Colorado Governor Jared Polis is trying to out-stupid Lauren Boebert

Is CO Gov. Jared Polis in a competition with Lauren Boebert for dumbest politician in Colorado? You'd think a gay person would understand the demeaning power of labels. But then you'd be wrong. I sent him a pretty scathing email to remind him of the power of negative labels. He needs to study up on gay history too, since it wasn't that long ago the "sex offender" label was used to target the gay community.  

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/12/20/sex-offender-label-colorado-jared-polis/

Colorado board reverses controversial change to “sex offender” label at urging of Gov. Jared Polis and his appointee

In November, the state Sex Offender Management Board voted to replace “sex offenders” with “adults who commit sexual offenses.” Then the board opened that decision up to public comment, and that’s where things went off track.

By ALEX BURNESS | aburness@denverpost.com | The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: December 20, 2021 at 1:31 p.m. | UPDATED: December 20, 2021 at 3:39 p.m.

Under pressure from the governor and the state’s public safety director, Colorado’s Sex Offender Management Board has reversed its controversial November decision to scrap the term “sex offenders” in its own guiding principles in favor of “adults who commit sexual offenses.”

The board, commonly referred to as the SOMB, voted 16-2 on Dec. 17 to “table” the language-change matter and refer it back to a subcommittee. It’s possible the board votes again to change terminology in the future, but the tabling means it’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

This decision followed a 10-6 vote by the board in November to stop using “sex offenders” in its own principles and policies. The board controls treatment standards for people convicted of sex offenses, and changing the language in this way would not have affected treatment or management policies. But it was hailed by supporters as an important step away from labels and toward “person-first” language that research shows can improve rehabilitation prospects.

After the November vote, however, the board opened a public comment period. That’s where things went off track.

The language change had gotten coverage on talk radio, on Fox News and in The Daily Caller, in addition to various Colorado outlets. More than 400 people submitted comment on the matter, an overwhelming number for a state board that tends to generate little public attention.

Public defenders and people who’ve committed sexual offenses, plus their family members and advocates, were supportive of the change. But comments from victim advocates and members of the general public were by far in favor of no language change. Law enforcement leaders have also opposed the change from the start.

“The coddling from some of the offender-affiliated representatives was repugnant,” tweeted Colorado sex assault survivor and motivational speaker Kimberly Corban, two days after the vote on a language change. “This shift is offensive for those of us who have experienced victimization at the hands of sex offenders who don’t like their ‘label.'”

On Dec. 16, the day before the board’s reversal vote, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis sent a letter to Kimberly Kline, the chair of the SOMB.

“We must be wary not to normalize violent acts of sexual aggression or even give the appearance of normalizing such unacceptable behavior,” he wrote. “I hope that the Board will re-evaluate its previous decision to allow for additional discussions with the wider community including carefully examining potential trauma to victims and ensuring that a clear message continues to be sent to the general public than non-consentual (sic) sexual aggression is not acceptable or tolerated in Colorado.”

Polis also expressed concern that the SOMB, a 25-member board when fully seated, had only 16 of its members present for the November vote. Polis appointee Stan Hilkey, director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, said the same in his own letter to Kline.

“The oddity of this policy change occurring without a true board majority subjects the SOMB and CDPS to public scrutiny,” Hilkey wrote.

Hilkey suggested that, as director of the department that oversees the SOMB, he would likely reject the new language as a policy change.

“I … wish to avoid a scenario where the Board and the Department are not in alignment on the issue, which would place community trust, credibility and relevance of both entities at peril of reputational harm that could jeopardize our collective success,” he wrote. “While unintended, I am concerned that this is on a path to cause more harm than was trying to be fixed within the narrow intent of the trauma-informed language in the first place.”

Polis and Hilkey got their way, to the frustration of reform-minded advocates.

“The research is overwhelming that how we label people impacts their ability to build healthy, prosocial identities and lifestyles that are incompatible with sexual offending,” Laurie Rose Kepros, director of sexual litigation for the Office of the State Public Defender, told The Denver Post. “The SOMB Standards provide the regulations that govern the professionals charged with supporting these positive changes, so the language should support that mission.  Do we want these clients to reoffend or not?”

