We figured Bovo the Clown had bigger political aspirations when he took Pepe Diaz's prime ass kissing spot

Wow what a shock, Esteban Bovo is trying to climb the political ladder. Looks like Pepe Le Pew Diaz needs to step up his game.

http://www.politicalcortadito.com/2018/05/02/double-agent-lobbyist-ron-book-gets-county-reprieve-mayoral-wannabe/

‘Double agent’ lobbyist Ron Book gets county reprieve from mayoral wannabe
By Ladra on May 2, 2018

Lobbyist Ron Book, who secretly worked against the Miami-Dade Commission during the last session in Tallahassee — even though we pay him to work for us — by sneaking puppy mill language into not one but two failed legislative bills, could have lost his juicy contract Tuesday to lobby for the county in Tallahassee because he didn’t request a waiver as required. See? Lobbyists are allowed to work against taxpayers on an issue, as long as they get a waiver from the county first.

Even if that did make any sense at all, it seems like Book would rather pedir perdon que pedir permiso. He did not seek a waiver when he worked for the Petland chain of stores this past session and against any municipality’s ability to regulate the sale of puppies from puppy mill breeders that put profits before the animals’ welfare and needs. Aventura, Margate and Hollywood all have local ordinances banning puppy mill sales that would immediately be null and void. Miami-Dade doesn’t have one — yet, because Ladra was told that one of the commissioners is writing an ordinance as you read this.

Read related: Animal activists beat Ron Book, squash 2 puppy mill bills in Tallahassee

A rule is a rule. And other lobbyists have been let go because of conflicting interests, most recently Ballard Partners because of their representation of Uber in Tallahassee while the ride sharing company was still hammering out regulation details in the 305. Several speakers urged the commission to deny Book a waiver after the fact.

“Mr. Book has acted as some sort of double agent getting money from both sides of an issue. Usually double agents work in secret with opposing sides,” said Michael Rosenberg, co-founder of the Pets’ Trust Miami, an initiative that passed a non-binding referendum in 2012 to fund a massive low-cost spay and neuter operation throughout the county.

“Mr. Book found a willing legislator to insert a few sentences hidden in a bill of over a hundred pages, whereby tangible property sold in stores would be beyond the control of the county. The tangible property was really describing dogs and cats because the client Mr. Book represents was also paying him to make sure Dade County commissioners and commissioners across the state could not restrict animal sales in retail stores in their communities,” Rosenberg said, adding that Book should not only NOT be given a waiver but should also have to make up for his lapse in judgement by working on pro-puppy legislation.

Truth is, the mercenary, er, I mean lobbyist clearly crossed the conflict of interests line.

But Book was given an 11th hour reprieve Tuesday when the item was deferred at the request of Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo, who said he wanted Book to be present to defend himself before any action was taken. There’s no hurry, he said, because Book — who skipped the meeting to be with another client even though he knew he was on the agenda — can’t stab them in the back again until next year, at the earliest.

Maybe the other client Book was meeting with was Petland, you know, to plan their 2019 strategy.

But the real reason that Bovo gave him a reprieve is because the chairman is running for mayor in 2020 and Book is known as a prolific fundraiser who was able to get his own daughter elected to Senate. Surely, Bovo will hold this out as long as he can so that he can squeeze Book for as much mayoral matrix moolah as he can.

Lucky for us, we have Commissioner Rebeca Sosa holding Book’s feet to the fire. She said she wants him back before the commission sooner rather than later to resolve this. Hopefully, she will put it on the agenda for the very next meeting.

“They were already working in Tallahassee this year without asking this commission for a waiver. I have a big problem with that,” Sosa said. “Either they work for the county, or they work for someone else.

“They are not here today. Why? When they knew this was on the agenda?”

Because Book is used to getting his way, even when he is not in chambers. Because there’s always someone who wants to be mayor.

  Esteban Bovo, Pet’s Trust, Ron Book

Ron Book won't be allowed to kick puppies in Miasma-Dade but he'll still be allowed to kick humans around

This hasn't been a good week for Ronnie. Not only did he get embarrassed on TV, he was unanimously shut down by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. If there was ever any more needed proof Miasma-Dade's registrants are treated worse than animals, this is it.

http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article211179839.html

Lobbyist Ron Book tends to get his way in Miami-Dade, but this time it's a No.
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
May 15, 2018 11:58 PM

dhanks@miamiherald.com

Miami-Dade commissioners unanimously rejected county lobbyist Ron Book's request for a waiver to represent pet stores that had pushed state lawmakers to block local regulations of puppy sales.

The 12 to 0 vote represented a rare rejection for Book before the commission, which has consistently waived term-limit and residency requirements to allow the powerful lobbyist to remain the volunteer head of the county's homeless board. Book represents dozens of local governments in Tallahassee, including Miami-Dade, as well as private-sector clients.

Near the end of the 2018 legislative session, he requested a waiver for him and two lobbyists to represent a group tied to the Petland pet-store chain while also being paid by Miami-Dade County. The waiver came as Petland sought state legislation that would have blocked local governments like Miami-Dade from regulating puppy sales, pursuing the kind of preemption of county lawmaking that Miami-Dade commissioners routinely fume about when discussing Tallahassee.

"I'm not going to cede any power to the state," Commissioner Dennis Moss said Tuesday before voting to follow the recommendation of the county's Ethics Commission and reject Book's wavier request.

The commission was set to vote on the waiver at its last meeting, but Chairman Esteban "Steve" Bovo postponed the decision because Book wasn't there to defend himself in person. Book also did not attend Tuesday's meeting. The commission voted to deny the waiver for him and two county lobbyists Book hired for the pet-store matter, Nelson Diaz and Sean Pittman.

