Here's some excellent reporting from the Jacksonville Times-Union about Corrine Brown's abuse of her position to benefit her relatives and cronies:
Pearl Plaza is a nondescript shopping center in Northwest Jacksonville. A large parking lot scattered with a few dozen cars leads up to a handful of businesses, including a thrift store, sandwich shop and a branch location for a statewide public employees' union.
Though the line of storefronts looks like any number of countless strip malls that dot Duval County, it has caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown. Since 2008, she has formally requested $1.1 million in federal money for the plaza for "streetscape improvements and renovation."
What makes Pearl Plaza different than the countless other strip malls that don't get federal money? In short, family ties.
Since 2005, Community Rehabilitation Center, a nonprofit group that leases space in Pearl Plaza, has paid $185,000 to Alcalde and Fay, a powerhouse Arlington, Va., lobbying firm that employs Brown's daughter, Shantrel.
Over that time, federal lobbying reports filed with the House of Representatives list Shantrel Brown and two other Alcalde and Fay lobbyists as working directly to obtain "federal funding for the renovation of Pearl Street Plaza," the same reason her mother listed when requesting more than $1 million.
It is not the first time Brown went to bat for one of her daughter's clients. From travel to the Republic of Georgia during a turbulent time for a gas company, to being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for a $50,000 car that ended up in her daughter's name, Brown and her daughter's professional paths have crossed at least twice before...
Besides the obvious ethical issues associated with this type of crony-favoritism, it emphasizes how out-of-touch Corrine Brown is with the actual needs of her District. Over a million dollars to renovate a strip mall? How many jobs did that "create or save," other than Shantrel Brown's? And then look at the larger picture of the $666 million in total earmarks that Corrine Brown sponsored just during the last two years alone...70% of which were for projects outside District 3.
Did you know that District 3 ranks dead last in Florida and 432 out of 435 Congressional Districts nationwide in poverty, crime, and unemployment? That's right, District 3 is the third worst place in the entire United States to live if you want to work, learn, or just be safe. Corrine Brown has been in Congress eighteen years, and under her watch District 3 has been on a downward spiral, even before the current recession.
Do you have any idea how many tutors could be hired, how many computers could be purchased for schools, how many vocational education classes could be paid for, with even 1% of the money that Corrine Brown wasted?
Here's a short ad the Yost for Congress campaign put together, talking more about how Corrine Brown has neglected her District while helping out her Washington insider friends:
Did you know that District 3 ranks dead last in Florida and 432 out of 435 Congressional Districts nationwide in poverty, crime, and unemployment? That's right, District 3 is the third worst place in the entire United States to live if you want to work, learn, or just be safe. Corrine Brown has been in Congress eighteen years, and under her watch District 3 has been on a downward spiral, even before the current recession.
Do you have any idea how many tutors could be hired, how many computers could be purchased for schools, how many vocational education classes could be paid for, with even 1% of the money that Corrine Brown wasted?
Here's a short ad the Yost for Congress campaign put together, talking more about how Corrine Brown has neglected her District while helping out her Washington insider friends:
You can learn more about the Yost for Congress campaign and even donate online at www.Yost2010.com. Thanks :)
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