This was Kline’s argument all along — that the language change was not, in fact, anti-victim, but rather pro-rehabilitation and public safety.

“If we’re talking about how someone speaks about themself, … that can increase risk,” Kline, arguing against labeling people, said ahead of the November vote. “Ultimately it is victim-centered if we’re reducing risk.”

Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy uses bounties on "sexual abusers" as prop for abortion law protest

There are over 200 murdered registrants, and thousands more have been harassed. It seems Ill-noise state rep Kelly Cassidy loves murder, be it registered persons or the unborn. Hyperbole or not, calling for bounties on those accused of sexual offenses is appalling and I think her term in office should be the only thing aborted. 

https://www.nprillinois.org/statehouse/2021-09-14/democrat-sponsored-texas-act-would-allow-10k-bounties-on-sexual-abusers-those-who-cause-unwanted-pregnancies

Democrat-Sponsored ‘TEXAS Act’ Would Allow $10K Bounties On Sexual Abusers, Those Who Cause Unwanted Pregnancies

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Hannah Meisel

Published September 14, 2021 at 3:57 PM CDT

Two weeks after Texas effectively banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a Democratic state lawmaker in Illinois is proposing a law based on Texas’ model — but turned on its head.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), who in 2019 sponsored law defining abortion as a fundamental right in Illinois, is introducing a bill dubbed "The EXpanding Abortion Services Act,” the acronym of which spells TEXAS.

The Texas law is uniquely designed, allowing private citizens the right to bring a civil lawsuit against anyone who performs an abortion, gets an abortion or aids in someone getting an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Opponents of the law have described the minimum $10,000 in damages up for grabs as a “bounty.”

Cassidy’s proposal instead would instead give Illinoisans the right to seek at least $10,000 in damages against anyone who causes an unwanted pregnancy — even if it resulted from consensual sex — or anyone who commits sexual assault or abuse, including domestic violence.

“If folks are policing the bodies of people who are seeking reproductive healthcare in Texas, well, then maybe we should be policing the bodies of the people who are causing those problems here in Illinois,” Cassidy told NPR Illinois.

Under Cassidy’s bill, half of the damages awarded would go toward a new “State Abortion Freedom Access Fund,” to be managed by the state’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The money would also be required to be halved even if a case is settled. The fund would be used as financial aid for people from states with limited abortion access to travel to Illinois for the procedure.

While Cassidy acknowledged the bill’s name and modeling after the Texas law includes some element of trolling, she said she’s serious about getting co-sponsors and a hearing on the legislation.

“There’s certainly an element of ‘hold my beer’ to this, obviously,” Cassidy said. “But the truth here is if this is our new normal, if this is the way that conservatives are going to police women’s bodies, and we as a state have — with a great deal of intentionality — have established ourselves as a safe haven, we also…have to figure out a way to manage that.”

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll said it’s up to Cassidy to request a hearing on the bill, but “the Speaker certainly wouldn’t stand in the way of one.” Welch has also pushed for reproductive rights in his time in office.

At an event in Aurora Tuesday morning, Planned Parenthood of Illinois President and CEO Jennifer Welch (no relation to Speaker Welch) appeared with Gov. JB Pritzker and three Democratic members of Congress to promote legislation seeking to enshrine abortion rights in federal law. Welch said Planned Parenthood facilities in Illinois have already seen an uptick in people traveling across state lines to get abortions in Illinois.

“It only took two days after [the Texas law] was enacted for us to see Texas patients here in Illinois, despite those long distances they had to travel,” Welch said. “We expect those numbers to significantly increase when these dangerous laws continue.”

Cassidy said she’s heard the same anecdotally from abortion providers, and recalled doubt from colleagues and others when she sponsored the Reproductive Health Act in 2019, saying she was told it was hyperbolic to predict the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade would be overturned. That decision upheld a woman's right to privacy in decisions about abortion, effectively allowing the practice nationwide.

