We had lunch with Commission Candidate, Maria Mayer yesterday at the hub of all City activity, David's Cafe. She is in a runoff and I was advised on good authority--the same that gave us Mattie Bower as Mayor--that we would like her. And likable she is, and beautiful, and intelligent, and caring. Our lunch was way too short as the number of her appointments looked staggering. Like our meeting with the then struggling Mattie, we came away totally amazed by her grasp of City problems, especially the out-of-this-world City Hall salaries and pension benefit, the way City employees rudely treat us (most of those over-paid fools live in Miami or Broward), and simply her refreshing manner and grace. So it's back on the front lines again; I called Thomas to insure a meeting and he, too, came away a fan. Because, truthfully, people, if we don't start putting some decent people into City Hall, we will have the same old club of shit-talkers and this city is on the verge of bankruptcy if salaries and pensions are not reigned in.

Is that a mic or a ice cream cone?

Talk around town is zeroing in on commissioner wannabe (and Marie's opponent), Exposito, and questions about what he did to his two female opponents. In the days leading up to the general election fliers were mailed out lauding Sherry Roberts "Good Experience" and decrying Maria Chang Mayer's "Problems" (take note the use of Maria's middle name; we'll come to that later). It seems the flier came from a group named Tell The Public The Facts, Inc., run by a slippery character named Custin. It certainly put Sherry Roberts in a good light and made it look like it came from her camp. According to The Herald, "But Roberts said she wasn't responsible for the ad, which painted her in a favorable light -- and pointed the finger at Exposito. Through a letter to voters and the media, she accused ``Exposito and his cohorts'' of creating the mailer, noting that Tell the Public the Facts has been a client of Exposito's political consultant, David Custin"

Both Exposito and Custin disavowed anything to do with the advertisement, which shows images of unidentified women passing wads of cash to and from tie-clad men -- and lists Mayer's home phone number while urging fed-up readers to call her.

Smear campaigns remain legal, are hard to trace, and do not fall under the cash limit laws. It is an ideal way to confuse the public, because as political guru Riley once told me, sometimes you send out an ad praising a candidate with no chance of winning just to take votes away from another and put yourself above it all. (He's my little Karl Rove).

Both women are incensed and Sherry Roberts immediately threw her support to Maria.

My advice to Maria at the end of our lunch: concentrate on the woman vote, let us muster the gay vote and no amount of money or slander can stop you. We have, however, just a few days.

Thomas Barker and I are jumping into the fray and pulling the boys and girls together. God help us.

Oh, and the middle name; City Debate came out swinging by calling Exposito and Custin "rascists" for constantly refering to Maria Chang Mayer, an obvious ploy to confuse and frighten the voters. Maria was born in El Salvador and received her law degree from the University of Miami. Someone should give these two dimwits a history lesson: When Mao took over power in China hundreds of thousands of upper class Chinese fled to Central America and especially Cuba. Take a ride up Eight Avenue in NYC to the 50's and you will see an amazing number of Cuban/Chinese restaurants (from those who fled Castro in 1961).

My computer is overloaded with emails about all this, but this just in:

"At the TUESDAY MORNING BREAKFAST CLUB, AIG VICE PRESIDENT* JORGE EXPOSITO,who is running for MIAMI BEACH COMMISSION, stated that pension and contract disputes related to the $500m dollars in unfunded liabilities burdening the city, should be settled "BEHIND CLOSED DOORS!" Perhaps this is why JORGE has been endorsed by BOTH the POLICE AND FIRE unions. One wonders what other public business MR. EXPOSITO and his faction of MIAMI- based hired guns, contractors and political cronies wish to settle in secret. perhaps MR. EXPOSITO should google: SUNSHINE LAW, FLORIDA.(and, i hope this is not too delicate a question. but just where WAS MR EXPO when his parent company AIG was stuffing junk mortgage securities in our 401k's?) thanx. mike * pl see 2008 10k filing for AIG; item 1. business pl fwd to your list"

(I heard someone called his insurance company and was told he was just a claims adjuster...)

Let's go Thomas and get 'em!!!