OPEN
LETTER TO:
Governor
Jeb Bush, Senate President Tom Lee and House Speaker Allan Bense
September
19, 2005
Dear
Governor Bush, Dear President Lee, Dear Speaker Bense,
You
are the three people who decide where the Advisory Council On Condominiums is
going in the future! October 1 is
getting close and you are by law the people making the decision.
Please
consider the welfare of Florida's citizens when appointing and re-appointing
the members of the Advisory Council On Condominiums on October 1, 2005!
Your decision will decide if this Council will help the millions of
Florida condo unit owners! Please
make a consumer-friendly choice!
When
House Representative Julio Robaina and Senator Rudy Garcia filed and sponsored
HB1223/SB 2498 in 2004, they wanted to create a panel that would give condo
owners a place to speak up, to voice their complaints, and to ask for
necessary reforms to improve the lives of residents in these associations.
The big law firms like Becker & Poliakoff were the biggest
opponents of this bill, which was finally enacted by being included
in SB 1184, signed and sealed by Governor Jeb Bush.
But
since the law firms and the Community Associations Institute (the trade
organization of the service providers) couldn't defeat the bill on the floor
of House and Senate, they have chosen to destroy the legislative intent from
the inside out. Please don't
forget, the money used for the Council comes from the condo trust fund,
created by payments from the condo owners -- not the service providers.
And since history repeats itself -- so they say -- please don't forget
that a few years ago a former Condo Advisory Council ceased to exist, when
the same service providers used the same tactics we are seeing applied
now. Is that what you
want?
Three
ladies attended the Council meeting in Miami, but left without testifying.
When they realized that the chairman of this Council is a managing
shareholder in the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff -- the same law firm
that represents their condo board they have problems with – they left in
fear. They feared retaliation!
Chairman
Adams now proposes that part of the next meeting of the Council would
take place in the office of his law firm in Fort Myers.
What will be next?
Condo
owners in Florida have more problems than a lot of people -- including a Florida
government agency that is supposed to regulate condominiums -- want to admit.
Consumer-friendly legislators have in the last two years tried to
address the problems. But it
defeats the purpose of the Advisory Council On Condominiums to appoint to the
Council service providers with a financial interest in killing association reform.
Appointing these same service providers also kills the efforts some of
your colleagues who have invested their efforts in trying to create
owner-friendly reforms.
In
case you don't like to listen to consumer-advocates, please listen to the
legislators who fought hard to create this panel!
You
might want to read the complaint a Florida condo unit owner filed with the
Florida Commission On Ethics. It
speaks for itself -- see below!
Thank
you for listening to our concerns!
Warm
Regards,
Jan
Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
http://www.ccfj.net/
IN
ALLIANCE WITH:
League of United Latin American
Citizens (LULAC)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 11
Property Owners Association in the Villages (POA)
Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches (FHCGPB)
Consumer Advocacy Network (CAN)
In
re JOSEPH ADAMS, Complaint No. 05 - 086
More
detailed information as requested in your letter dated August 3, 2005:
2.
PERSON AGAINST WHOM COMPLAINT IS BROUGHT:
Name:
Joseph Adams, Esquire
Telephone Number: (239)
433-7707
Address:
14241 Metropolis
Ave, Suite 100
City:
Fort Myers
County: Lee
Zip Code: 33912
Title
of office or position held or sought: Member
of the Advisory Council on Condominiums
3.
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
Mr.
Adams is a licensed, practicing member of The Florida Bar and a managing
shareholder in a statewide law firm known as Becker & Poliakoff, P.A..
Mr. Adams and his law firm specialize in condominium and community
association law. At least two (2)
attorneys (Gary Poliakoff, Esquire and Keith Poliakoff, Esquire) in Mr. Adams
law firm are registered Florida lobbyists for the Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.
law firm as their principal. Based
on the foregoing it appears that an irreconcilable and continuing conflict of
interest exists between Mr. Adams’ personal interests as a lawyer and his
public duties as a member of the Advisory Council on Condominiums.
Mr. Adams as chairman of the Advisory Council has advocated and
promoted legislation in open Council meetings that were lobbied for by his law
firm for the benefit of their clients. He also has used the Advisory Council
as a vehicle to recommend to the Governor certain other legislation should be
vetoed. This activity is not only outside of the statutory jurisdiction,
functions and duties of the Advisory Council but also clearly perpetrated by
Mr. Adam’s to further his own personal interests.
The
procedural safeguards enacted by Chapter 112, Florida Statutes, are not
sufficient to protect against Mr. Adams proposing, supporting or voting on
recommendations that would favor or further the interests of himself, his law
firm, his clients or principals and/or their firms and interests and any of
their own political or social agendas and do not inspire and ensure the
public’s confidence in his service on the Advisory
Here
are more details:
1.