Because private citizens act as the enforcement mechanism in the Texas law — and not any one state official — a majority on U.S. Supreme Court late last month declined to block the law from going into effect, reasoning it escapes federal judicial review.

The U.S. Supreme Court is readying to hear a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in a case stemming from Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks.

At Tuesday morning’s event in Aurora, Pritzker described conservatives’ wins restricting abortion in Republican-run states as a “dystopian future”

“…As radical Republican legislators across the country seek to functionally eradicate their constituents’ autonomy with no intervention from the nation’s highest court to be found,” the governor said.

A 2017 law signed by then-Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner also aimed to shield Illinois from any future Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade by removing decades-old language from state law that stipulated Roe v. Wade's overturn would trigger the end of abortion protections in Illinois too. That law also legalized the use of state funds for abortions, including for Medicaid recipients.

Ralph Rivera of Illinois Right to Life Action didn't find Cassidy's bill very funny, though he did say he would be on board for legalizing bounties for rapists. Otherwise, he speculated some of the broader strokes in the bill might be found unconstitutional.

"We’re talking about human life," Rivera said. "It’s not silly. Taking a serious matter and trying to be flippant...she could’ve just stated that and not filed a bill."

Craig Shubert, Mayor of Hudson, Ohio, doesn't understand the meaning of CP

He should be sitting in a corner, alright, but with a dunce cap on. 

I am just going to assume this is a right winger (looks him up online) Yup, called it. What a dipshit. 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2021/09/19/writing-prompts-child-porn-illegal-expert-weighs/8362770002/

"During last week's school board meeting, Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert issued an ultimatum: "It has come to my attention that your educators are distributing essentially what is child pornography in the classroom. I've spoken to a judge this evening. She's already confirmed that. So I'm going to give you a simple choice: You either choose to resign from this board of education or you will be charged."

Among the prompts in question: "Write a sex scene you wouldn't show your mom."

The book has been removed from the course by district officials.

The Summit County prosecutor said last week the sexual writing prompts aren't child porn, but the prosecutor's office is continuing to look into whether any other laws were broken."

"These allegations have resulted in threats being made against board members, faculty and administrators in Hudson," Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said Friday in a news release. "Those threats must stop. Under Ohio law, a prompt about a fictional writing is not child pornography. We will review this matter and determine if there is a factual basis that any laws were broken either by the writing prompts or the threats that have been made.” ...

Law professor: Writing prompts don't meet legal definition of child porn

A law school professor said he also believes the writing prompts did not constitute child pornography under the legal definition of the offense.

Michael Gentithes, associate professor at the University of Akron School of Law, said there are First Amendment rights that conflict with efforts to restrain publication of pornographic or obscene material.

However, he said, "even though the court looks at laws that restrict pornography with strict scrutiny, child pornography restrictions are often upheld on the grounds that the state has a really strong interest in protecting the children depicted from physical abuse."

After some of the writing prompts were shared with him, Gentithes said the material "doesn't depict any children whatsoever being abused."

He said it would "be difficult for written responses to a prompt like that to constitute child pornography because there's no images or video of someone engaged in a sexual act with a child."

Gentithes observed that "maybe you could — and this is a real stretch — suggest that other children viewing whatever was written in response to that [prompt] would have such a strong psychological or emotional reaction that it would fit the definition, but that's very unlikely."

While noting he could not say definitively whether written material could be considered child pornography, Gentithes said "almost all" criminal prosecutions of child pornography involve either photographic or video images of children engaged in sexual activity.

"The reason is you're worried about the damage [and the] abuse to the children that are depicted and the possible damage if other children see those images," he said.

Obscenity difficult to prove

He also said he strongly doubted the writing prompts would be considered obscene.

In Miller v. California in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that for material to be considered obscene, it must meet all three prongs of the following criteria: predominately appeal to prurient interests; depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and lack any serious literary or artistic value.

"It's a very difficult test to meet," Gentithes said.

