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Sun-Sentinel Touted Fort Lauderdale Commission Candidate John Herbst’s Dislike Of Lobbyists But Failed To Mention His Deep Ties To Controversial Democrat Lobbyist Judy Stern

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Judy Stern and Steve Bousquet

In September, Steve Bousquet and his Sun-Sentinel Opinion Makers™️ dubbed John Herbst as the candidate with the “once-in-a-lifetime chance” to reshape the City of Fort Lauderdale. Herbst is no newcomer to city government. Seven months earlier, Herbst, the longtime city auditor, was fired by Mayor Dean Trantalis and the current city commission.

Claiming he is armed with “a fine-tuned BS detector,” Bousquet and his Opinion Makers™️ said Herbst “soundly rejects the status quo, which is just what this city needs.”

Bousquet and Co. wrote how Herbst recognized the danger posed by lobbyists at City Hall. “We need to recognize the influence of lobbyists who push bad projects on our neighborhoods,” Herbst told the Sun-Sentinel.

Despite the myriad of lobbyists working in Fort Lauderdale, Herbst and Bousquet singled out land use attorney Stephanie Toothaker. Herbst said Toothaker “has her thumb on the scale,” a saying used to described cheating. The Sun-Sentinel even asked Herbst’s opponent, Ken Keechl for his opinion on Toothaker.

One lobbyist never mentioned in the endorsement is Judy Stern. The controversial Stern has been a fixture in Fort Lauderdale for decades. Stern is listed a registered lobbyist in the City of Fort Lauderdale for four companies: Suntex Marinas, The Corradino Group, Skanska USA and Garth Business Solutions.

In addition to her lobbyist role, Stern is campaign manager/consultant.

In fact, despite his alleged dislike of lobbyists, John Herbst is using Judy Stern to run his campaign. Herbst told REDBROWARD that he has known Stern for many years.

But Judy is not the only Stern in Herbst‘s corner. In April 2022, the lawyer for John Herbst wrote a letter to Fort Lauderdale City Attorney Alain Boileau seeking to settle matters surrounding his dismissal. John Herbst’s lawyer is Barbra Stern, daughter of Judy Stern.

So why didn’t Steve Bousquet and his Opinion Makers™️ ask John Herbst about Judy Stern?

Last week, Bousquet penned another story about John Herbst. It was more love letter than news report.

Bousquet wrote, “While other candidates rely on canned, phony text messages that could have come from a car dealer, or slick direct-mail attacks that are half-true at best and usually end up in the trash, Herbst is out there in the flesh with his dog Chester, walking Bayview Drive and tweeting about it.” Judy Stern couldn’t have said it better herself.

According to political insiders, Bousquet and Stern are friends.

Does Steve Bousquet have a duty to disclose ties to a campaign consultant before endorsing her candidate?

Did Steve Bousquet use the Sun-Sentinel to target a youthful competitor of Judy Stern?

Does Tallahassee resident Bousquet really think Stephanie Toothaker is the only land use lawyer working in Fort Lauderdale?

Do candidates using Judy Stern get preferential treatment by the Sun-Sentinel?

REDBROWARD reached out to Steve Bousquet for comment. As of publication, he has not responded.

Broward Democrats Keep On Smiling

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Broward Democrats don’t care. They’re running all over town with smiles on their faces. They’re holding fancy fundraisers at powerful law firms. They’re still collecting $500 checks from well-connected benefactors. They’re planning on filling more positions with family members of important lobbyist firms. They’re planning and plotting to manipulate their unmotivated base no matter the cost to society. They’re baking cakes and cookies for each others big parties.

They don’t care.

They’re shielded from reality by the big walls surrounding their governments offices. They’re insulated from the unwashed masses by their gated communities and security patrols. They erect video cameras to catch working class people picking up fallen fruit from the roadside.

They don’t care.

They gather in small numbers on street corners to rail against “evil republicans”; Then they proudly post pictures on Facebook to comment on their huge success. They limit their knowledge of the outside world to certain political blogs that pat the usual suspects on the back for a job well done. They say Republicans carry a genetic defect.

They don’t care.

They meet the union rank and file to fill their heads with stories of big bad Republicans, while ignoring questions from union stewards about criminal investigations of the union bosses. Then, when three more high level union officials get arrested they ignore it. They don’t resign in disgrace. They’re still in their union offices collecting their $120,000 paychecks.

They don’t care.

But, our kids care. Our neighbors care. Our co-workers care. We care.

And now, more of the folks with badges care.

They’re tired of criminal investigations dying at certain offices. And they’re tired of the same old suspects playing political musical chairs.

Brace yourself, Winter is coming.