Mystery attack ads literally call candidate 'ugly'

Jul 31, 2010 — The Miami Herald

Patricia Mazzei

Jul. 31, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- You know a political campaign has gotten dirty when a candidate sends out an advertisement calling one of his opponents "ugly." As in, not good-looking.

Or, as the Spanish-English mailer puts it: feo.

Welcome to the race for Florida House District 116, a no-holds-barred battle to represent a swath of largely Hispanic voters from West Kendall to Doral.

"It's just so over-the-top and ridiculous," said Republican Marcelo Llorente, who represents the district now. "I don't remember seeing stuff like that."

The mysterious mailer in question raises outrageous allegations about two of the four Republicans in the Aug. 24 primary: It calls one a drug-user and wife-beater and tries to paint the other as a dangerous "Arab."

The ad says Carlos Manrique -- the, um, "ugly" one -- used cocaine and almost killed his wife, issues that surfaced during a nasty divorce almost two decades ago. Manrique, 50, denied the charges and eventually got primary custody of the couple's son.

The mailer also bashes Manrique for not being a lawyer -- which is not a requirement to run for office -- and for his looks. "How are we going to send an ugly mug to Tallahassee?" the ad reads in Spanish.

"I'm like a horse: I just look forward," said Manrique, a former state representative and Westchester Community Council chairman who admits he wouldn't exactly be mistaken for Cristiano Ronaldo. "I'm running on experience, not on looks."

The other candidate named in the ad, Carlos Trujillo, is said to have "Arab and Non-Cuban Parents," even though his parents are Cuban, Trujillo said. He and his wife are Cuban-American, though her last name may be of Lebanese origin, Trujillo added.

Says the mailer, in Spanish and English: "We can't risk it -- these people get in everywhere -- but no one knows what's in their head."

"I really think it backfired," said Trujillo, 27, a Miami-Dade assistant state attorney who put out automated calls decrying the attack shortly after the mailer came out.

"I've received 150 phone calls, since the mailer landed, of people saying this is disgusting," he said. "That's what turns people away from the Republican Party."

The attack mailer says it was paid and approved for by Alex Diaz, a write-in candidate who has not reported raising or spending any money on his campaign.

Three of the four Republicans in the race -- Manrique, Trujillo and Whilly Bermudez -- said they don't believe Diaz sent the mailer.

Instead, they say it came from the fourth Republican, Francisco Amador. Amador recently made the spurious claims against Manrique and Trujillo at a Miami Herald editorial board interview, before the mailer went out.

The e-mail address that Diaz lists in his campaign qualifying documents with the Florida Division of Elections matches the e-mail address Amador lists with the California Bar. And Diaz listed his home address across the street from Amador -- in a house owned by Amador's parents, records show.

Despite repeated calls, Diaz could not be reached for comment.

Amador did not get back to a reporter after saying he first wanted to verify her employment with The Miami Herald. "I'll call you back," he said.

With no Democrats in the running, the primary winner will likely win the general election, where the Republican nominee will face Diaz and another write-in candidate.

Amador filed to run for the seat two years ago and qualified to get on the ballot by collecting petition signatures. He has financed his campaign almost entirely with his own money, campaign reports show.

Amador has campaigned as a conservative attorney and longtime resident of the district.

But his opponents have questioned Amador's credentials, noting that he is not registered with the Florida Bar, though he is registered in California.

And records show that Amador ran for a U.S. Congress seat in Los Angeles in 2006 -- as a Democrat.

In a district with a long tradition of courting voters door-to-door, Amador's Republican opponents have vowed to try to set the record straight by talking to people in person -- and not resorting to more mud-slinging.

Said Bermudez: "I believe in civility in politics."

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