Vigilante scumbag and past Shiitake Award "Winner" Curtis J Hart drops out of local council race "Because Stupidity"

Curtis J(uicy) Fart, seen here campaigning for another
Shiitake Award victory

Imagine that, Curtis Hart, self-professed "open records hound", drops out of council race because he doesn't want anyone seeing his personal records.

How ironic. Or moronic. Or both. Yeah, both. 

https://tdn.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/curtis-hart-pulling-out-of-kelso-city-council-race/article_eddec0a0-c259-5aa5-b857-53026a97a2e5.html

Curtis Hart pulling out of Kelso City Council race

Brennen Kauffman Jul 14, 2021 2

Curtis Hart will appear on the ballot for the Kelso City Council primary, but he is working to suspend his campaign.

Hart said Wednesday that he was no longer planning to move forward due to concerns with years of financial disclosures, for himself and his wife, that are required by the Public Disclosure Commission for political candidates and office holders.

“I’m a public records hound, so I know what can happen once you have those records open to the public, especially if there are people that don’t like you,” Hart said.

His decision to suspend the campaign came after the drop-out deadline for the Aug. 3 primary election. Cowlitz County’s ballots were in the process of being shipped out Wednesday and will list Hart as a candidate for position 1 on the Kelso City Council.

Hart gained notoriety over the last four years for his aggressive vigilante work against sexual offenders in Kelso, often through public records. A record request he made to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office for details of every low-level sex offender turned into a three-year lawsuit after a group of “John Doe” offenders sued to stop their release.

The “John Does” argued they would suffer severe harassment and harm if Hart went through with plans to publicly release their information. In March, the Washington State Court of Appeals issued a decision in favor of Hart obtaining the full list of records.

Hart said he had initially entered the City Council race because of discussions around limiting the number of sexual offenders who can live in one residence in Kelso. The city staff began drafting an ordinance to establish limits for registered sex offenders in May and Hart said that progress was another reason he was happy to exit the race.

Cowlitz County Auditor Carolyn Fundingsland said if candidates miss the initial withdrawal deadline, there was no process for them to be removed from the ballot any other time before the November general election.

“There is no leeway in state law,” Fundingsland said. “Those candidates, if voted for they will advance to the general election and can be elected to office.”

Hart said Wednesday that he would refuse the position if he did end up winning the race in November.

The other two candidates on the ballot for position 1 in Kelso are incumbent Jeffrey McAllister and Brian Wood. The two candidates with the most votes in the August primary will go on to the general election in November.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey vetos beneficial sex offense legislation over balanced budget dispute

I suppose I've seen dumber reasons to veto a beneficial registry reform bill, but pouting over a budget issue is pretty stupid. 

https://www.azmirror.com/2021/05/28/ducey-vetoes-22-bills-says-nothing-will-be-signed-until-budget-is-approved/

Ducey vetoes 22 bills, says nothing will be signed until budget is approved

By Jeremy Duda -May 28, 2021, Last Updated: May 28, 2021 3:00 pm

Gov. Doug Ducey is ratcheting up the pressure on GOP lawmakers to reach an agreement on the budget, vowing not to sign any other legislation that reaches his desk until he gets a budget, and backing up his threat by vetoing 22 bills.

Ducey made the announcement in response to both the House of Representatives and Senate adjourning until June 10 after Republican legislative leaders failed to round up a majority to pass the budget deal they forged with the governor. The GOP has only a one-vote majority in both legislative chambers and Democrats oppose the proposed budget, meaning Republican lawmakers must vote unanimously to approve the plan.

“We have the opportunity to make responsible and significant investments in K-12 education, higher education, infrastructure and local communities, all while delivering historic tax relief to working families and small businesses,” Ducey wrote on Twitter on Friday afternoon. “Once the budget passes, I’m willing to consider some of these other issues. But until then, I will not be signing any additional bills. Let’s focus on our jobs, get to work and pass the budget.”

