Kendrick Meek's campaign lacks traction and this isn't going to help
05/16/2010
The Miami Herald's Friday story about questions surrounding the relationship of Kendrick Meek, his mother, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, Kendrick's former chief-of-staff and a developer under police investigation has brought the U.S. Senate candidate the kind of attention no campaign wants.
Some excerpts:
As U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek championed a proposed biopharmaceutical complex for Liberty City in 2003, his Miami chief of staff received $13,000 from the project's developer to help the aide buy a house, newly released police records show.
The developer, Dennis Stackhouse, is now awaiting trial, accused of stealing nearly $1 million from the failed Poinciana Park project that was supposed to revitalize the blighted Liberty City community. Nothing was ever built.
The police records show that Stackhouse engaged in an elaborate campaign to curry favor with Meek as the builder sought the congressman's help in obtaining federal funding for the project. In addition to helping the aide's house purchase, Stackhouse hired Meek's mother, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, paying her $90,000 in consulting fees and paying for a Cadillac Escalade for her to drive.
Meek twice sought congressional earmarks to benefit the project, but has insisted that was unrelated to his mother's work for the developer.
On Friday, he repeated that his efforts were designed to help bring jobs and development to the heart of his district -- not to provide political payback to Stackhouse.
The story continues and it didn't take long for billionaire Democratic primary rival Jeff Greene to launch an attack.
In a statement, Greene said Meek's "behavior is completely outrageous. We can no longer let the corrupt actions of these failed career politicians stand. Kendrick Meek is in the back pockets of the insidious special interests that are hurting our country and it must end now.''
What it all means is that Meek is now on the defensive and that's never a good position for a candidate.
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