you can sleep well at night without worrying I'm going to "target" you.  

Craig Miller got my attention after he misrepresented Karen Diebel's record on taxes and spending, and attempted to distort his own record on immigration.  Matthew Falconer gets attacked frequently here because it seems like every word out of his mouth is either a false attack on someone or a misrepresentation about local government.  As for Doug Guetzloe...wow, where to even begin with him and his Fake Tea Party?  Here's one example: at the recent Central Florida Tiger Bay Club debate between the Orange County Mayoral candidates, one of the few issues upon which all four candidates agreed was that they all publicly denounced Guetzloe and denied that they were working with him or would work with him.        

About two months ago, I wrote a post about Seminole County Commissioner Mike McLean's purchase of about $9,000 of new furniture for his office right after running a campaign claiming he was a "fiscal conservative."  Shortly after the post went up, I got a call from McLean's campaign manager, worried that I was planning a series of "hit pieces" on McLean.  I said, no, I didn't have any major issue with McLean, I actually had never even met him.

I also explained that I had known John Horan since I had a summer internship with his law firm back in 2002, and knew him to be a dedicated Republican and all-around good guy.  I had written the article about the furniture issue because I just thought it was kind of funny and there was a news article that easily verified the facts and details for me.  Doing a detailed "hit piece" on a county commissioner regarding specific votes, statements at county commission meetings, and policy positions requires a lot of time and energy to properly research, and I lacked the time or interest to scour over McLean's record like that.

I have continued to get messages from McLean staffers and supporters, worried about my involvement in the race, trying to argue with me about the minutiae of Seminole County Commission budget issues and McLean's voting history.  I don't know how many more times I can say this without turning blue in the face, but I am not working for the Horan campaign.  I've knocked on some doors once or twice, but that's it. 

It never ceases to amaze me how a certain mythology has risen up regarding me, this blog, and my political activities.  People have accused me of working for candidates I've never even met.  If I was working on even half of the campaigns I've been accused of working for, I'd be a millionaire.  Remember, campaign finance reports are public record.  If I'm working for a candidate, you'll see it eventually.  My work shows up on the reports as either my name or "Caffeinated Campaigns" or "Caffeinated Campaigns & Consulting, LLC." 

Since writing that article, I have met McLean at a recent HobNob event, and he certainly seemed like a friendly and affable fellow, exactly as I have heard him described.  Unfortunately, this nice and friendly-seeming guy has also made some extremely questionable and disappointing decisions regarding his campaign messaging.

The McLean campaign sent out a mailer comparing John Horan with Barack Obama and attempting to paint Horan as an amnesty-loving liberal.  Scott Maxwell doesn't always get his stories straight, but I think he has this one pegged pretty well:

Just by looking at [the McLean mail piece], one obviously assumes Mr. Horan is some sort of liberal, amnesty-loving Democrat who wants to take his open-border, Obama-loving ways to Washington, D.C.

Except he’s not.

Horan is a Republican. And the office he’s seeking isn’t federal. It’s for Seminole County commissioner — one that has virtually nothing to do with immigration.

But who cares? Immigration is the scare tactic and wedge issue of the day. So Seminole County Commissioner Mike McLean (who’s apparently a little nervous about his ability to retain his seat) decided to opt for scare tactics … whether they are relevant or not.

I don’t know John Horan. But I know McLean. He’s an affable enough guy — but also one who has a series of enough bone-headed (and sometimes ethically questionable) moves from his past that he’s right to be nervous.

But I don’t think he’s right to play these silly scare games. County commissioners have about 1,000 things more relevant to their jobs than immigration.  

Want proof? How about the fact that McLean’s been on the board for four years and hasn’t done a single thing regarding immigration. (He said he once tried, but the county attorney said his effort his proposal was unnecessary.)

That means that, if voters in Seminole elect a guy who does absolutely nothing with regards to immigration, they will have selected a guy who’s done precisely what McLean has accomplished when it comes to immigration: nothing.

I asked McLean about his mailer, and he said: “I stand by it and feel it is important for voters in the upcoming Republican Primary to be informed on my opponents views on key Republican issues.”

It’d probably be more important for them to be informed of you and your opponents’ views on Seminole County issues.

...Perhaps McLean’s nervous about the embarrassing headlines he’s made during this past term — including the time he reimbursed himself with almost as much taxpayer money for local mileage as the entire rest of the county commission combined.

There was also the time when — fresh off campaigning as a fiscal conservative — he spent more than $8,000 in taxpayer money redecorating his office … including $1,200 for a high-back chair. (McLean said he felt an obligation to make the office look nice, because it really belongs to the taxpayers.)