The governor wasted no time acting on his ultimatum, vetoing all 22 bills that were on his desk. That list of bills included legislation to ban certain kinds of anti-racism training for government employees, a bill that would make it a felony for election officials to send early ballots to voters who don’t request them, a bill that make it easier for some low-level sex offenders to remove their names from the state’s sex offender registry and legislation improving treatment for pregnant prison inmates. 

“Some are good policy, but with one month left until the end of the fiscal year, we need to focus first on passing a budget. That should be priority one. The other stuff can wait,” Ducey wrote on Twitter. 

Useful Idiot: Wisconsin State Rep. Samantha Kerkman admits civil commitment is just an extension of prison time

There are a lot of bad things to unpack here, like the use of "pocket parks" to banish Registered Persons from living in the community, but a Republican state rep potentially helps out future lawsuits by admitting civil commitment is being used to incarcerate people beyond their sentences. I'm sure her cohorts in the WI legislature are unhappy she spilled the beans. 

https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/new-hearing-set-friday-on-placement-of-two-sex-offenders-in-camp-lake/article_638a7bbc-2bff-596d-8740-855324734219.html

RESIDENTS OBJECT TO SEX OFFENDER PLAN

WATCH NOW: New hearing set Friday on placement of two sex offenders in Camp Lake

JILL TATGE-ROZELL 18 hrs ago

SALEM LAKES — Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Anthony Milisauskas is scheduled to consider new information Friday about the proximity of parks to a village home where two sex offenders were ordered for placement, District Attorney Michael Graveley told more than 200 people at a meeting on the issue Wednesday night.

“We’re going to see what happens on Friday, but from my perspective you have a reason to be optimistic,” Graveley said, adding he can’t promise anything.

The hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. All parties will be communicating via telephone conference. However, the public will be able to listen if present in the courtroom at the Kenosha County Courthouse.

Both Graveley and Sheriff David Beth said Salem Lakes Village Administrator Mike Murdock supplied information about the location of parks not initially presented to the judges who approved the placement at a home at 2756 Camp Lake Road.

“If there’s a hero today whose here, it’s Mike Murdock,” Graveley said, garnering applause from the public.

Beth said, based on the information provided by Murdock, “detectives were able to determine there are several small parks within 1,500 feet of the residence.” Both state statute and village ordinance prohibit the placement of sex offenders within this range.

“The Sheriff’s Department no longer feels that this house fits for the placement of these two people,” Beth said, also to the applause of the crowd, which did get vocal in opposition to the pending placements at times during the meeting.

A map with a 1,500-foot radius drawn around the home address, on display at the meeting, clearly shows the locations of multiple parks. Graveley and Beth said this information is part of a new report that will be provided to the judge.

Resident Adrienne Kiesler, who spoke to the panel Wednesday, provided a photo showing the line of sight from her pier to the house located 175 feet away.

“My children are their number-one target,” Kiesler said, adding one of her sons in the same age as one of the offender’s victims. “All I can do is beg and plead that this gets to the right people to turn this down.”

Offenders’ records

The sex offenders scheduled for release are Dale H. Peshek, 48, and Brian T. Threlkeld, 39. Peshek was convicted in 1998 for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy in 1997, and with child enticement involving the same boy in 1995.

Threlkeld was convicted in 2000 for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old boy, and, according to archival news reports, admitted to assaulting others.

Both Peshek and Brian Threlkeld were found to be “sexually violent persons” by the court under Chapter 980 of state statutes. To be declared as such, an offender must have a mental disorder that predisposes the person to engage in acts of sexual violence and make it likely the person will engage in future acts of sexual violence.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which handled the petition to declare Peshek as a sexually violent offender, Peshek also committed sexual assaults of younger children in 1986 and 1988 when he was a juvenile.

Sex offenders who are deemed sexually violent begin a civil commitment at a treatment facility in Mauston after they have completed their criminal sentence. It is not for a specific time. The sexually violent offender is reevaluated yearly for supervised release.

Since 2017, an offender’s county of residence has been mandated by law to find a location for placement of upon their release.

Offenders will stay in county

Graveley said should the court decide Friday the home in Camp Lake is not an appropriate placement, another different location in Kenosha County will need to be found.

