Sandslinging

Surfside election peppered with accusations of financial wrongdoing

By Angie Hargot

For a notoriously litigious town, a couple of election-time smear campaigns are not really surprising.

Much like its neighbors to the north and south, the town of Surfside’s upcoming election, littered with lawyers, is fraught with questions surrounding the financial behavior of the current and potential Town Commission.

By the end of last month’s qualifying period, two unopposed candidates, Commissioners Marc Imberman and Steven Levine, were elected automatically to their two-year terms. On Tuesday, the town’s mostly white, Republican and middle-aged electorate will decide who will fill the remaining three commission seats.

Joseph Graubart, the town’s former Planning and Zoning Board chair and an outspoken critic of Mayor Charles Burkett, challenges Seat 1 Commissioner Howard Weinberg; Commissioner Mark Blumstein’s run for Burkett’s mayorship vacates Seat 4 for either Elizabeth Calderon or Randi MacBride, wife of former Commissioner Frank MacBride.

Seat 1

In early March, soon after the qualifying period ended, an anonymous fax sent to the SunPost itemized the spending habits of Surfside Vice Mayor Howard Weinberg and claimed that the commissioner violated a town charter provision mandating that elected officials be paid only $1 per year. The document contained a February vendor activity list showing that Weinberg, in a period of 18 months, collected $11,350 from the city in expenses. Challenger Joe Graubart denies that he or his campaign workers sent the fax, although he said the vendor list is among his campaign materials.

According to the city attorney, commissioners are legally entitled to the compensation. While the town charter stipulates that commissioners will receive just $1 per year in salary, their expenses are reimbursed at a flat rate of $500 per month, with additional reimbursement for travel done for city business, because they do not have offices at City Hall. Weinberg said the city’s investment is well worth it; on a recent trip, he brought the city a grant check for $873,500 for green initiatives. He expects similar grant-finding missions would bring in millions more in federal and state funds next year.

The $500 per month stipend was the brainchild of former Town Manager W.D. Higginbotham, who resigned late last year and who, according to Weinberg, was attempting to stop former city officials from pilfering office supplies. Former Broward County administrator Pam Brangaccio has been acting as interim town manager since December. The Town Commission agreed to hire a permanent town manager in April.

“Do the taxpayers spend money on me? Yes. But do the taxpayers receive an extremely good payoff? Yes,” Weinberg said, adding that he has become well-acquainted with his opponent’s “negative campaigning.”

“Providing the voters accurate public record, much as news reporters do, is not ‘negative’ campaigning,” Graubert said. “My opponent simply does not want the public to know. Negative? No. Informative? Yes.”

The stipend has become a divisive issue in the election, but, according to Weinberg, “there was no transparency” before the policy. “[The previous commission] could take what they wanted with no record-keeping,” he said.

The $500 amount, he added, was in line with other municipalities Higginbotham had worked for and covers commissioners’ cell phones, Internet access, printer supplies and other services an office would offer. Commissioners are not, however, required to produce receipts specifically itemizing what that stipend pays for. “If you spend more than that, that’s your problem,” Weinberg said. “And if you spend less than that, that’s your problem. Obviously, [the details] are subject to change in the next budget cycle.”

The amount also corresponds with the salaries paid to the commissioners of neighboring cities such as Miami Beach, where commissioners each take home a salary of $6,000 per year plus expenses and have offices at City Hall.

“I have made it my business to get our grant money,” Weinberg said, adding that his grant lobbying opens the door to improving the reputation of the town. “Before, nobody even knew who we were — we were the town that always sues people, that’s always in court.”

Graubert disagreed.

“I find the unlawful payments to be improper and unethical,” he said. “I believe that my opponent has violated the charter…. Also, my opponent personally signed many town-issued checks made payable to himself. Furthermore, I certainly believe that this reflects poor judgment.”

Surfside resident Dorie Lurie also filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics challenging Weinberg’s reimbursement amounts. She received a letter in reply that the matter was being investigated.

Kerrie Stillman, spokesperson for the Commission on Ethics, could not confirm or deny the existence, or details, of any pending investigation.

Seat 4

The stipend issue has also drawn attention from other candidates. Elizabeth Calderon, 66, and Randi MacBride, 50, will duke it out for mayoral candidate Blumstein’s chair, Seat 4. Neither woman has held any Surfside office.