And then there was the time McLean  used county records to get the addresses of county employees, so he could solicit them for his insurance business. (His excuse? Just “trying to make a living.”)

Maybe you can see better now why McLean wants to distract voters. The question is: Will they fall for it?

Mike McLean should be ashamed of himself.  This despicable mailer is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to distract from his own record.  The Orlando Sentinel was right to endorse John Horan: 

Mr. McLean's early tenure on the commission was marred by episodes of poor judgment. He ordered more than $8,800 worth of new furniture for his county office. He obtained a list of hundreds of county employees to solicit as customers for his insurance business. He billed the county almost as much for travel in his first year as the other four commissioners combined.

These episodes would be easier to overlook now if Mr. McLean were more contrite. Instead, he dismisses them as having occurred during "different times," when public money wasn't so tight — as if it's OK to gouge a healthy budget.

And Mr. McLean has chosen to go after Mr. Horan for a 2008 guest column in the Sentinel that called on Congress to secure the nation's borders and permit "a market-driven flow of legal immigrants needed for the American economy."

Pretty reasonable stuff. And yet, Mr. McLean's campaign has likened him to President Obama. This is silly, and it's irrelevant in a county commission race.

We endorse John Horan.

So there you go.  Don't lie, and don't be a jerk, and you won't have a problem with me.  If Mike McLean or his campaign has a response to this, please email me or post a comment.  I would hope that the response would come with an apology, but I won't hold my breath.  

Matthew Falconer: is he stupid or does he think the voters are?

My lack of enthusiasm for Matthew Falconer is no secret.  I am disgusted by his nasty, ugly, false attacks on his opponents, especially Teresa Jacobs.  During just this past week,  he sent out a robocall and mailer all boldly lying that Teresa was pro-abortion.  Absolutely, positively not true.  Teresa is a proud mother of four children and a Catholic...and definitely pro-life.  I have spoken to both her and her husband Bruce about it.  I am personally very strongly pro-life, and find it despicable that Falconer is trying to lie about this very important issue.

...let's take a moment, though, and play a game where we pretend Falconer hasn't spent the past year being a nasty lying creep (sorry, I couldn't resist just one more snarky remark).  Let's just look at the straight facts...

In May 2009, Falconer attended a Orange County Young Republicans (OCYR) meeting.  I was there as well.  Falconer came to the meeting with Nick Egoroff, the former spokesman for the Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party and associate of Doug Guetzloe.  At the meeting, Falconer told us he would be registering to run for Orange County Mayor and that he was not a Republican, but was an independent.  He sounded very proud of being independent, suggesting he was an independent thinker and not influenced by any party.

Shortly thereafter, Falconer changed his registration to Republican and registered to run for Orange County Mayor.  He also joined the Orange County Republican Executive Committee (OCREC).  His message quickly changed from "I'm independent!" to "I'm the only conservative in the race!"

I cannot find any record of Falconer being involved in any Republican party causes or helping any Republican candidates until he decided to run for office.  I had never seen him at OCREC or OCYR, or any of the other local Republican groups I've belonged to since returning to Orlando after graduation from law school.  I can find no record of him donating to any local Republican candidates or volunteering or knocking on doors for anyone.  

Most egregious, though, is Falconer's actual campaign message.  Falconer constantly claims that he (and he alone) can save Orange County and fix its budget problems.  One of the main ways he claims he will be able to save money is through "consolidation" of county and municipal departments.  Sounds good on paper, but this idea falls apart after a very quick analysis.  

Consolidation refers to combining a city government department with the county department (or that of another city) which performs the same function.  Theoretically, yes, this can lead to certain cost savings.  For example, you could move all the employees to the same building, you might be able to eliminate some positions and merge the management structures, etc.  

However, and this is a big however, consolidation of any department would require both the consent of the city government with which Orange County seeks to merge, and constitutional or statutory support for the change.  

When Falconer talks about consolidation of city and county departments, he frequently and specifically refers to our police and fire departments.  Consolidation of these departments is highly unlikely to ever happen.  Our local municipalities are fiercely independent, and have different needs, strengths, and challenges.  What works for the Windermere Police Department would probably not work well for Apopka PD.  Also, each city has separate and different pay scales, benefits, and pension plans, as well as different management structures and advancement procedures.  Go ask an Orlando police officer if they would like to make the same pay as Edgewood.  And if you combine departments, who is in charge?  The city chief or the county chief?  I would expect that the actual police officers and firefighters would strongly protest against consolidation.

