Ron Book is still an "advocate" for the homeless, yet those who actually try to help the homeless at the street level know Ron Book is truly no friend to the homeless.
This story appears to be fro 2014 judging by the year the comments were made.
https://www.browardbeat.com/lobbyist-homeless-advocates-in-shouting-match/
Lobbyist, Homeless Advocates In Shouting Match
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Ron Book just wants some respect.
After all, Book is the best known, most durable and best paid lobbyist in Florida. He reported $5.6 million in income from 81 clients in Tallahassee alone last year. That figure doesn’t included his work in Miami-Dade and Broward.
For the past two decades, Book has spent thousands of hours working to end homelessness.
So when he was booed and yelled at during a town hall meeting on the homeless earlier this week in Fort Lauderdale, Book took it personally.
He shouted back.
“I have a history on this subject. I’m not going to be intimidated,” Book explained later to Browardbeat.com
Book was attempting to speak at a meeting called by Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Dean Trantalis. The meeting’s goal was to find common ground that would cool the city’s homeless controversy.
There are two sides to this homeless crisis:
* Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners in October limited the feeding of homeless in public. They contend the homeless are threatening the lifestyle of residents.
* Homeless activists ignored the ban. Several have been arrested, resulting in negative worldwide publicity for Fort Lauderdale
Trantalis’ meeting was packed with activists who want to continue feeding the homeless in parks and at the beach.
Book was not popular because he agreed with commissioners.
“The homeless have rights, but so do the people of Broward County,” Book later told Browardbeat.com. “You have to balance both in establishing programs for the homeless.”
Street feeding does not contribute “to ending homelessness. It continues it,” he contends. The homeless should be fed in a controlled setting so bathrooms and social services can be offered.
“The object is to get the homeless indoors where they can get cleaned up and see people who can get them off the streets – mental health professionals, social workers,” Book said.
The activists didn’t want to hear that from Book.
Trantalis’ meeting degenerated into a shouting match between the scrappy lobbyist and activists.
It got nasty. Really nasty. Book was screamed at. He screamed back.
The atmosphere was so bad that Book had to be escorted to his car by a police officer. Said Book, “It is the first time in 21 years dealing with this that I felt uncomfortable.”
Ironically, Book was attacked in 2008 by a homeless man as he left a Broward County Commission meeting in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The story is here. It never dampened his work for the homeless.
He was one of the original promoters of Broward County’s 230-bed homeless shelter on Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, which opened in 1999. He rounded up many of the first big contributors to the project.
Before that, Book pushed a food and beverage tax though the 1992 Legislature that raises $12 million annually for homeless services in Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade Commissioners apparently like his volunteer work for the homeless, Commissioners have repeatedly waved the residency requirement for Book, who lives in Plantation, to allow him to chair the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust Leadership. The trust administers the tax and raises millions more in federal and state funding.
Book said that the current debate is an “opportunity. Broward County should use this time when all this attention is focused on the homeless to formulate a plan for the future.”
He called for a summit between cities like Fort Lauderdale and Broward to discuss a realistic strategy that would help get the homeless off the street.
Book’s proposal is perhaps the most constructive suggestion to surface during this homeless hullabaloo.
It is too bad nobody wanted to listen.
___________________________
In the comment section, a poster added an article from the 1997 Miami Herald. It is a bit of overlooked history from Rom Book.
HIGH COURT SUSPENDS LOBBYIST’S LAW LICENSE
Miami Herald, The (FL) – Friday, July 11, 1997
Author: TYLER BRIDGES Herald Capital Bureau
Lawyer-lobbyist Ron Book will lose his right to practice law for 75 days under a ruling handed down Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court.
The punishment was recommended by the Florida Bar Association, which disciplines lawyers. The Supreme Court must approve its recommendations for disciplinary action.
Book is being punished for violating state election law by funneling campaign contributions through his secretaries in order to exceed the maximum contribution limits.
Having to suspend Book’s law license won’t hurt him much in the pocketbook because he devotes only 10 percent of his work to legal matters. The rest of the time he lobbies for such clients as H. Wayne Huizenga, Metro-Dade County and the Tobacco Institute.
