Cancio slams LBA nod to Julio

Imagine how Jose "Pepe" Cancio felt after the Latin Builders' Association, in which he has been a member for more than 20 years, first snubbed him at the forum for county mayor and then endorsed Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina -- without even hearing him out.

Cancio goes so far as to call the endorsement a "backroom deal" made without the consent of all members or directors. To which I can only say one thing: "Duh!"

But you don't have to imagine, dear readers. Ladra got a copy of the email he sent the board of directors last Thursday when they LBA issued its announcement and wants to share it with you.

"I am appalled to learn that the LBA issued an endorsement of a mayoral candidate without having the courtesy of interviewing other leading candidates," Cancio began, reminding the chairman of the board, Bernie Navarro, that the qualifying period had ended less than 48 hours earlier. "Unlike other associations such as BASF and ABC, which have extended interviews to all candidates, the LBA issued an endorsement without consulting or advising many of its directors and certainly most of its members. It is my understanding that you are in Europe and you were not even present at the meeting."

"The LBA has always been proud to stand for tradition and it has a history of supporting its members. I started my candidacy the same day that the LBA conducted its 'mayoral debate' and I was disappointed in not being added at the last minute to the panel. I definitely expected an opportunity to be heard," Cancio wrote. "Today, to add insult to injury, we received notification by the LBA that our company was selected 'Member of the Month' which includes receiving recognition in the May issue. In addition, I am the only mayoral candidate who was selected to receive the coveted 'Entrepreneur' of the Year Award by the LBA as received by Jorge Mas Canosa, Pedro Adrian, Armando Codina and others in the past, and I refused to accept it because I felt at the time the award was more deserved by our company and by our employees rather than by me individually.

"As a CEO of a leading Hispanic construction group and a long-time member of the LBA, I should
have received at a minimum the courtesy of an interview. The only endorsement that really counts at the end is that of the voters but I must voice my disappointment in the way that some LBA members purporting to act on behalf of the executive board of the LBA handled what should have been a transparent and democratic process," Cancio wrote, and he had me up to there but then he finished with this zinger and totally lost me: "It is because of this sort of back-room deals and catering to special interests that the LBA is now losing a lot of its credibility in the eyes of many in our community and that is very unfortunate."

Now losing credibility? Special interests and backroom deals are what the LBA is made of, and I find it hard to believe Cancio wouldn't know that after 20 years as an award-winning member of the month. Maybe it only bothers him when he's in the "out" group.