...and that's just talking about two departments, police and fire.  Now think about all the many varied functions that local governments handle.  Winter Park contracted with a private company to handle its garbage disposal.  That was an intensely debated and negotiated contract, and the city has saved a lot of money with their system.  However, the private system used in Winter Park might work well in that small geographic area but not work as well or as cost-efficiently in the larger, more rural areas of the county. What about the varying code enforcement regulations, development and land use rules, parks and recreation programs, etc. in our different cities?   

There is no way that consolidation could be effected to the extent needed to support Falconer's proposed savings.  It's just plain impossible.    

At a recent candidate debate at the Central Florida Tiger Bay Club, Falconer claimed he would take the tourist tax funds and use them for education and public safety.  This is impossible without changing state law.  Likewise, Falconer claims he would repeal hte expressway toll increase, another issue beyond the power of one county government official.  There is no way the expressway authority would vote to repeal the toll increase, as it would be a violation of the county's bond agreements.

Many of the proposals Falconer keeps making are either a violation of state law, impossible without an amendment to the Florida Constitution, not under the power of county government, or just plain silly.

As Mike Thomas from the Orlando Sentinel wrote:

[Falconer] is anti-rail and anti-taxes, anti-Magic arena and anti-tolls.  He also is, all too often, anti-reality. He is inclined to making up facts. He claims he will do things he won't be able to do.

Falconer constantly brags about he books he's written and claims to have seriously studied Orange County Government and its budget.  That's odd, because the vast majority of his proposal just don't make sense to anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of how our local governments actually function.  

So, is Matthew Falconer too stupid to actually understand how government works, or is he hoping the voters will be too stupid to see through his B.S.?

Either way, the citizens of Orange County can do better than Matthew Falconer.

Much better.

Something random that is making me giggle...

Maybe I just have a weird sense of humor, I don't know, but I just can't stop laughing about something random that happened last week...a normal person would be insulted, but in the words of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland:

"Why be normal?  Where's the fun in that?"  

So, last week I hear through the grapevine that Matt Falconer is going around telling people I'm mentally ill.  He is so darn charming, I just want to pat him on the head.  Can't run on his record, could hardly be bothered to vote in the past decade, little things like facts and legal/constitutional requirements (not to mention basic English grammar and spelling) seem to confuse the heck out of him, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the only response he has to criticism is to make up insults. 

Well, there are two possibilities here: either (1) I am mentally ill or (2) I'm not.  If I'm not mentally ill, then Falconer is committing slander and defamation and maybe I should just sue the heck out of him and take some of that Wal-Mart money off his hands.  

I can think of so many fun things I could do with the money.  I could rent a plane to fly around town with a banner that says "Falconer stinks."  That would be enjoyable.  Or I buy thousands of cookies that say "Teresa Jacobs!" on them and pass them out downtown.  (For the election law aficionados that read this blog, I would set up an electioneering communications organization, which would let me spend unlimited funds on all my Teresa cookies.  That would be a fun campaign finance report.)

As much as I like Teresa Jacobs, spending a million bucks on Teresa cookies probably is a little nuts.  So maybe Falconer is right, maybe I am crazy.  Which begs the question, if I'm so crazy, why has Falconer spent the past year continuously attacking me and picking fights with me?  Doesn't seem like a very good strategy.  I mean, being such a raving lunatic and all, heck, I could snap at any moment and go all Texas Chainsaw Massacre on him.  If I am crazy, then Falconer's a blooming idiot.

Going back to the Alice in Wonderland theme, I often feel that being involved in politics does require you to be at least a little bit crazy. As the Cheshire Cat tells Alice, "We're all mad here." 

So maybe I'm crazy for voluntarily getting involved in all these political shenanigans, maybe I'm crazy for writing this blog and doing it openly under my real name, maybe I'm crazy for thinking it's funny that Falconer is going around telling people I'm crazy.  Who knows?  Two things I do know, though, is that (1) I am having a whole lot of fun, and (2) Falconer wouldn't have his panties in such a bunch if he wasn't worried about me costing him votes.  Yeah.  I think I'll keep writing about him.  He's such an entertaining character, I could write a post every hour on the hour until the polls close on August 24th, and never run out of material.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, my dear readers.  Early voting starts tomorrow, so go to the polls and help crush Matty Falconer's little dreams of world domination. 

XOXO, 

Sarah

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile

...and the Orlando Sentinel gets an endorsement right every once in awhile too...

The Orlando Sentinel published a glowing endorsement of Teresa Jacobs for Orange County Mayor this morning, calling her "the best-equipped candidate to take on [Orange County's] challenges as the next mayor" and "[c]reative and courageous, with a budget director's mind and an environmentalist's heart."  

