Ryan Nicol
David Shapiro, a Democratic candidate in Florida’s 16th Congressional District, issued some tough talk back in February when he took his Republican opponent to task in an op-ed for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
In that piece, Shapiro criticized incumbent CD 16 Rep. Vern Buchanan and fellow Republicans for their passage of last year’s tax bill. Shapiro called out three companies in particular for their failure to protect workers following the bill’s passage: Walmart, AT&T and Kimberly-Clark.
It turns out those criticisms don’t extend to Shapiro’s own stock purchases.
A financial disclosure report filed with the U.S. House of Representatives shows Shapiro bought between $1,001 and $15,000 of stock in each of those three companies.
That disclosure report was filed just eight days after Shapiro’s op-ed. In that article, he blasted all three companies for firing workers following the tax cut, despite promises by Walmart and AT&T to provide bonuses to their employees.
In his February op-ed, Shapiro blamed Buchanan and the Republicans for passing the tax bill in the first place. “As the House of Representatives’ name suggests, a member is supposed to ‘represent’ all of the people in one’s district, not just the wealthy donors and special interests who fund his campaigns,” wrote Shapiro.
Max Goodman, campaign manager for the Buchanan campaign, said Shapiro’s ownership of these stocks shows he’s not straight with voters.
“Sneaky Shapiro is at it again,” said Goodman.
“Publicly, he says he’ll fight corporate greed, but privately, he invests in the very corporations he criticizes. You just can’t trust a word Shapiro says.”
This isn’t the first time Buchanan has hit Shapiro over the latter’s investment portfolio. Buchanan previously called out Shapiro for investments in Halliburton, gun manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies.
But the Shapiro campaign is pushing back over this repeated criticism.
“Congressman Buchanan has used his time in Washington to line his own pockets, so he assumes that’s what everyone does,” said Shapiro campaign manager Alex Vuskovic.
“Unlike Congressman Buchanan, who wrote himself a tax handout, and used his handout to buy a yacht, David doesn’t think big corporations need more government assistance: he thinks everyday working families do. That’s what he’ll fight for Florida families when he’s elected to serve this community, and it’s exactly why Congressman Buchanan is running scared.”
Shapiro is competing with legal author Jan Schneider for the Democratic nomination in CD 16. The winner of the Aug. 28 primary will take on Buchanan in the general election.