Representatives from the Department of Corrections, Department of Health Services, and other agencies involved explained the supervised release process and were on hand to answer questions.

State Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Salem Lakes, said she and state Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, “are working together to enhance our 980 statute” with additional notification rules. The legislators’ districts include Salem Lakes.

“We are lucky the statute was put on the books in 1994 because it’s helped keep people who are sexually violent incarcerated for an additional time period,” Kerkman said. “It’s an involuntary commitment essentially to help keep our communities safe.”

Republican California State Senator Brian Jones is trying to prevent Registrants from being placed in his community

Pete Wilson was one of the worst governors in CA history, so I'm not sure following his bad example is a good look for the state. 

https://www.kusi.com/state-senator-jones-calls-to-halt-proposed-placements-of-svps-in-east-county/

State Senator Jones calls to halt proposed placements of SVPs in East County

Posted: April 16, 2021  KUSI Newsroom

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Sen. Brian Jones said Friday he has asked Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to halt the potential placements of two convicted sex offenders in an East County home.

The placements in question are the proposed conditional releases of Douglas Badger and Merle Wakefield, both of whom the Department of State Hospitals has recommended be housed in a supervised home on Horizon Hills Drive in the Mt. Helix neighborhood.

Badger, 78, was convicted of sexual assaults dating back to the 1970s, mostly victimizing male hitchhikers, while Wakefield, 64, was convicted of sexual assaults dating back to the 1980s, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

Both men are classified as sexually violent predators, a designation for those convicted of sexually violent offenses and diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes them likely to re-offend.

After serving their prison sentences, sexually violent predators may undergo treatment at state hospitals, but may also petition courts to continue treatment in supervised outpatient locations. Both men’s requests for conditional release have been granted by judges.

Badger has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday regarding his potential placement, while Wakefield’s hearing is scheduled for next month. Both hearings are public and will be conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jones said he sent two letters this month to Department of State Hospitals Director Stephanie Clendenin after constituents expressed concerns regarding the proposed placements.

In a statement, Jones cited two instances in which former Govs. Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian overruled state authorities to order convicted rapists to serve the remainders of their parole in trailers on the grounds of state prisons.

“Neither Douglas Badger or Merle Wakefield are suitable to be released from secure state facilities, let alone dumping them in a residential neighborhood in Mt. Helix,” said Jones, R-Santee.

“Both are dangerous sexually violent predators who have repeatedly targeted and attacked children. Rather than renting a spacious home to serve as a boarding house for these people, Governor Newsom ought to follow the lead of former Govs. Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian. Both of these governors got creative and ordered that dangerous parolees be housed in trailers at state correctional facilities.”

Disgraced former FloriDUH State Senator Frank Artiles is arrested for voter fraud

Disgraced former FL State Senator Frank Artiles sponsored the bill in 2014 that made changes to the FL Statutes to make the drivers license marks that say "Sexual Predator" them (the law existed before then but the statute number was listed, not the phrase). From Frank Artiles's own website, he made it a point to be a part of the 2014 "scorched earth policy", adding, "It is a top priority of the Florida House to make Florida the most unfriendly state in the nation for sexually violent predators." So I don't feel bad at all that this piece of crap was busted for election fraud. 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/fabiola-santiago/article250026354.html

Former Florida state Sen. Frank Artiles is finally getting his due: criminal charges | Opinion

BY FABIOLA SANTIAGO

MARCH 19, 2021 06:00 AM, 

Confirmed: There was voter fraud in Florida in the 2020 election after all.

And the alleged perpetrator, foul-mouthed Frank Artiles, is getting his due.

The disgraced former Florida lawmaker and GOP operative is charged with making a mockery of democracy: rigging a 2020 state Senate race in Miami-Dade by planting and paying $44,708 to a bogus, no-party candidate with a similar name to the Democratic incumbent.

His masterful strategy to win for the GOP — now the stuff of riveting search and arrest warrants — was to siphon off votes from the Democrat.

