Fuzzy Math from Julius Melendez for congress campaign FL D9

[Patty]

Evidently Mr. Melendez who is running for congress in FL D9 can speak the words of The Constitution but he can’t do basic subtraction. He has released his financial statement and it is available on the FEC site for the period ending June 30, 2012. The Sentinel wrote this on Sunday:
“Grayson has amassed a formidable war chest, taking in about $820,000 during the second quarter. The Republicans have not approached Grayson’s fundraising success. Quinones, for example, reported $155,000 in donations for the same period, and Melendez’s campaign said he raised $90,000.”

First you have to understand about FEC accounting. When you look at the FEC filings there is a box on the right hand side that says “Amount of Each Receipt this Period” This is the contribution amount for the person listed. If there are the words “in kind” below the box it means it was a contribution that did not result in a monetary donation to the campaign. So this would include someone who volunteered time or food, etc.
Here’s Quinones’ FEC filing for this last quarter:
http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/pdf/527/12952312527/12952312527.pdf#navpa...
And here’s Julius Melendez’s FEC filing for the same period:
http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/pdf/462/12952464462/12952464462.pdf#navpa...
Let’s look at the actual figures and see who can tell us the truth. I think we can all agree that we want a truthful candidate.
We’ll start with Julius:
His campaign stretched the truth with the Sentinel because he has taken in $94,680.24 for the ENTIRE election cycle not the quarter ending June 30, 2012.
Julius reported $38,780.24 in total contributions for the quarter ending June 30, 2012. Now remember that little accounting trick of “in kind” donations? Well Julius reported a whopping total of $23,400 in “in kind” donations. So his cash donations, which is what we assume he is talking about, totals $15,380.24. That sure isn’t $90,000 that his campaign told The Sentinel. Sure looks like fuzzy math to give the impression to voters that his campaign has huge support from D9 voters.
Now let’s look at John Quinones who reported $155,000 to the Sentinel and in an email to potential supporters.
He reported $156,557.58 in total contributions for the quarter ending June 30, 2012 and for the whole election cycle. This is because he just established his campaign on May 7, 2012. Quinones reported $1,310.50 in “in kind” donations. So his cash total was $155,247.08 which is the amount the campaign told WE THE PEOPLE.
Looks like we have a big problem here. Glenn Beck always said look for the red flag and here it is voters of D9.
Is this who the Tea Party wants in Congress? Doesn’t the Tea Party stand for fiscal responsibility and candidates who speak honestly to their constituents? Do we want to send another politician to Washington who will fudge the numbers? My family will be voting for John Quinones in the primary on August 14th. His campaign has promised that he will always listen to the voters of D9 and even when we disagree, he will explain to us why he voted the way he did. John Quinones’ actions in this campaign have showed me that he is being up front and truthful.

Be careful everyone. Fully vet your candidates. Just because someone speaks the Constitution and looks "good" on a website, doesn't mean that they have the character or integrity to represent WE THE PEOPLE in Washington.