But the punishment is an embarrassment to Book, who is one of the state’s most influential lobbyists.
“I’m anxious to close this chapter in my life and put it behind me for good,” Book said Thursday.
Caption: photo: Ron Book (a)
Edition: State
Section: Local
Page: 2B
Dateline: TALLAHASSEE
Record Number: 9707120298
Copyright (c) 1997 The Miami Herald
_______________________________
This story was also alluded to in the link below, and thus confirms this was a real repost from a Miami Herald article. I'd like it if someone would like to find full articles from the list below and send them to me, I'd love to have them all.
http://floridakeysjournal.com/journal/2009/030109.htm
February 19, 2009 - Monroe County - Kay Thacker: Ron Book History Part 2 "Dream Team Other Occasional ContributorsLobbyist" With permission to share. Ed. -- Ouch!
The History Of Lobbyist Ron Book, Part 2 One member of "Dream Team Lobbyist"
1786. *Miami Herald* - July 11, 1997 - 2B Local
*HIGH COURT SUSPENDS LOBBYIST'S LAW LICENSE* Lawyer-lobbyist Ron Book will lose his right to practice law for 75 days under a ruling handed down Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The punishment was recommended by the Florida Bar Association, which disciplines lawyers.
The Supreme Court must approve its recommendations for disciplinary action. Book is being punished for violating state election law by funneling campaign contributions through his secretaries in order to exceed the maximum contribution limits. Having to suspend...
1765. *Miami Herald* - June 18, 2006 - 1B Metro & State
*PAYING LOBBYISTS PAID OFF WELL* With a 30-day grace period about to run out, professional lobbyists who had initially refused to disclose how much money they get paid to shepherd legislation through the halls of the state Capitol have decided to comply with a tough new law. Among the late filers revealing how much they got paid: Aventura lobbyist Ron Book, whose firm earned more than $1 million in the first three months of 2006 to lobby the Legislature. Book's firm, according to the disclosures, is among the...
1717. *Miami Herald* - April 14, 2001 - 1B Local
*CLIENTS UPSET WITH LOBBYIST* Several of lobbyist Ron Book's taxpayer-supported clients say they plan to change the way they do business with him, following a Herald report this week. Many of Book's public clients paid him thousands of dollars for expenses - in addition to his retainer - without asking for any documentation of how he spent the money. ``We're not paying any more expenses, effective immediately,'' said Frank Sacco, CEO of the South Broward...
1696. *Miami Herald* - November 2, 1998 - 2B Local
*INFLUENTIAL LOBBYIST WORKS ON BOTH SIDES* Powerful South Florida lobbyist Ron Book works for the South Florida Regional Planning Council, ensuring that it and the state's other Regional Planning Councils receive money from the Legislature each year. Book also represents development projects that come up for council review. Is that a conflict of interest? The attorney for the Regional Planning Council has said no.
But at least a few council members say the situation makes them uncomfortable. ``I have some...
1707. *Miami Herald* - June 5, 2007 - B3
*NORTH MIAMI BILLBOARDS: 3 rivals used 1 lobbyist, The same influential lobbyist worked for all three sides in a high-stakes fight over billboards in North Miami.* In the fight over building billboards in North Miami -- a fight complete with legal arm-twisting and lots and lots of money -- the three sides had one thing in common: The same lobbyist was working for all of them. Ron Book, one of Florida's most powerful lobbyists, said he did nothing improper and even improved the outcome for all concerned. But even some of the story's central players had no idea Book was working all three sides. Book advised and later...
1808. *Miami Herald* - October 15, 1995 - 1B LOCAL
*FDLE: CONTINUE PROBE OF LOBBYIST* Everyone agreed -- the prosecutor, his boss and the defense team: Lobbyist Ron Book would plead guilty to four misdemeanors for funneling illegal campaign contributions to the politically powerful. Everyone agreed -- except the agents who spent months investigating Book for using office workers' checkbooks to conceal his election law violations. Now, in a rare public split in the ranks of law enforcement, Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents have persuaded their boss to...
