Lawsuit Seeks to Yank Rivera Off Ballot

Miami pol's financial disclosure forms brought into question

A lawsuit filed Thursday in Miami-Dade County is seeking to remove Republican congressional candidate David Rivera from the ballot, claiming he misrepresented his income and job history on financial disclosure forms.

The complaint, filed in Circuit Court by two voters, Maria Teresa Pascual and William Barzee, claims Rivera is subject to disqualification from the Nov. 2 election for violating Florida financial disclosure requirements.

Rivera allegedly claimed in his financial forms that a major source of his income was the U.S. Agency for International Development for the years 2003-2009.

But USAID had no history of hiring Rivera, who said he did consulting work for them through another business.

Rivera's camp quickly crafted a statement with the usual dirty politics response. They think Democratic candidate Joe Garcia is the mastermind behind the entire lawsuit.

"In his fervor to win, Garcia will do anything. This latest publicity stunt to knock David Rivera off the ballot, just shows that Garcia is a typical Washington-insider who thinks he should get his way - even if it means circumventing the democratic process and suing his way into office," the statement read. "The complaint has no merit and we are confident that it will be thrown out."

The lawsuit also claims Rivera hasn't disclosed his earnings from consulting work dating back to 2003, even though state ethics rules require that he do so.

Rivera and Garcia are both seeking to claim the District 25 seat being vacated by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.

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