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Gore says Penelas betrayed Democrats
Former Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore delivered a harsh message to Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, three months before he faces a U.S. Senate primary.
BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@herald.com
Former Vice President Al Gore, who lost the 2000 presidential election by 537 votes in Florida, on Saturday called Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas ``the single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with during the campaign anywhere in America.''
The statement was e-mailed by a Gore spokesman in response to a Herald inquiry about Penelas's role in the 2000 campaign. Gore supporters say the vice president had counted on Penelas for a late boost in the Hispanic community, and the mayor did not come through.
The harsh remarks come just three months before Penelas faces a Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate. Gore's reproach could seriously damage the mayor's bid to succeed Sen. Bob Graham, since party loyalists tend to dominate turnout in a primary.
In a telephone interview Saturday evening, Penelas defended himself, saying he was ``by Gore's side from the very beginning.''
''Al Gore has a right to be upset about the election, but had he won his home state of Tennessee or West Virginia, we wouldn't be here,'' Penelas said. ``He also owes an explanation as to why he waited until the middle of October to engage in Florida.''
He said Gore has declined to return his phone calls to discuss the 2000 campaign.
The mayor has been defending his loyalty to Gore for a full year in response to attacks from his Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch. The congressman went so far as to boycott last June's Florida Democratic Party dinner in his hometown of Hollywood because Penelas was receiving an award.
Then, and at recent forums, Penelas has described himself as a strong Gore supporter. But the vice president's statement says: ``Not all who claim to have been supportive and loyal truly were.''
Gore, who rarely gives interviews, added in his statement: ``As the campaign moves forward and when appropriate, I will have more to say about this.''
He went out of his way to praise Deutsch, who has served in Congress since 1992, saying in the statement, ``Peter Deutsch is a good and dear friend who has been a stand-up leader for our party in difficult times such as the 2000 election recount in Florida.''
Penelas did help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Al Gore when he ran with Bill Clinton in 1996 and when he headed the ticket in 2000.
During one fundraising trip to Miami, Gore and Penelas toasted to victory with Cuban cafecitos. At the reception, Penelas gushed to the crowd, ``We're so looking forward to calling you President Gore.''
The mayor also touted Gore on Spanish-language radio, a main source of political news for Hispanic voters. There were rumors that he might become a running mate.
ELIAN FALLOUT
But relations between the two men frayed after 5-year-old Elián González was rescued at sea on Thanksgiving Day, 1999. Many from Penelas's political base, the heavily Republican, Cuban-American community, took to the streets in rage when federal agents seized Elián at gunpoint from his relatives' home and sent him back to his father in Cuba.
Though President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno were the most visible players during the crisis, many Cuban exiles lumped Gore with the federal government that returned the boy to an oppressive regime.
Penelas kept his distance, too. Instead of joining Gore when he clinched the Democratic nomination in March in Tallahassee, Penelas attended his own fundraisers there. In August, he skipped the Democratic National Convention to focus on his eight re-election opponents.
NOTABLE ABSENCE
On Oct. 18, one day after his swearing in, Penelas was a no-show at a Hispanic get-out-the-vote rally in Hialeah. Later that day, he and his wife headed to Spain on a trip that was part vacation, part trade mission. He did not return until Oct. 30, one week before the election.
Mitchell Berger, a leading Gore fundraiser, said he and others helped raise out-of-state money for Penelas so he could avoid a runoff and spend more time rallying Hispanic voters for the vice president.
''Alex Penelas did not help Al Gore during the most crucial time,'' said Berger, who is supporting Deutsch.
Deutsch, in contrast, was a constant presence at the Broward County recount. He called for a federal investigation of rowdy protests at the Miami-Dade recount before it shut down. He hosted fundraisers for Gore and donated $250,000 from his congressional account, one of the largest contributions of its kind to a national campaign.
Both supporters and critics of Deutsch thought his assaults on Penelas might backfire. Gore's statement gives Deutsch more ammunition than he could hope for.
''I would like to thank the vice president for his gracious show of support and for saying what needed to be said,'' Deutsch said through spokesman Roy Teicher.
Former Florida Education Commissioner Betty Castor and Hollywood businessman Bernard Klein will also be on the primary ballot.
FIRST PARTY RACE
Although Penelas has been in politics for 17 years, this is the first time he has run as a Democrat. All of his past campaigns -- for Hialeah City Council, the Miami-Dade County Commission and Miami-Dade mayor -- have been nonpartisan.
Still, he has been one of the party's best fundraisers. He has also embraced core Democratic values, crusading for gun control, standing up for gay rights and spearheading a constitutional amendment to require public pre-kindergarten.
''If some people want to measure my Democratic credentials by the 2000 election, that's fine,'' Penelas said. ``I've been a loyal and dedicated Democrat for a long time.''
