By: Sharon Elster
An October surprise is a news event that has the potential to influence the outcome of an election. Since Election Day falls on a Tuesday, after the first Monday in November, news that breaks in late October has great potential to sway voters. Such an event occurred in Sunny Isles Beach in the November, 2005 election. A flier filled with negative statements against one candidate was received by voters right before the election allowing no time for the candidate to respond to the accusations. The election was close and many felt this last-minute flier affected the outcome. The “winner” of this election was fined $1,250 by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust who found him in violation of multiple provisions of the Voluntary Statement of Fair Campaign Practices. But the real “losers” in this sorry affair were the voters who deserved the truth about the candidates – not a political smear job. All of us with the Sunny Isles Beach Reporter have made every effort to bring our readers only factual material that can be documented. We respect our readers enough to do this.
Remember – anything truthful and known about the candidates in Sunny Isles would have already been reported by now! If something suddenly “appears” in your mailbox days before the election that contains allegations that seem serious to you, just think for a moment: WHY is this suddenly being disclosed right before the election when there is no time to respond to it? WHY wasn’t it raised before? We hope that Sunny Isles Beach voters will not be victim to another October surprise; however if that should occur, we trust that our readers will know the difference between the truth and political dirty tricks.
Looks like the October surprise just arrived in the form on an “anonymous letter.” You know what they say about anonymous letters – they should be filed under T for trash! While it is pointless to address any of the smears, lies and nonsense contained therein, it is worth mentioning that these are the actions of cowards who lack the courage to speak out publicly. This is who supports our Mayor and his cronies – cowards who hide their identity and send unsigned letters filled with lies. In contrast, the brave men and true heroes of our Dade County Police Benevolent Association, publicly and proudly bestowed their coveted endorsement to Michael Schnitzer, Jeanette Gatto and Jeniffer Viscarra – the candidates they respected. Need I say more?