All homeowners and condo owners should be aware of the tactics of Senate candidate Ellyn Bogdanoff, who is currently a Florida Representative. Her promises are worth nothing and once elected she will sell her constituents to the highest bidder from special interest - as she has done for years!

This year Bogdanoff promised to sponsor a bill that would help homeowners and condo owners deal with the serious problems in their community associations. She initially sponsored a bill that made sense. But then she added all the special interest provisions to H 561 which made the nearly finished product a horrible bill -- detrimental to lives, health, safety and financial welfare of the owners. After using her power as part of the so-called Republican House leadership team, Bogdanoff killed all owner-friendly bills through backroom deals, arm-twisting and outright threats to committee members to vote NO on certain bills. That left her bill - H 561 - as the only community association bill still standing. The bill actually throws a few crumbs to the associations/owners, but otherwise it's a special interest mess that makes living in community associations even more difficult and more expensive.

H 561 WILL ALLOW:

v     Enforcement of fines levied by association kangaroo courts with liens + foreclosures.

v     Association boards/owners to harass neighbors who don't pay their dues.

v     Profits for service providers to increase.

v     Board members to officially compensate themselves.

v     Boards to hire marketing firms paid as common expense.

v     More bulk contracts to be added.

v     Associations to buy bankrupt golf courses and make membership mandatory - bankrupting more owners.

v     Unpaid dues to be collected from renters - using language everybody knows will be legally challenged at high cost to associations.

v     Language added to increase bank/mortgage company liability to one year using the same language that was already rebuked by the 2nd District Court of Appeals in FS 720.3085. (Excuse: It was the only provision her friends --  the bankers' lobbyists - allowed to be added!)

And it especially risks the lives, health and safety of our elderly citizens by allowing:

Ø     Associations to forego retro-fitting with sprinkler systems.

Ø     Associations to forego providing emergency power supplies for elevators.

Ø     Certain condos not to install fire alarm systems

HOUSE BILL 561 SHOWS THAT ELLYN BOGDANOFF VALUES CAMPAIGN FUNDS FROM SPECIAL INTEREST A LOT MORE THAN SHE VALUES THE WELFARE OF HER CONSTITUENTS!

If Ellyn Bogdanoff appears to be a consumer-friendly senator to you - a senator who will represent your interests - go right ahead and vote for her.

HOWEVER, IF YOU CAN SEE THAT ELLYN BOGDANOFF HAS ALWAYS SOLD OUT HER CONSTITUENTS TO SPECIAL INTEREST, THEN PLEASE DON'T EVEN CONSIDER VOTING FOR HER.

BOGDANOFF IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY FLORIDA IS IN SUCH BAD SHAPE!