[July 01, 2011] Political groups take center stage in mayoral campaign Tweet Jun 19, 2011 (The Miami Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- As the campaign for Miami-Dade mayor nears its peak, the loudest voices reaching voters come not from candidates Julio Robaina or Carlos Gimenez but from faceless, third-party political groups. The deep-pocketed organizations have filled mailboxes, answering machines and TV and radio airwaves with explosive accusations. The ads attack Robaina, the former Hialeah mayor, for his ties to a convicted Ponzi schemer. They assail Gimenez, a former county commissioner, for benefitting from the perks of public office. And they do so under bland, do-gooder names -- Common Sense Now, The Accountability Project -- instead of a particular candidate's campaign. Yet the groups are linked to Gimenez and Robaina -- though some of the connections are more apparent and direct than others. Gimenez heads Common Sense Now, an electioneering communications organization he created for the mayor's race. These political committees are not legally allowed to endorse a specific candidate -- but they can attack one. And unlike a candidate's individual campaign account, these committees can solicit unlimited donations of so-called "soft" money. Common Sense Now has raised more than $660,000 -- slightly more than Gimenez's own campaign account -- largely from developers and law firms that have also contributed big bucks directly to the campaign. By listing himself as chairman of Common Sense Now, Gimenez has said he is being transparent with the public when he goes after Robaina. "Career politician Julio Robaina is the problem," says one Common Sense Now flier. In a robocall, an unidentified woman sneers, "Hialeah's Robaina gets involved in a Ponzi scheme -- and he blames his wife. That's right, he blames his wife!" Another call says, "We don't want Robaina. We don't need Robaina. We don't deserve Robaina." Gimenez defended the attacks in a Palmetto Bay debate last week, arguing that part of the campaign's job is to point out differences between the two rivals. "I'm sorry that it's gotten to this point," he said. "Do I like the robocalls? Do I like the robocalls that are against me? No, I don't." Some of the calls against Gimenez have come from political groups without direct ties to Robaina, though they appear to be carrying water for his campaign. The group hammering Gimenez the most: The Accountability Project, registered since last August to local political consultant Keith Donner. Donner says that while he is not working for Robaina, he backs him in the June 28 runoff election. Robaina's supporters seem to have taken note: Public records show many of the donors bankrolling the group are also giving money to Robaina, the former Hialeah mayor who has touted running a clean, positive race. "From the get-go I've been pushing the issues that are important to this community," Robaina said in Palmetto Bay. "Unfortunately, the campaign from my opponent has been more toward attacks." The Accountability Project has tried to link Gimenez to ousted Mayor Carlos Alvarez and to Miami-Dade's embattled transit agency -- an agency Gimenez himself criticized while on the Miami-Dade commission. "Carlos Alvarez drove a fancy European car at taxpayer expense," says one TV ad, showing Alvarez's BMW and Gimenez's Mercedes-Benz. "Carlos Gimenez also drove a fancy European car at taxpayer expense." One flier reads: "Carlos Gimenez -- A $185 Million Transit Scandal and Federal Criminal Investigation." And one robocall intones: "If you liked former Mayor Carlos Alvarez, then you'll just love Commissioner Carlos Gimenez." The Accountability Project has raised more than $263,000. Its chief donor: another third-party political group, Citizens to Reclaim Miami-Dade Government, which has contributed $75,000. Citizens to Reclaim Miami-Dade Government registered with the state in December, listing as its chairperson one Adriel Sanchez of Miami-Dade. An Adriel M. Sanchez from Hialeah donated $20 in March to Robaina. Sanchez could not be reached for comment. The top donors to Citizens to Reclaim Miami-Dade Government include a company registered to a principal of Leon Medical Centers; John Brunetti, owner of historic Hialeah Park, and Miami Beach property owner Fred Karlton -- all contributors to Robaina's campaign. Brunetti's wife hosted a fundraiser for Robaina in Coconut Grove on Friday. And several of Robaina campaign donors have also given money directly to The Accountability Project -- including two companies that own controversial video-game terminals known as maquinitas, whose contributions Robaina returned earlier this year, anticipating criticism from opponents of the slot machines. Robaina spokeswoman Ana Carbonell said The Accountability Project is not connected to the campaign, even though they share some contributors. "People are free to contribute to causes they believe in," she said. "Common donors are not unusual. It's an issue of freedom of expression, and the law allows them to do that." In public events and debates, Robaina has blamed Gimenez for a widely talked about robocall last month that smeared Hialeah and its politics. "He's not being honest -- just like he hasn't been honest about the robocalls," Robaina charged Gimenez during a debate last week at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Though the call featured the same woman's voice as several Common Sense Now robocalls, Gimenez has said he had nothing to do with it. The Hialeah call was ostensibly paid for by another third-party group, Committee for Honest Government, which has the same listed treasurer as Common Sense Now. The head of the Committee for Honest Government, Frank May, has said he was not behind the Hialeah call, either. The group Gimenez heads, Common Sense Now, has paid tens of thousands of dollars in "consulting" to Cornerstone Management Partners, a Bergenfield, N.J.-based company Robaina's campaign believes is behind a slew of anti-Robaina robocalls. A lawyer for Robaina filed a complaint with the Miami-Dade state attorney's office last week raising questions about Cornerstone, which the campaign says is registered to a single-family home in New Jersey and not registered as a corporation with the state of Florida. An overwhelming majority of likely voters -- 71 percent -- said they have received at least one automated, recorded telephone call in the campaign, according to a poll conducted last week for The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald by Bendixen & Amandi International. But that doesn't mean their messages are necessarily getting through. Two out of three said they hung up or didn't listen. "I do not listen to those calls, because they are propaganda -- and I'm speaking to both sides," said Maryann Engel, a 71-year-old retired clerical worker from Palm Springs North who said she is leaning toward voting for Robaina. "If they were honest and true, they would be one thing. But to me it is a bunch of malarkey, and I would rather not be bothered by them, thank you very much." Miami Herald staff writers Martha Brannigan and Amy Sherman contributed to this report. To see more of The Miami Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com. 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