Irreconcilable and continuing
conflict of interest: Mr. Adams is a managing shareholder of the statewide law
firm of Becker & Poliakoff. This law firm with its lobbying group CALL is
one of the leading organizations lobbying for association laws. Mr. Adams was
himself at various occasions in Tallahassee to lobby for – or against --
specific bills. Mr. Adams is further a member of the nation-wide trade
organization Community Associations Institute (CAI). He is also the Chair of
CAI-FLA, the lobbying group of the Community Associations Institute. In both
capacities he has a wide range of conflicting interest that serves his law
firm, its clients and the members of the trade organization.
- Mr.
Adams was one of the most outspoken proponents of HB 1593/SB 2062 during
the 2005, a bill that was openly supported by his law firm, claiming to
serve the interest of their clients.
In the meetings of the Council in January and February, Mr. Adams,
as the chairman, dedicated many hours of the meetings to the discussion of
the bill. Please note that the legislative intent of creating this council
was to give the public the possibility to voice their opinion and make
proposals as to necessary legislative reforms. According to our
information not one public speaker had asked for this issue to be
discussed. Even after the House Committee on CIVIL JUSTICE severely
amended HB 1593 on Wednesday, March 30, 2005, and directed the Council to
hold public hearings (quote of amendment), Mr. Adams, who was present at
the committee hearing, used council time on March 31, 2005, to continue
his lobbying for this bill, clearly ignoring the guidelines of the
legislature!
- The
Community Associations Institute (CAI) is the designated educational
provider for the State of Florida's Department of Business and
Professional Regulation, Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums, and
Mobile Homes. This contract is worth up to $ 500,000 for the trade
organization and its members. Mr. Adams is one of the leading executives
of this trade organization here in Florida. This contract has come under
heavy fire by the public during different Council meetings. Many proposals
and suggestions have been made by members of the public in order to reform
the education concept that would not only reduce the cost, but avail this
education to a much bigger audience. Please note that this contract is
paid for by the Condo-Trust-Fund. This fund is financed by all
Florida condo-owners. This contract actually only serves up to 5000
selected board members a year. Mr. Adams has constantly tried to minimize
the criticism of the public. He even allows the minutes of the meetings to
be biased in favor of the education contract. In minimum one case the
minutes didn’t even reflect the harsh criticism of a public speaker. Mr.
Adams refused to make changes to the minutes despite being asked to do so
after the minutes were published. Mr. Adams is clearly trying to protect
the CAI education contract – a contract he and his firm definitely
profit from directly. Minimum three other members of the Council are
members of the CAI. The education contract was renewed in June 2005
without the Council informing the DBPR about the many objections of the
public. Please note that the Council was created for the purpose of
helping the legislature and government officials to find solutions to
problems. The education contract is a clear example that Mr. Adams is not
interested in performing the duty as a chairman if it goes against the
interests of his law firm and their clients.
- It
is important to notice that Mr. Adams’ position as a leading member of
the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff is well known among Florida’s
condo-owners. Many public speakers, especially owners whose associations
are legally represented by Becker & Poliakoff, commented on this issue
and felt intimated by his presence and the fact that he in his position as
the chair of the Council holds considerable power.
Mr. Adams doesn’t need any member of his firm to appear in front
of the Council. He is in charge of creating the agenda, which gives him
the opportunity to add the issues he wants discussed at the meetings.
Other members of the Council have serious difficulties to have their
issues added to the agenda.
- The
law firm of Becker & Poliakoff is well known for its lobbying efforts
in Tallahassee. This law firm created and organized the Community
Association Leadership Lobby (CALL), one of the strongest lobbying groups
regarding association reforms in Tallahassee. The chair of this lobbying
organization is Donna Berger, Esq., another member of the Becker &
Poliakoff law firm. The Senate list of legislative lobbyists shows five
officially registered lobbyists for that law firm.
- Without
public input, but on request of council member Mike Andrew – who is
working for the Marriott Vacation Club -- the Council chaired by Mr. Adams
decided to write an official letter signed by the Council asking Governor
Bush to veto SB 1520. This is not an argument about the bill being good or
bad, it’s about the abuse of power favoring council members’
interests. Please note that
this Council was created by the Florida Legislature to help reforming
existing laws after hearing public input, see FS 718.50151.
Any official input from the Council carries considerable weight among
Florida’s legislators and government executives.
- Mr.
Adams own personal interests are pretty obvious. Having the Council ignore
or minimize the influence of public input asking for necessary reforms
creates bigger income for him and his law firm, being the biggest Florida
law firm specialized in association law. As a shareholder he definitely
profits from lack of reforms, which keeps law firms in business, much to
the disadvantage of the owners.
End
of Ethics Complaint
I
hereby also request that Mr. Richard Spears will recuse himself from the
proceedings regarding the ethics complaints against Mr. Joseph Adams. Mr.
Spears is a close affiliate of Mr. Adams. As a former leading executive of the
CAI Mr. Spears is working closely with Mr. Adams on association law and was
heavily involved in lobbying for HB 1593.
|