HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A candidate running for mayor in Homestead claims there is a shill candidate in the race whose sole purpose is to confuse voters and split the ballots.
That’s what current Homestead Vice Mayor Julio Guzman is alleging about a third, no-party candidate who filed to run in the race a day before the deadline.
Guzman took photos off Homestead Mayor Steve Losner’s family Facebook, showing candidate Sonia Castro Natal as a friend and political supporter of Losner four years ago.
Now Guzman thinks Castro Natal is a plant for Losner’s reelection campaign, a planted second Hispanic name in the race to confuse voters.
“If she had genuine interest to run for mayor, she would have started campaign a long time ago,” Guzman said.
It’s not like gaming the vote is new.
Local 10 News has reported on a little rogue’s gallery of people goaded by operatives to file as candidates, not to win, but to confuse voters and dilute an opponent’s chances.
There were no Castro-Natal campaign signs observed by Local 10 News and no campaign presence on the internet.
She did respond to an email, suggesting Guzman’s attempt to discredit her candidacy is “slander” and that she’s running because she cares about the Homestead community.