Gore says Penelas betrayed Democrats
Former Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore delivered a harsh message to Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, three months before he faces a U.S. Senate primary.
BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@herald.com
Former Vice President Al Gore, who lost the 2000 presidential election by 537 votes in Florida, on Saturday called Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas ``the single most treacherous and dishonest person I dealt with during the campaign anywhere in America.''
The statement was e-mailed by a Gore spokesman in response to a Herald inquiry about Penelas's role in the 2000 campaign. Gore supporters say the vice president had counted on Penelas for a late boost in the Hispanic community, and the mayor did not come through.
The harsh remarks come just three months before Penelas faces a Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate. Gore's reproach could seriously damage the mayor's bid to succeed Sen. Bob Graham, since party loyalists tend to dominate turnout in a primary.
In a telephone interview Saturday evening, Penelas defended himself, saying he was ``by Gore's side from the very beginning.''
''Al Gore has a right to be upset about the election, but had he won his home state of Tennessee or West Virginia, we wouldn't be here,'' Penelas said. ``He also owes an explanation as to why he waited until the middle of October to engage in Florida.''
He said Gore has declined to return his phone calls to discuss the 2000 campaign.
The mayor has been defending his loyalty to Gore for a full year in response to attacks from his Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch. The congressman went so far as to boycott last June's Florida Democratic Party dinner in his hometown of Hollywood because Penelas was receiving an award.
Then, and at recent forums, Penelas has described himself as a strong Gore supporter. But the vice president's statement says: ``Not all who claim to have been supportive and loyal truly were.''
Gore, who rarely gives interviews, added in his statement: ``As the campaign moves forward and when appropriate, I will have more to say about this.''
He went out of his way to praise Deutsch, who has served in Congress since 1992, saying in the statement, ``Peter Deutsch is a good and dear friend who has been a stand-up leader for our party in difficult times such as the 2000 election recount in Florida.''
Penelas did help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Al Gore when he ran with Bill Clinton in 1996 and when he headed the ticket in 2000.
During one fundraising trip to Miami, Gore and Penelas toasted to victory with Cuban cafecitos. At the reception, Penelas gushed to the crowd, ``We're so looking forward to calling you President Gore.''
The mayor also touted Gore on Spanish-language radio, a main source of political news for Hispanic voters. There were rumors that he might become a running mate.
ELIAN FALLOUT
But relations between the two men frayed after 5-year-old Elián González was rescued at sea on Thanksgiving Day, 1999. Many from Penelas's political base, the heavily Republican, Cuban-American community, took to the streets in rage when federal agents seized Elián at gunpoint from his relatives' home and sent him back to his father in Cuba.
Though President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno were the most visible players during the crisis, many Cuban exiles lumped Gore with the federal government that returned the boy to an oppressive regime.
Penelas kept his distance, too. Instead of joining Gore when he clinched the Democratic nomination in March in Tallahassee, Penelas attended his own fundraisers there. In August, he skipped the Democratic National Convention to focus on his eight re-election opponents.
NOTABLE ABSENCE
On Oct. 18, one day after his swearing in, Penelas was a no-show at a Hispanic get-out-the-vote rally in Hialeah. Later that day, he and his wife headed to Spain on a trip that was part vacation, part trade mission. He did not return until Oct. 30, one week before the election.
Mitchell Berger, a leading Gore fundraiser, said he and others helped raise out-of-state money for Penelas so he could avoid a runoff and spend more time rallying Hispanic voters for the vice president.
''Alex Penelas did not help Al Gore during the most crucial time,'' said Berger, who is supporting Deutsch.
Deutsch, in contrast, was a constant presence at the Broward County recount. He called for a federal investigation of rowdy protests at the Miami-Dade recount before it shut down. He hosted fundraisers for Gore and donated $250,000 from his congressional account, one of the largest contributions of its kind to a national campaign.
Both supporters and critics of Deutsch thought his assaults on Penelas might backfire. Gore's statement gives Deutsch more ammunition than he could hope for.
''I would like to thank the vice president for his gracious show of support and for saying what needed to be said,'' Deutsch said through spokesman Roy Teicher.
Former Florida Education Commissioner Betty Castor and Hollywood businessman Bernard Klein will also be on the primary ballot.
FIRST PARTY RACE
Although Penelas has been in politics for 17 years, this is the first time he has run as a Democrat. All of his past campaigns -- for Hialeah City Council, the Miami-Dade County Commission and Miami-Dade mayor -- have been nonpartisan.
Still, he has been one of the party's best fundraisers. He has also embraced core Democratic values, crusading for gun control, standing up for gay rights and spearheading a constitutional amendment to require public pre-kindergarten.
''If some people want to measure my Democratic credentials by the 2000 election, that's fine,'' Penelas said. ``I've been a loyal and dedicated Democrat for a long time.''
