Homestead Is Home: Baiting Mayor Bateman

Blog: Homestead Is Home

Alias: None

Age: Early 60s

Primary specialty: Making Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman's life miserable

Last job: Farmer

Net worth: N/A. In 2002, this blogger purchased a four-bedroom house in a Homestead gated community for $177,000. According to county property records, the single-family home was valued at $119,000 last year.

Criminal record: None

Blog history: Although Bateman is a current favorite target, Homestead Is Home has been bashing just about every city elected official and developer since December 2007. (The blogger requested that his identity remain hidden out of fear Bateman would seek retaliation.) An early post documented Lennar Corporation's abandonment of a gated community called Mirage. Homestead Is Home also alleged the mayor was trying to hide an accident in a city vehicle — and provided pictures to prove it. During Bateman's re-election run last year, the blog showed that Bateman helped David Berrones, a longtime friend and business partner, get hired as a contractor for the construction of a new charter school the city council had approved.

Why he's No. 10: Like Genius of Despair, Homestead's author loses points for insisting on anonymity. A blogger enhances his credibility by coming out of hiding. And though someone certainly needs to keep an eye on South Dade politics, the unethical shenanigans of Homestead and Florida City elected officials has little impact on greater Miami-Dade County.

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