1802. *Miami Herald* - March 23, 2000 - 3B Local
*LOBBYIST CROSSES COUNTIES ON TAX* Where was lobbyist Ron Book, who is paid more than $100,000 a year by Miami-Dade and Broward taxpayers, just a few hours after both county commissions unanimously voted to oppose a bill that could tax cruise-ship passengers to pay for a new Florida Marlins ballpark? He was promoting the bill with state lawmakers in Tallahassee, handing out dozens of Marlins caps and hustling two former All-Stars between Capitol offices to pose for pictures and autograph baseballs. Book says conflicts of...
1802. *Miami Herald* - June 16, 1999 - 9B Broward
*LOBBYIST APOLOGIZES FOR HIS ROLE IN TRYING TO PASS BAIL-BOND BILL* Broward County lobbyist Ron Book apologized Tuesday for his role in pushing a bill that could have cost the county millions, County commissioners accepted his apology and told him everyone makes mistakes
- just don't do it again. ``I appreciate his apology,'' Commissioner Chairwoman Ilene Lieberman said, echoing the sentiments of many of her colleagues. ``Hopefully, you don't make the same mistake again.'' Book was...
1795. *Miami Herald* - December 16, 1988 - 34A EDITORIAL
*FIT THE PUNISHMENT \* THE DADE County School Board commendably has said "Thanks, but no thanks" to a circuit court's plea-bargain deal requiring Miami lawyer Ron Book to teach 200 hours of high-school civics. Nothing personal, said the board. Nobody doubted that Book, once an aide to then-Gov. Bob Graham and now an influential lobbyist, knows a lot about how government works -- that is, how it really works, not the civics-textbook version. It's just that the board...
1787. *Miami Herald* - February 13, 1986 - 1A FRONT
*LAWYER TIED TO BRIBE PROBE OPA-LOCKA OFFICIAL SAYS $4,000 WAS OFFERED* Miami attorney Ronald L. Book, a close adviser and Dade County fund raiser for Gov. Bob Graham, is under investigation in a bribery probe in Opa-locka, The Herald has learned. Opa-locka Vice Mayor Brian Hooten told The Herald he accepted a $4,000 cash payment on Dec. 3 from a man who he understood was working for Book. At the time, Hooten was wearing an electronic listening device and participating in an undercover police investigation. Book, a partner in the firm of Sparber, Shevin, Shapo,...
1735. *Miami Herald* - October 4, 1995 - 2B LOCAL
*DELAYS ALLOW HUIZENGA FIRMS TO SKIRT SCRUTINY* Days after serving subpoenas, Dade prosecutors got their hands on the lobbying contracts of most everyone that employs Ron Book. But they never got a single document from Book's best- known client: Wayne Huizenga. None of Huizenga's companies -- among them, the Dolphins, Marlins, Florida Panthers, Joe Robbie Stadium Corp., and Blockbuster Entertainment Group -- provided prosecutors copies of their contracts with Book. Nor did they turn over copies of checks written...
1695. *The Miami Herald* - May 11, 2001 - 2B Local
*OFFICIAL ACCUSES LOBBYIST OF MISHANDLING BALLPARK EFFORT* Miami City Commissioner Arthur Teele Jr. called super-lobbyist Ron Book on the carpet Thursday, accusing him of mishandling the parking surcharge bill that was part of a financing plan to build a Florida Marlins stadium in Miami. Speaking at a City Commission meeting, Teele said Book had a conflict of interest representing Miami-Dade County, Miami and the Marlins - then demanded a timeline of every change to the bill as it made its way through the legislative session that ended last week....
1688. *Miami Herald* - September 23, 1995 - 1B LOCAL
*BAR TO LOOK INTO LOBBYIST'S ILLEGAL CONTRIBUTIONS* The Florida Bar is opening an inquiry into Ron Book, the lawyer-lobbyist and political fund-raiser who pleaded guilty this week to charges he funneled illegal campaign contributions through secretaries to dozens of Florida politicians. "When a lawyer is convicted of a crime, the Bar is interested," said Arlene Sankel, assistant staff counsel for the Bar's Miami office. "There will be an investigation if a lawyer is convicted of a...