In two terms as county commissioner, Ms. Jacobs pushed Orange County to confront its campaign-finance and ethics shortcomings. She blew the whistle on the county's plans to meet its water needs by drawing from rivers and lakes. And she wisely made sure that if money was tight the popular performing arts center would rise before the Citrus Bowl got upgraded.

As mayor, she'd spare no departments in her pursuit of efficiency (other candidates tremble at trimming public safety departments, but Ms. Jacobs astutely notes a recent decline in prisoners might mean the county needs fewer jail guards); she'd quickly invite other governments to join Orange to consider how they jointly could deliver services more economically; and she'd work to make the county an economic hub for green technology.

She supports Lynx and the coming passenger trains, but would fight to reform the murky bidding and ethics practices at the region's road-building and airport authorities....

Orange County needs Ms. Jacobs' smarts, her savvy and her principles. We endorse her for mayor.

The Sentinel also wisely saw through Matthew Falconer's unachievable and unrealistic ideas, stating that he "would be a detriment to the county and the region." 

Read the entire editorial here (there is also a link to the video of Teresa Jacobs' interview with the Sentinel editorial board).

Just when I think Matthew Falconer can't possibly be any more obnoxious...

...he manages to exceed all my expectations.  The sheer arrogance and ugliness coming from this guy on a daily basis never ceases to shock and amaze me.

I went to the Apopka Chamber HobNob tonight, and of course Matt Falconer was there, passing out his little business cards and calling all his opponents career politicians, blah blah blah.  Regular readers of this blog know there is no love lost between me and Falconer.  I think he's completely unqualified for the office of Orange County Mayor, and that he's an arrogant, dishonest jerk.  Oh, and a bad speller.

Anyway, I stirred up quite a kerfuffle with this post after one of Falconer's supporters called me and said an ugly little pile of antisemitic things.  One of my motivations in going public with the conversation is my own personal distaste for antisemitism in all its forms, based on my knowledge of history.  

As I wrote on July 20th,

Hitler didn't start out saying that he wanted to round up and kill several million Jewish people.  The early Nazi propaganda was much more subtle, suggesting that the Jews were unfairly controlling the financial system, that they were conspiring together to gain illicit advantages, and that it was hurting the German people....[I] believe that saying that a group of people are helping each other out because they're all Jewish and insinuating there's something nefarious about that...is a form of antisemitism.

OK, so now to the latest stupid, ugly thing from Camp Falconer...immediately after tonight's hobnob, I was chatting in the parking lot with a few people I know who are Teresa Jacobs supporters.  One of them mentioned something about Falconer talking to him about Teresa and asking if she was Jewish.  This person has not read my website (shocking, I know, right?!  haha) and at first didn't understand why some of the other people in the group laughed and mentioned "Sunshine State Sarah!"  

Anyway, the person asked that I not use their name, but gave me permission to report on the conversation here (after I explained that I really did have a blog and golly gee he should be reading it!  Lots of good snarky fun here at Sunshine State Sarah!).  I asked him to tell me exactly what was said and repeated it back to him several times.  He is absolutely, 100% positive that he heard Falconer clearly and correctly and this is exactly what was said:

Falconer asked him if Teresa was Jewish.  

He told Falconer, no she's not, she's Catholic.

Falconer responded, "Oh, she's not Jewish?  She looks Jewish."

What.  The.  F***.

Mr. Falconer, if you can't see the bigotry in your words, then I don't know what, short of a kick to the head, could possibly shake the stupid out of you.  

Oh, and for the record, just to clear up another lie that Falconer was trying to spread around tonight...Teresa did not "buy extra tickets to buy votes" at the HobNob tonight.  It was some of the Republican Congressional campaigns that bought extra tickets.  I know because I was given one.  Yes, I voted twice at tonight's HobNob.  It's not illegal or unethical.  It's a private club holding a straw poll and if their rules allow it, then that's how it works. 

What tonight's HobNob shows is that the active long-term grassroots Republicans (that's who is involved with the Congressional campaigns enough that they would be offered a ticket) like Teresa Jacobs and don't believe Falconer's lies and nasty attacks.  We're smarter than that.  Oh, and I confirmed with Teresa's campaign manager: they did not buy extra tickets for the Winter Park HobNob either.  Too bad for Matty.

I wrote down the results from some of the races tonight.  (I've done my best here, but they read the numbers pretty quickly so if I've made a mistake on the exact percentages, please let me know and I'll correct it.) Teresa Jacobs put a lovely smackdown on Falconer, beating him by more than 2-to-1:

Teresa Jacobs: 51.0%
Bill Segal: 23.1%
Matthew Falconer: 21.0%
Linda Stewart: 4.9%

Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, see these numbers as the result on August 24th, Tuesday night!