"We love our animals and we set our rules," said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who sponsored the item denying the waiver. In a text message, Book said he can still represent the pet-store industry in Tallahassee, as long as he doesn't advocate for any legislation that would preempt local laws. Book, based in Aventura, earned $120,000 last year on his county lobbying contract.

Activists for local laws banning most sales of puppies and kittens seized on Book's representation of Florida Pet Retailers as a slap in the face to Miami-Dade's efforts to boost adoption of shelter animals.

"I hope the county's unanimous vote will be the standard for all local governments who hire state lobbyists like Mr. Book," said Michele Lazarow, the vice mayor of Hallandale Beach and president of the Animal Defense Coalition, which lobbied against the state bill and helped pass local puppy-sale bans across Florida. "Lobbyists shouldn't be able to profit from both sides."

Book Crime Family supports puppy mills too? Is there any living creature the Books won't bully into submission?

I am starting to think that Ron Book and his bimbo daughter engage in atrocities because they enjoy watching ll manners of God's creatures suffer, be it man or beast.

The Book Crime Family is evil in every sense of the word, and they are disgusting proof there is no God. And knowing the wicked Books like I do, I would not be surprised if he kicks puppies for sport.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article209813504.html

Pet-store industry paying county's lobbyist to block local 'puppy mill' regulations

BY DOUGLAS HANKS

dhanks@miamiherald.com

April 27, 2018 08:53 PM

Updated April 28, 2018 09:54 AM

This year, a corporation tied to a chain of puppy stores paid lobbyist Ron Book to try to block local governments from enacting "puppy mill" laws severely limiting retail sales of dogs and cats.

The targets of that proposed state law: the more than two dozen local governments Book also represents in Tallahassee as one of the leading paid lobbyists in the state.

The legislative effort to block local restrictions on pet stores failed before the 2018 Legislature ended its session on March 11, but 2019 offers another chance for one Book client to triumph over the others. Now Book may be forced to choose sides, at least in Miami-Dade. Book is asking county commissioners to approve a waiver allowing his firm to represent the pet-store industry while collecting more than $100,000 a year as one of Miami-Dade's official lobbyists.

"I have worked hard, at the local levels to oppose the banning of the sale of puppies and kittens," Book wrote in a March 2 letter to Jess McCarty, the Miami-Dade lawyer who oversees the county's private lobbyists and their roughly $350,000 retainer. Book cited the since-failed state legislation that would ban city and county rules on pet sales, saying it would "reverse the trend of abolishing the sale of puppies and kittens locally."

Miami-Dade has some minor pet-store restrictions on the books, but hasn't enacted the kind of sweeping ban adopted by other Book clients, including Aventura, Miami Beach and North Miami. But at least one commissioner, Daniella Levine Cava, has said publicly she wants to propose one. And the county's Ethics Commission, which regulates parts of the lobbying industry, is urging the county to reject Book's waiver, citing Miami-Dade's long-running efforts to protect local law-making against limits from Tallahassee.

"You're going to have a well-known lobbyist taking a position different from the position the county is taking," said Joe Centorino, the outgoing director of the ethics commission. "It really undermines the county's position, and raises the question of the seriousness of the county's position."

The Book waiver meshes one of the most volatile issues in county politics — protecting shelter animals — with one of the most influential figures in county politics. Along with being a top source of campaign donations, Book essentially runs the county's homeless agency as the demanding volunteer chairman of an oversight board. The commission has granted him multiple waivers to defy term-limit rules and be exempt from a residency requirement to keep his volunteer post as chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust while living in Broward.

The lobbying waiver could be more complicated. Advocates for shelter animals, including the Pets Trust group, are some of the most vocal in county government. They're branding Book an opponent to the county's long-standing efforts to boost adoptions at the county's animal shelter — where the motto is "Adopt, Don't Shop" — and reduce the number of euthanized animals to nearly zero.

"Ron Book is trying to open the floodgates," said Michele Lazarow, the vice mayor of Hallandale Beach and president of the Animal Defense Coalition, which lobbied against the state bill and helped pass local puppy-sale bans across Florida. "Sixty cities and counties do not want that commerce. Ron Book is fighting to allow that commerce to flourish."

Book said the effort to block local pet-store rules was an unexpected turn in his client's legislative strategy this year. He also positioned his defense of pet-store sales as protecting consumer choice. Citing the larger number of pit bulls and similar breeds at Miami-Dade's animal shelter, Book said sales of puppies from breeders give more options in a free market. "I don't choose that experience for my children and my grandchildren," Book said of having a pit bull as a pet.

"Don't dictate what kind of pet someone buys for themselves or their children," he said. "We don't live in Venezuela. We don't live in Cuba."

Book's Tallahassee client is Florida Pet Retailers, a for-profit company led by Luis Marquez, who also owns multiple franchises of Petland, a chain that sells puppies in Miami-Dade and Broward.

Miami-Dade commissioners have rejected waivers in the past. In 2015, Ballard Partners wanted permission to represent Uber in Tallahassee as the ride-hailing company pushed for the state to block the kind of local Uber rules that Miami-Dade was trying to pass. Commissioners said no, and Ballard dropped the county as a client.

Book's Aventura lobbying firm earned about $120,000 from its county lobbying contract last year, and is asking for $175,000 in 2018. The proposed waiver covers him and two lobbyists Book hired for the pet-store work: Nelson Diaz and Sean Pittman.

In his letter to Miami-Dade, Book minimized his role in the Tallahassee puppy-sales wars. "There is a lobbying team that is assembled that I am overseeing," he said. "I am working to avoid actual lobbying, but I am supervising the lobbying team."