Are candidates in Miami-Dade trying to pull a fast one to get on election ballots? | Editorial

The final day for candidates to qualify for the Nov. 2 elections has come and gone. On Sept 18, election season officially began. Already, it’s a messy one.

South Floridians have seen some candidates bend, break and violate various rules to either get on a ballot or get reelected in the past. Going forward, voters should be aware of other dubious efforts to win elected office.

For instance, Frank Artiles took subterfuge to new lows last year, prosecutors allege. They say Artiles, a former state senator turned Republican operative, funneled money to a friend in Boca Raton to entice him to run as a shill candidate in the Senate District 37 race in south Miami-Dade.

The fake candidate shared the same last name as the Democratic incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez. The plan was to confuse voters, split votes between the Rodriguez candidates and ensure victory for Republican candidate Ileana Garcia. It worked. The fake candidate, Alex Rodriguez, collected more than 6,000 votes, and Garcia won by a slim margin of 32 votes. Garcia says she had no knowledge of the scheme. Prosecutors have said they have no evidence Garcia was involved..

That’s not all. Artiles may have tampered with another local race last year, too, prosecutors said.

Artiles and Alex Rodriguez are now facing trial. You would think that case would chill other efforts to possibly undermine the integrity of our votes

But you’d be wrong.

Not term limited?

This year’s election cycle began with current, and term-limited, Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora. He said that, because his tenure had an interruption, he was eligible to run for a third term. Góngora filed papers to run, but a Miami-Dade Circuit judge ruled last month that a 2014 voter referendum limiting a commissioner’s time in office to two complete terms does, in fact, apply to Góngora.

He wisely withdrew.

Now, a second Miami Beach commission candidate is being accused of ineligibility over residency questions. Fabián Basabe, a former New York socialite, who is challenging incumbent Mark Samuelian in Group II, says he is indeed is eligible and blames politics for the controversy over his candidacy, he told the Miami Herald Editorial Board in an email. A supporter of his opponent has filed a lawsuit to get Basabe thrown off the ballot.

“I have met all legal obligations to run for Miami Beach commissioner. I am an elector in Miami Beach, which has also been my primary residence for more than the one-year requirement. This is my forever home. … This undemocratic lawsuit is designed to deprive voters of a choice against my opponent’s failed record. A judge, and not my opponent, will decide,” Basabe wrote the Board.

And a decision should come sooner rather than later, for the sake of voters. Samuelian has told the Herald that he has nothing to do with the lawsuit.

If Basabe is taken off the ballot, Samuelian will be automatically reelected.

Dual residency?

In Miami, there is another residency question dogging a candidate for mayor and an incumbent commissioner who’s seems to breaking a promise.

Mayra Joli, an immigration attorney, who in recent years has run for Congress and the Coral Gables Commission, is accused of not living in Miami. Joli, who is challenging Mayor Francis Suarez, insists she has two homes, one in Miami and one in Coral Gables, and lives in both. Here’s how she explained her eligibility to the Editorial Board in an email:

“My husband and I have “cohabitated” at his Spring Garden residence since the 1990s. As you know, Spring Garden is a historic neighborhood on the Miami River within the confines of the city of Miami. In accordance with our Catholic faith, I retained my residence (in Dadeland) until we were married. The Coral Gables residence was acquired in 2004. Until the present day, we have continuously cohabitated in the unique and historic Miami Spring Garden neighborhood and our second home in Coral Gables. We are proud residents of the “Magic City.”

We’re confused, too.

Still, on Sept. 18, Joli clarified her paperwork with the city.

The Board interviewed Joli earlier this year when she ran unsuccessfully for the Coral Gables Commission. It looks like the city of Miami, pursuant to the city code, will seek a judicial determination next week on Joli’s dual-residency question. “I am 100% still in the running,” she told the Board.

Then there’s Miami Commissioner Jeffrey Watson, is facing questions involving his keeping of a promise. In November, when he was tapped to finish the term of now-Miami-Dade Commissioner Keon Hardemon, Watson promised city commissioners that, if named, he would not run for election. Well, he’s running. Watson qualified Saturday to retain his District 5 seat.

Six other candidates seek to take the seat away from Watson. One, Michael Hepburn, has called Watson “ a liar” for not keeping his promise. Watson told the Editorial Board he has met little resistance to his change of heart.

“It’s not a problem for my constituency or fellow commissioners,” Watson said. “The only criticism has come from one of my opponents.” Make that, one of his opponents and the Herald Editorial Board. He promised not to run, he’s gone back on it and he now is running with an incumbent’s advantage.

This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 2:10 PM.