advertisement

SSN on Facebook SSN on Twitter SSN on YouTube RSS Feed

17 Comments
Politics

What a Mess for the Miramar Mayor Who Would Be President

April 22, 2019 - 7:30am
Wayne Messam
Wayne Messam

With Florida considered one of the lynchpin states to any candidate's presidential bid, it stands to reason a native politician would become a fixture in the looming campaign season. Wouldn't you think? Most would expect that to mean a major politician with either name recognition, or an established history in the state would rise to the fore to leverage at least some influence.

Not Wayne Messam.

It may seem anywhere from odd to ridiculous that a lightly regarded mayor of a Florida city many in the state never heard of would aspire to the United States presidency, but not the 2020 general election. The Democratic Party has an ever-widening field of hopefuls (to date 19 have pledged, with Joe Biden’s announcement), so Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam is hardly an anomaly. He joins other municipal leaders Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, Ind.) and Julian Castro (former San Antonio, Texas mayor). 

Messam faces a challenge that may be more than uphill; it may be a sheer face. He is lightly known even in the South Florida region, and even though notable among many FSU football fans from his wide-receiver days during the 1990s. Messam is currently looking to gain traction in the crowded lineup of hopefuls, with plans to begin touring New Hampshire and Iowa in the coming weeks to get established in the early primaries.

The businessman, however, is facing a number of challenges surrounding money, the lifeblood of any campaign. His fundraising, even at this early stage, is lagging significantly behind most in the field. Like many across the country, Messam had a difficult tax day this past Monday. His initial filing with the Federal Elections Commission placed him at the bottom among the candidates in fundraising. He showed he had an anemic (by comparison) $84,000, but then later that same day, he was forced to file a revised FEC report, showing his actual totals were half that amount.

Now word is coming out that his campaign workers may not be getting properly paid, and as a result, a fair number of staff are taking flight. It was just days ago that the Sun-Sentinel detailed a rundown of his campaign team, touting how many of the key players had connections to the Obamas, or with gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum’s campaign. But a report by the Miami New Times offers a less rosy scenario.

Citing a former staffer, who recently quit the campaign, notice went out April 15 that the workers would not be getting paid. Based on an email sent out, Messam’s wife was taking control of the campaign payroll and would not be issuing paychecks. As a result, an unsubstantiated number of staffers are said to have quit. When asked about the issue, Messam would only acknowledge there was some “miscommunication.”

The candidate mentioned he had retained a lawyer, and when reached, his counsel only seemed to back up the claims that the campaign was in disarray. “I think they’re trying to get some affirmation on who worked and who was hired,” said his representative. “I think that’s where there’s some miscommunication.”

More than just a temporary problem and bringing the workers back into the fold once the “miscommunications” are ironed out, there appears a bit of permanence to the departures. In a telling detail, the New Times looked into those workers who were listed as significant players from past campaigns. In combing through the social media accounts of those named, many had since removed any mention of working for the Messam campaign.

By all appearances, it is looking like Messam making the trips to New Hampshire and Iowa are a longer shot than they were previously.

Brad Slager, a Fort Lauderdale freelance writer, wrote this story exclusively for Sunshine State News. He writes on politics and the entertainment industry and his stories appear in such publications as RedState and The Federalist.

Comments

Love Mr. Messam, but I wish he would consider running for a higher office in Florida and get more experience before considering a Presidential run. We need good people in political positions in our state.

Comparing mayor Wayne’s resume to mayor Pete’s is laughable. Pete has a legitimate chance, Wayne can only be doing this for publicity (and it doesn’t seem to be working).

why would you waste time and write an article as destructive and clearly opinionated as this? you should be ashamed. There are no pure saintly perfect candidates, and telling the public that he is not paying his campaign staffers due to whats clearly limited funds and equating that to poor candidacy is appalling. america needs leadership we can believe in. instead of writing this article to highlight the candidates perseverance and dedication, you chose instead to identify a minor flaw, especially in consideration of the comparable of our current president.

Commenter makes no sense. Leaders pay their people properly...if you can’t pay your staff, you shouldn’t have hired them, and you should Suspend your “campaign” or reduce staff until you can meet your promises (including paying the people you hired; ostensibly they did not expect to volunteer...).

This is the best Democrats can do?Crazy Uncle Joe 2020!Make America Grope Again!

Oh, what the hell,.. sneak into the Country and we'll GIVE you Citizenshop; we ALREADY elect "barely electable lite-hits" to fill seats in Congress and State Houses across the country,.. what's one more "broken-field runner" who, just refreshingly, might be able to follow directions & plans without "taking a knee" or turning 'socialism' into an "entitlement ticket"...

Spoken like a true Make America Great Again. WE BLACKS BEST WAKE UP STOP TAKING THE WHITE MAN FAKE ASS MONEY... AND DIE FOR A LIFE OF OUR OWN EDUCATION FREEDOM. WE BEST DIE TIL DEATH THAN KEEP BEING SLAVES.

Margaret Sanger & "Planned Parenthood" kept your population under 20%; and "That Ole Southern Cracker" Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" drove the Men out of your home to keep your families on subservient subsistence, ending the "Jim Crow days" where Blacks were being highly educated and successful professionals: ie., Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, and many, many other doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc., (EVEN Bill Cosby...may his existence be peaceful)...[Our antagonists are politicians of EVERY color, gender, and "stripe"... Be selective with Your vote,...they will "sell you out" to keep their "seats"..! If you're not familiar with Candace Owens,..do some research and look her up; or check her out on "U-Tube"]

If the choice turns out to be Messum or BIDEN,... MESSUM IS IN !.. (He can NEVER in his "Presidential 8 yr. Tenure" be as "institutionally corrupt" as Biden, or as "journeymen corrupt" as the rest of the Democrat "political candidate" field ! )

If white-collar gangster Trump could do it ... ANYBODY can do it! All one needs is a decent-sized base of uninformed and very immature supporters ... and a LOT of help from the Russians. (Having a supposed "fair and balanced" news network spreading one's hideous smears and off-the-wall propaganda might also help.)

You must be 1 of the 300k still watching CNN. It's over and you didn't win so please maintain your dignity.

Just ANYONE can't "do it": THAT'S THE POINT "VD2020"... Can't wait for 2020 to see your tears and the "Democrat melt-down" again ! GO TRUMP ! ! !

I heard that Hillary has a 98% chance of winning - AGAIN! :-)

Here's what Wayne could do if he was dishonest. . He can accept a million dollar donation from Andrew Gillum's 4.5 Million dollar money laundry-----err-----I mean Political Action Committee. . But only if Wayne agrees to a scheme to wash 2/3rds of the donation back to Gillum. . Surely Gillum and his cronies have a foolproof scheme to not get caught. . That way Wayne can get $333,333.33 for what ever financial needs his campiagn has.

FYI, former mayor of San Antonio Julian Castro was also US Secretary of Housing and Urbsn Development, you know one of those US Senate confirmed Cabinet positions?!

The point made was that Messam is not unique in being a mayor in the Presidential field.

FYI, former mayor of San Antonio Julian Castro was also US Secretary of Housing and Urbsn Development, you know one of those US Senate confirmed Cabinet positions?!

Comments are now closed.

politics
advertisement
advertisement
Live streaming of WBOB Talk Radio, a Sunshine State News Radio Partner.

advertisement