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Saturday, April 20, 2019
While everyone was busy watching Ron Book's DUI arrest, THIS happened
It was suspected that once Ron Book and the Miami-Dade County Commission excluded registered persons from the Pottinger Agreement, there would be a push to undo the Pottinger Agreement altogether. They did. The police can now arrest the homeless for shits and giggles now. And it is all thanks to Ron Book.
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-judge-throws-out-pottinger-homeless-protection-law-11087371
Judge Invalidates Miami's Landmark Homeless-Protection Order From 1998
JERRY IANNELLI | FEBRUARY 15, 2019 | 3:16PM
One of the nation's landmark homeless-protection laws is now gone.
Since May 2018, the City of Miami has been trying to invalidate a 1998 legal decision that prevented city cops from arresting homeless people for living their lives outside. The so-called Pottinger Agreement, named for homeless Miamian Michael Pottinger, prevented police from, say, arresting homeless people for sleeping outside or placing their items on the sidewalk.
Even with those protections in place, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said Miami cops were blatantly harassing the homeless — including spraying them with power washers and arresting a woman who was in dire need of medical care and likely died due to the detainment. The ACLU also argued the City of Miami was trying to terminate the agreement as a way to sweep homeless residents out of the rapidly gentrifying downtown area.
The ACLU fought for roughly a decade to pass the agreement. In 1988, the rights group teamed up with more than 5,000 homeless Miamians to sue the city. The ACLU said Miami cops were intentionally harassing the homeless, destroying their property, and arresting them for no reason. Courts at the time agreed: In 1998, after ten years of legal battling, the city entered into a consent decree. Per the Pottinger Agreement, cops couldn't wantonly arrest the homeless or destroy their belongings anymore. Instead, officers had to give the homeless a chance to enter a shelter before arresting them for life-sustaining activity.
In its legal filing last year, the City of Miami argued the Pottinger Agreement was no longer necessary: The city said that homeless residents have more resources now than they had in 1998 and that the agreement made it more difficult for police to patrol the city.
But homeless residents strongly disagreed.
Ben Waxman, the ACLU attorney who fought to pass the agreement, last year protected it from the City of Miami's attack. He did not respond to a phone call from New Times this afternoon.
The ACLU's legal brief provided ample evidence that Miami cops were still violating the Pottinger rules:
Plaintiffs have amassed nearly two dozen declarations from homeless persons who recently have had their property destroyed, have been ordered to leave public sidewalks while committing no crime, or have been harassed by police and/or arrested without being offered shelter. Plaintiffs possess video evidence demonstrating that the City is collecting and destroying homeless persons’ property en masse. They have video evidence of homeless persons being arrested without probable cause, and without any offer of shelter.
The filing continued.
Beginning some three to six months ago or more, the City embarked upon a “cleanup” of various targeted areas throughout Miami. City employees, typically working under the supervision of the police, have seized what are clearly homeless people’s belongings and hauled them off like trash – at times over the desperate pleadings of individuals trying to save them. Separately or in connection with these “clean-ups,” City police officers have been threatening homeless persons with arrest – explicitly or implicitly in the form of orders to move on from an area – without offering shelter, and often without even citing any legal violation. On many occasions, these hreatst have amounted to banishment from a given area, as the police admonish homeless persons to stay away from that area and not come back. Finally, City police have failed to document their interactions with homeless persons in the “clean-ups” and sweeps, as required by the Consent Decree.
The ACLU also provided New Times with video and photographic evidence of MPD officers harassing the homeless. In one instance, cops were taped "cleaning up" a homeless encampment and destroying property that had been left on sidewalks, including crucial items such as ID cards and birth certificates.
But in the most upsetting case, Miami PD was filmed arresting a homeless woman named Tabitha Bass in March 2018. Bass had been sleeping on the street with her boyfriend, but when cops asked her for ID, she said she didn't have any. Officers then took her to jail for "obstructing the sidewalk," in what the ACLU said was a transparent Pottinger violation. But Bass was also ill at the time. She spent three days in jail without access to medical care — which advocates say directly led to her death mere weeks later.
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