Stealth Political Group Disrupts Democratic Primary

Thousands of Broward Democratic voters have received anonymous political ads encouraging them to vote on Tuesday for selected candidates for Precinct Committeeman and Committeewoman in the Democratic Party.(Click here to download this as a handout for voters on election day.)The official looking mailers don’t tell voters that some of their candidates are not Democrats or do not live in their precincts, even though they are campaigning to be Democratic leaders. The election of non-Democrats to the Democratic party is causing confusion and disruption as Democrats try to move to November in a united front.A Plantation voter received this ad promoting VIENNA FREEMAN as a veteran Democratic activist. Vienna Freeman is a member of the Independent Party of Florida, not a Democrat. (2) The precinct races are little known and not generally reported, which makes it easier for the stealth political group to try to deceive the voters.The people behind Vienna Freeman have recruited Republicans to be elected to the Democratic Party, such as Jacqueline Gaton Carvajal, and NPAs such as Stacey L. Kroll. (3) Some of the candidates are not registered to vote, others do not reside in their precincts, and the stealth group is even promoting the election of one man as Committeewoman.The best thing to do if a voter has received one of the deceptive ads is to vote against everyone listed.Only the mailing address in Hollywood gives any indication of the group behind the deception. It is the same address as MASTERMAILER, INC. of Hollywood, Florida (4), whose vice president, a former President of the Hollywood Democratic Club, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Postal Service, for his part in the largest bulk-mail fraud scheme in U.S. history (5). His wife is company president and an insider in the Democratic Party and is herself running for election as a Precinct Committeewoman. Whatever their motives may be, don’t let these people dupe voters into voting for the wrong candidates.(1) Prepared by Phil Busey, phil@busey.org who is a lifelong Democrat and DEC member.(2) Florida Department of State Division of Elections, Florida Central Voter Database, 6/30/08.(3) Broward County Supervisor of Elections, loyalty oaths obtained as public records requests, and published lists of candidates on the web site www.BrowardSoe.org.(4) Florida Department of State Division of Corporations, www.SunBiz.org(5) The Miami Herald, 4/14/1995, Local Section, page 3B.