Who needs to rack up endorsements, debate the issues and highlight experience, when all you have to do is hire a guy who lives in Boca Raton with the last name of Rodríguez?

Two Cuban-American Rodríguezes against a Cuban-American García amounts to perfectly executed confusion for the largely Hispanic and Anglo voters of Miami, Coral Gables and Pinecrest.

The Senate 37 race between Democratic Sen. José Javier Rodríguez and his newcomer Republican opponent, Ileana García, founder of Latinas for Trump, was decided in her favor after a three-day recount — and by only 32 votes.

The shill candidate drew 6,382 votes.

García’s win was one of the upsets that expanded the majority Republican dominance of the Florida Legislature. García is there right now casting votes and shaping policy along predictable party lines — and we may never know if that was truly the voters’ will.

We do know Artiles’ intention — he even bragged about the candidate plant — and we know who benefited from his dark money criminal enterprise: the Republicans.

Like in a movie, he allegedly paid Alexis (Alex) Rodríguez for the dirty deed by repeatedly raiding his Palmetto Bay home safe, grabbing stacks of cash — from $3,000 to $5,000 — so rewarding a nondescript auto parts dealer he didn’t think anyone would bother to track down.

Idiot that he has always been underneath the bravado, Artiles didn’t think the money and paper trail would lead to him — or that three reporters, the Miami Herald’s Samantha Gross and Ana Ceballos, and WPLG TV’s Glenna Milberg, would tirelessly pursue the truth.

Or, that the cheating Alex Rodríguez would talk.

Or, for that matter, that the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Task Force would investigate and pursue the case.

His home raided by law enforcement, Artiles now faces several felony campaign-finance charges and additional ones for false swearing in connection with voting or elections.

May he languish in prison for it, although that remains to be seen, given Miami-Dade’s prosecutors’ poor record for putting corrupt politicians behind bars, where they belong.

But for now, it’s democracy-affirming to see the law catch up to his shenanigans.

ARTILES’ BULLY BEHAVIOR

The ex-Miami state representative for District 118 and senator has been a slimy politician his entire career — with the support of his colleagues and his party, it’s worth noting.

He broke the law in 2010 when he ran for office in District 119, which spanned from Sweetwater to Homestead before redistricting, where he didn’t live. When caught by Political Cortadito blogger Elaine de Valle at his Palmetto Bay house wearing gym pants and socks at 9:45 p.m. on a Monday night, he claimed ignorance.

In 2016, post redistricting, he won his Senate seat using ethnic-baiting tactics in a heavily Hispanic district. He told voters that his African American contender, Dwight Bullard, supported “a terrorist organization.” It was Black Lives Matter. Shameful.

In the Senate, he bullied Senate colleagues. He bullied the Miami Dade College president.

He hurled racist and misogynist rants at an African-American senator in front of colleagues gathered at a Tallahassee bar in 2017.

He called Senate President Joe Negron a “p---y” and the senators in the GOP caucus that elected him “n---as.” He called Sen. Audrey Gibson, an African-American Democrat from Jacksonville, sitting across the table from him at the Governor’s Club, a “b---h” and a “girl.”

Trying to escape Senate censure, he made things worse with an insincere apology that blamed his lack of basic human decency on growing up in Hialeah. He was eventually forced to resign in disgrace, although not by his Cuban-American colleagues, who did all they could to torpedo Senate censure.

Nothing much was lost.

A homophobe, he had been peddling a potty bill that would have made it illegal for transgender people to use a public bathroom that doesn’t correspond to their biological gender designation at birth.

Here’s hoping he liked the bathrooms at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he was booked Thursday morning and spent about nine hours before posting a $5,000 bond.

But what about the voters?

A rigged election shouldn’t be allowed to stand, but a special election can’t be called unless García is implicated, too, and so far, she hasn’t been.

For now, voters can only hope to savor the kind of justice served by the prospect of a five-year prison term for a bad actor who has long-earned banishment.

Bully, racist, misogynist, gay-hater — and hopefully soon, convicted felon, Frank Artiles is getting what he deserves.