In this week’s edition of Facing South Florida:
CBS News Miami’s Jim DeFede continues scrutinizing the three-plus decades during which Katherine Fernandez Rundle has led the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Not doing enough to prosecute public corruption cases has been — according to some — a weakness of Rundle. This week, Jim’s guest is South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez.
Here’s why: During the 2020 election, Fernandez was running for state senate as a Democrat. At the time, there was a coordinated and well-financed effort to take out Democratic Senate candidates by using so-called "ghost candidates" as a way of siphoning votes away from them. The group allegedly violated campaign finance laws by injecting more than $700,000 in dark money into these ghost candidates. Frank Artiles, a disgraced former state senator, was charged with violating campaign finance laws — charges he denies ahead of his trial later this year. Fernandez was one of the candidates whom Artiles allegedly targeted with a ghost candidate.
Also, with 1,000 people a day moving to Florida, finding affordable housing remains one of the most challenging concerns for residents — especially here in South Florida. Jim talks to former state senator Jeff Brandes, who runs the Florida Policy Project, which has been exploring solutions that include the role of vouchers and something called upselling.
Catch Facing South Florida With Jim DeFede Sunday at 11:30AM ET.
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