Former Miami-Dade Police Det. Fred Suco lost his bid to unseat Miami Springs Mayor Zavier Garcia earlier this month by 341 votes. Garcia won-re-election with 56% of the vote.
Or did he?
Suco and his attorneys say that Garcia never qualified or was qualified illegally for the April 7 election because all but one of the petitions he turned in were signed before he ever opened a campaign account. He has sued Garcia, the city and City Clerk Erika Gonzalez-Santamaria — who may have known there was a problem but covered it up — to throw out the election results.
The argument is that, as the only other candidate in the mayoral race and the only one who qualified, Suco is the rightful mayor.
Garcia “wasn’t a legitimate candidate at the time of the election, and the only legitimate candidate was Fred and he should have been the mayor,” said attorney John Cunill, of Adorno-Cunill & Damas. “He should have won the election.”
The mayor would not comment on the lawsuit pending the litigation, but his lawyer, former State Rep.-turned-political-attorney J.C. Planas, characterized any potential issue with the dates as a “technicality” and insisted that the court will never overturn the election based on that.
Documents show that Garcia opened his account and identified a treasurer, declaring his intention to run, on Jan. 12. Two days later, he submitted 103 petition signatures and a $103 check to qualify. He only needs 50 to qualify. But of those, 102 had been signed before Jan. 12. Some as early as November.
Florida Statute 99 clearly states that “signatures may not be obtained until the candidate has filed the appointment of campaign treasurer and has designation of campaign depository.” Miami Springs city charter is silent on the matter so, under normal circumstances it stands to reason that state laws and election guidelines apply.
A report from the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust says the conflict is between the state law and the city charter, which is silent on the matter.
But the violation is out of their jurisdiction, so the report pointed Suco to civil court. The first hearing is May 6.
“This is on behalf of the citizens,” Cunill said. “If they are not getting a fair shot at having their voice heard or having their vote count, what is the purpose of going to the election?”
Suco told Ladra that Garcia had ample time to correct the discrepancy with the dates before the end of qualifying Feb. 20 and that he himself had mentioned it to City Attorney Jan Seiden at a charity poker tournament a month earlier.
“I told him, ‘I hear my opponent, after five times, can’t even get it right.’ Jan shrugged his shoulders. He had a month and he wiped his ass,” Suco said.
“It shows incompetence and that is what I ran on. We’re playing games here. Quit playing games. Do the right thing. Just do it right,” Suco said. “Quit cutting corners. Quit cheating.”
Planas said his client did not know about any issue and complied with what he was told by the city clerk was required.
“This is the problem they have. The mayor followed the instructions of the clerk and city attorney. That in and of itself shows no intent to subvert the
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Sorry, but Garcia DID break the law. The signatures were checked to see if the voters were valid, but they were NOT approved for the election by law. AND the mayor was told that he needed new signatures, just like Bain was told. Bain went out and got the required signatures, Garcia did not because he thinks he is above the law. HE IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW ! !
Was going to suggest Kathy Rundle get in there and prosecute Garcia for election fraud… but everybody knows Rundle would indict a ham sandwich before she’d ever root out municipal corruption.
Sorry, but Garcia didn’t break the law. The signatures were approved by the county and the city. If they had asked the mayor to get more signatures, he would of, but they didn’t because they reviewed and deem the signatures valid. Suco lost that battle prior to the election. They told Suco that the case was closed and that 81 of Garcia’s signatures were valid at the time of the election. The people voted, Suco lost, and that should have been the end of it. But Suco can’t let it go. He has to make a mockery of the city with this frivolous lawsuit! He wants to make the city pay for his shortcomings. He is a sad, angry little man that just needs to pack his bags and leave our fine city alone.
Garcia broke the law, pure and simple. He had the opportunity to get duplicate signature, but he chose not to. This proves, exactly, what he thinks he is, above the law. The other Council members abided by the law, he did not. He figures he is above the law. You and I abide by the law, but the law does not apply to him. I am one person who prays the Court will uphold Mr. Suco’s Complaint, thereby putting Garcia out of the Mayor’s seat. This is only one example of his dishonesty and way to dupe the Citizens of Miami Springs of their right to have a decent Mayor representing them and our City.
Fred Suco is a low life scum bag. He will stop at nothing to take control of the city for his private interests and to benefit his pocket. His arrogance will not allow him to see that the residence do not want him involved in the city. He lost the election, and the gathering of signatures has nothing to do with it. Suco is reaching for anything he can to get what he wants. The residents of the city voted, and he fell short again. Yes, that’s right, he is a three time loser. You would think he would give up and move away from the city. This time, he thinks he can force his way in. He’s not asking for another election, because he knows he can’t win on votes. He wants the courts to award him the seat, despite the fact that he didn’t have enough votes to win. All this nonsense will end up costing the residents of Miami Springs thousands of dollars. Suco likes to blame the city for his shortcomings, but then again that’s what losers do.
I am glad I no longer reside in Miami Springs. Choosing between a cheat (Garcia) and a bully (Suco) is like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Then again Garcia got what he deserved when Suco ran against him. Garcia and his council put Suco’s business interest ahead of the peace and comfort of the West End citizens. Karma is a bitch.
Maggie hands down every time all the time the deep blue sea.
Garcia doesn’t care about the rules. He dropped out of highschool. Arrested for trespassing. Was evicted from Miami Lakes. Owes the IRS $200,000. Was caught removing opponent’s yard signs in a previous election. And now he can’t follow the election rules.
Most litigants that have both the law and the facts against them always categorize rules and procedures as “technicalities”. But in a democracy those “technicalities” meaning laws that set out rules and procedures are precisely the elements that keep us free and keep us a democracy. As to “laches” I believe finding out if the Ethics Commission is going to rule, or in any manner act, should be conidered a prudent step in avoiding unnecessary court litigation.
In this case, Planas is wrong about the technicalities. A court is required to strictly construe the Election Code. The Code doesn’t allow a judge or a city official to decide what is substantive and what is not. Or to be a little more Catholic, what sins are venial and what sins are mortal. If the signatures were not collected in the time allowed, then they are invalid. However, a court may say that Fred Suco engaged in “laches” — an equitable principle that tells a litigant who waited too long to come to court that he has no remedy. Here, the court will have to decide whether waiting for the Ethics Commission to rule was a reasonable delay.
Suco did not wait. Suco filed a complaint with the State Attorney Public Corruption Unit in February right after he found out that Garcia did not have new signatures. ThE next time he was notified that there was a problem was the day before the early elections began. He filed his appeal to City Clerk the morning that early voting was started and he was denied by the same City Clerk that changed all of tge start dates for Garcia. He was left with only filing a lawsuit in circuit court. Also tge law is very clear when a conspiracy exists time is not an issue.
WTF!!! What’s orlando lopez picture doing in this article???
Fred Suco is the Rightful Mayor of Miami Springs. period!