Judge Ledee thinks Meredith Chaikin-Weiss and I are weak…

Last night at the Judicial Forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Frank Ledee, the incumbent judge in Group 27, called me and Meredith Chaikin-Weiss, who are challenging him for the position, weak. Really?

Set aside for the moment that it might be a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct if he cannot back up that assertion and let’s examine the record.

Both Ms. Chaiken-Weiss and I have substantial and varied work histories in Broward County. Ledee - not so much. The sum total of his legal work experience prior to his appointment by the Governor to the Broward Circuit Court in late 2018 was as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami. So, his legal work history is limited to being a prosecutor at a single state agency in a county other than the one in which he now presides. And anyone who thinks Broward and Miami-Dade are the same does not live in South Florida.

I would hardly characterize Ms. Chaiken-Weiss as a weak candidate. A single mother, she put herself through school and managed to get elected to the Lighthouse Point City Commission at age 30. This is not an endorsement, just an observation.

My credentials are listed on this LinkedIn page. Suffice it to say my legal work experience prior to taking the Bench in 2007 was much broader than Ledee’s and though I lost the election in 2016, I have more than four times the judicial experience he does.

Ledee says he speaks 5 languages. I speak 4 - English and French fluently, some Spanish and some Russian. Ledee says his judicial philosophy is to empower those who appear before him to solve their own problems. Really? My experience has been that most people go to court precisely because they have been unable to solve their problems.

It’s true that after 9 years on the Court, 8 of them in the Criminal Division, I have faced criticism. It often comes with the territory if you’re an elected official in Broward for any length of time. Ledee, who has been a judge for little more than a year and a half and mostly in the Foreclosure Division where it seems he empowered people to solve their own problems, keeps insisting voters should “Google” all the candidates. I wonder what voters will make of someone who has little or no negative history on Google.

Maybe Ledee means we are weak financially? Neither Ms. Chaiken-Weiss nor I are millionaires like Ledee. He has millions of dollars in offshore holdings and personally loaned his campaign $100,000.00. Want to see who has what and how much? You can find all of our financial disclosure forms here:

https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/canlist.asp

Click on “View List” for the 2020 General Election, then select “Circuit Judge” and “Broward County,” run the “Query” and you will get a list of all the people running for the Circuit Court in Broward. Click on a candidate’s name and then the button labeled “Campaign Documents.” One of those documents will be the candidate’s “Financial Disclosure” form which is required by law. If you want to see who has contributed to the campaign and how much, click on “Campaign Finance Activity.”

Last night, Ledee said he has been endorsed by everyone. Maybe so, but I haven’t asked for any endorsements in this election. In the wake of a pandemic that has left so many financially devastated, my campaign is not even soliciting contributions. Ms. Chaikin-Weiss has said she was concerned the PBA endorsed Ledee without even interviewing anyone else in the race. It’s their prerogative, but the average voter might not know that.

I have won an election and lost an election in Broward County. Both my campaigns raised large sums of money ($50K+ each time) and I sought and was endorsed by various organizations in both elections. I was always proud to have been endorsed - still am. I also believe Broward County voters are an independent bunch who tend to make up their own minds. 

Truth be told, the endorsement that really counts is the one the voters give on Election Night. It is a tremendous honor to be elected by your fellow citizens - one that imbues you with the strength to carry out the considerable responsibilities you take on.