MacBride has been outspoken against the $500 per month stipend, instead advocating reimbursements only for expenses with receipts. MacBride, an administrative assistant for the Miami Beach Neighborhood Services Department, currently serves on the town’s Personnel and Appeals Board. She has promised to open the lines of communication between elected officials and residents and work to fund a community pool, amend the zoning code and encourage residents to become more involved in community affairs.

Calderon is an immigration attorney who, although she seeks to curtail high-rise development, said her top two priorities are to oversee construction of the town’s new community center and begin renovation of the Surfside Walking Path, “and to get it done as quickly as possible within budget.”

Unlike their counterparts running for Seat 1, the candidates for the Seat 4 election have seen little negative campaigning.  

“I have not experienced any negative campaigning, and I do not intend to do any negative campaigning,” Calderon said. “We are all residents of the town of Surfside and we all have an interest in the future of this community. The difference is each candidate's interpretation of that interest. I supported the current mayor and commissioners two years ago and would be able to work with them.”

MacBride did not return calls for comment.

Mayor

The mayoral race is rife with some mudslinging of its own.

Current Mayor Charles Burkett, 46, owner of the Burkett Companies, a firm that renovates and manages historic properties, has had an active role in Miami Beach politics, among other civic duties.

When he was first elected two years ago, Burkett campaigned on ending the culture of litigation in Surfside, a town that at one time paid up to $1 million per year in legal fees to as many as 20 attorneys on retainer at once. Now, he is campaigning to limit local development, revamp the zoning code with residents in mind, keep taxes low and attract tourism. He also seeks to build the new community center quickly and efficiently, and preserve Surfside’s distinctive small-town atmosphere.

Burkett is challenged by current Town Commissioner and attorney Mark Blumstein. Blumstein, 38, also presents a solid resume of civic involvement, including service on a Miami-Dade County School Board committee, PTA membership, military service and chairmanship of the Florida Bar’s Military Affairs Committee.

Blumstein, if elected mayor, promises to enhance parking conditions, improve the beachfront and work toward the town’s new community center. He vows to create leadership that reflects the residents’ voice.

The commissioner said that some of Burkett’s experience is a drawback.

“My focus is Surfside; however, my opponent's focus is Miami Beach, where his business and property interests lie,” Blumstein said. 

Burkett, in turn, has accused Blumstein of supporting development in Surfside, citing campaign posters that the commissioner posted in vacant lots all over town.

Blumstein also has been accused of attempting to preserve the $3 million contract the town has with the county for fire and rescue services.

Burkett, meanwhile, claims Surfside could save money by switching to the city of Miami Beach.

“That claim is unfounded,” Blumstein said. “Surfsiders were never asked whether to change fire rescue providers by this commission. Instead, my opponent, citing budgetary reasons, sought to unilaterally change fire rescue service providers from Miami-Dade to Miami Beach without regard to the public safety of Surfsiders. He promised a tax savings to Surfsiders without ever receiving or reviewing a contract for fire rescue service with the city of Miami Beach, and without the advice and consent of the Miami Beach Commission.  

“In fact, [on Tuesday] I confirmed with Miami Beach leadership that [the city] has no intent to outsource its fire rescue services to Surfside. In short, my opponent's promises on this issue are empty.”

Although Blumstein claims there haven’t been any negotiations with Miami Beach, Burkett maintains that there have been.

“Mr. Jorge Gonzalez, city manager for Miami Beach, came to our commission with his fire chief and at least one Miami Beach commissioner to make a detailed official proposal, which was ultimately voted on and supported by everyone but Mr. Blumstein,” Burkett said. “Mr. Blumstein should be ashamed at his failed efforts to mislead, misrepresent and kill this fantastic opportunity for our town.”

Burkett also claims that Blumstein’s attacks are politically and personally motivated.

“Mr. Blumstein has sacrificed the economic well-being of Surfside’s residents for his real supporters, Surfside's developers, the county fire union and some county elected officials. Voting against saving $2 million each year, an amount that would pay for every one of our wish list items — such as the community center, beach walk, park and tennis renovations and, possibly, undergrounding our power lines — is unforgivable,” Burkett said.

Blumstein is “somehow emotionally attached to the county fire department because they came to his house when he was young,” Burkett added. “I will leave it to the voters to decide if that's a good enough reason to throw $2 million dollars away.”

Comments? E-mail angie@miamisunpost.com