In a misleading midnight email last night, my opponent unfortunately made this campaign negative.  Because she decided to mudsling, it is important to clear three things up.

First, I am deeply proud of my professional career.  I am a founder of our law firm Pita Weber Del Prado.  For over twenty years, we built our practice up and over that time have represented over 3,000 South Florida families.  We have received consistent 5 star reviews from our clients, and I am proud that we have stood up for people and helped them rebuild their lives.  Far from hiding from this record, in 2016 I became the first woman in 30 years and the first Hispanic woman to become President of the Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers Association.  Building a firm from the ground up and becoming a countywide leader in the legal profession gives me both business and advocacy acumen that I hope to bring to Village Council.  For twenty-three years I have been a voice for people, and that’s exactly what I will do on Council: be a voice for Pinecrest Residents.

Second, financial management skills are indeed crucial to this role and I hope to bring mine to our local government.  I have been honored to have organizations entrust me with fiduciary responsibility over money and budgets. The Miami Dade Trial Lawyers entrusted me as treasurer before they entrusted me as president.  At Palmetto Elementary, parents entrusted me with the financial books and to appropriately resource fund-raised money to hire teacher aides.  When we ran Project Peru Medical Teams, doctors and nurses entrusted me with the financial books and tax returns. At Palmetto High School, parents elected me as treasurer, and I am proud to say I just turned over a clean, fully accounted-for set of books to the incoming treasurer.  At my law firm, my partners entrust me with the trust account.  In all these endeavors, every penny I oversee is accounted for.

Third and finally, this raises the question of why my opponent chose to attack my personal integrity and professional record when her own is unclear.  My opponent likes to tell people that she is an accountant, but she is not a certified CPA.  She apparently abandoned accounting at the height of her career and according to her filing paperwork with the Village, her principal business activity is now “temporary instructor.”  She abruptly decided to run for Village Council so that – in her words – I would have a challenger.  What is her motivation, who is she really, and why is she bringing nasty politics into Pinecrest?

I have been committed to our community for sixteen years.  I have raised my kids here, I have made my life here, and it would be my honor to serve on our Village Council.  Pinecrest elections are about integrity and about community.  I do not know why my opponent feels the need to bring mudslinging into our community, and I do not know what about her own record she is hiding.  I do know this: Pinecrest is better than dishonest and misleading midnight emails.

Committed to our Community,
Shannon del Prado