A lawsuit filed in Leon County Circuit Court alleges Daniel John Matthews, a write in-candidate in the Florida House of Representatives District 64 race, does not live in the district. Florida election law clearly states, “At the time of qualification, all write-in candidates must reside within the district represented by the office sought.” The plaintiff alleges Daniel John Matthews does not live with his parents at their Tampa area home. Matthews presence on the ballot closes the Republican primary between Miriam Steinberg and James Grant to non-Republican voters. If Matthews is removed, all voters will choose between Steinberg and Grant in the August 26th primary.

Michael Steinberg, a Tampa attorney and spouse of candidate Miriam Steinberg, filed the writ of mandamus on Monday. In addition to Matthews, the defendants include Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer and Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark.  Steinberg alleges matthews does not live in Tampa. He states Matthews admits he works in Tallahassee which is 274 miles away; “However, on the section for source of income, he listed that he worked for “Cats on Deck – 6054 Miller Landing Cove, Tallahassee, FL 32312. The qualification forms were notarized in Tallahassee, Florida. The Defendant’s parents own a home and reside at 4703 Windflower Circle, Tampa, FL 33624 and the Defendant is registered to vote using that address, however, it appears that the Defendant actually resides in Tallahassee, FL and was not a resident within the boundaries of District 64 at the time he attempted to qualify.”

On Thursday afternoon, RED BROWARD contacted Cats On Deck at the number listed on their website. We asked to speak to Matthews and he came to the phone. We asked Matthews if he could speak about his race for the Florida House. Matthews stated he had not received notice of the lawsuit. He said he was at work and asked if he could call back later. When asked how he could work in Tallahassee while living in Tampa, Matthews hung up the phone.

The Plaintiff wants the court to determine Matthews does not qualify for the race and, “Enjoin Defendants, Browning, and all persons and entities acting under their direction or in concert with them, from precluding any qualified voters registered to vote within the boundaries of House District 64, regardless of party or nonparty affiliation, from voting in the August 2014 primary election for the State House of Representatives District 64.”

Broward County Commission candidate Jason A. Steele does not want voters to know about his ties to Vicente Thrower, a controversial Pompano Beach community activist. Thrower, a thirty-four year old Democrat, faces a September 2014 trial on four felony counts of unlawful compensation. He was a member of the Pompano Beach Northwest Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). Thrower was arrested in April 2010 for “accepting and not officially disclosing more than $50,000 in consulting fees he received to support three separate business deals involving the city and the CRA.” Late last week, Steele entered the Commission District 4 race as an NPA (No Party Affiliation) candidate.

Steele told RED BROWARD he left the Democrat party over failed promises to his community. “I truly want to change the status quo in Broward,” Steele said, “There are too many promises and not enough action.” He said he wants to “shine a light” on local politicians so they will be accountable to the people. Steele said he no longer “fit the Democrat platform,” but could not cite a specific issue.

For the last four years, Steele has been a pharmacy technician. He is currently studying at the Sanford Brown Institute to become a dental hygienist. Steele was born and raised in Broward. He attended Pompano Beach High School.

Steele stated he has not been involved in local politics. He said he has a core group of volunteers to assist him in raising money and delivering his message to voters. Steele did not want to name any of his close advisers. When asked if Vicente Thrower was a part of his team, Steele said, “That’s something I cannot comment on.” When pressed, Steele said he “heard of the name. Let’s just say there’s a possibility, we may share mutual friends and associates.”  Given Thrower’s criminal charges, Steele’s reluctance to admit ties to Thrower is understandable.

Months after his arrest on bribery charges, Thrower was arrested during a police prostitution sting for the TLC show Police Women Of Broward County. Two Broward Sheriff’s deputies were posing undercover as prostitutes on the 1400 block of Northwest 31st Avenue when, according to incident reports, they were approached by Thrower as he was driving a Cadillac. Thrower negotiated with the two undercover deputies to perform an oral sex competition for $50 and met them at a hotel room where he was arrested, investigators say. At the time of this second arrest, investigative reporter Bob Norman wrote, “[Thrower] was considered a rising political star. He showed up for all the community meetings in Pompano and was appointed to several boards. Thrower was a young soldier in the Joe Eggelletion political mob, so it’s not that surprising that he got popped last year for accepting some $50,000 in unlawful compensation from entities looking for him to use his influence on the CRA board.”

Today, Buddy Nevins of BrowardBeat.com raised questions about Steele’s finances and filing fee. Nevins wrote, “[Steele] reported a $21k negative net worth, but still produced a check for $3,683.88 to qualify for office last week. The suspicion is that Steele entered the race on June 20 just 36 minutes before filing closed to steal votes from another candidate.  The suspicion is he got the money from that candidate’s campaign consultant.”

Steele will face off against either Democrat Ken Keechl or Benjamin Lap, and Republican Chip LaMarca in November.