SURFSIDE, Fla. – Ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, one candidate in Surfside is raising the red flag about possible voter irregularities.
Former Mayor Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, who is running for mayor again against incumbent Shlomo Danzinger, claims there are people registered to vote in Surfside who don’t live there — or even in Miami-Dade County.
Local 10 News has learned the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is investigating the allegations.
Several people have registered to vote at 9000 Abbott Ave., a newly built home for sale. But many say no one lives there.
“You haven’t seen anyone living there?” Local 10 News investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier asked a neighbor, who asked not to be identified.
Their response was, “No, absolutely not.”
Neighbors say the home, located just west of 90th Street and Harding Avenue, is vacant.
“They tore down the house, built a new house, and put up a for-sale sign, and no one has ever lived there,” Burkett said.
It’s a 6-bedroom, 6-bath house on the market for $4.6 million, despite the fact many say it’s vacant.
“You have three registered voters there,” Burkett said.
Burkett, in a bitter fight to win back the mayor’s seat, is concerned after losing the last election by just 25 votes.
He emphasizes, “We just want a fair election. If there is cheating going on, that needs to be called out.”
Miami Dade Supervisor of Elections records show Levi Plotkin, his wife Shterna and their son Avraham are all registered to vote at 9000 Abbott Ave. and are eligible to vote in Surfside’s election on Tuesday.
The problem, according to records, is that the three apparently live in Arapahoe Farms, a gated community off Stirling Road, in Hollywood.
“Don’t you have to live in Surfside to vote in Surfside?” Burkett questions.
The answer is yes.
Records show the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections’ office has the Plotkins’ mailing address as Hollywood.
Traffic citations obtained by Local 10 News from 2022 and 2023 show Shterna Plotkin’s address, off her driver’s license, is in Hollywood.
Their son’s speeding ticket out of Collier County in 2022 shows a Hollywood address too.
In 2020, when the Plotkins moved from California, Young Israel, a temple within walking distance of their Hollywood home, welcomed them into the congregation, stating, “The Plotkin family has just relocated to this wonderful community of Hollywood, Florida.”
How are they registered and eligible to vote in Surfside? We reached out via text and left voicemails, but there was no response.
So we rang the Ring doorbell at their Hollywood home. Shterna Plotkin answered over the speaker.
When asked about her voter registration, she said, “No comment.”
Burkett says there is a connection between the Plotkins, this Surfside home, and another candidate running for re-election.
“Jeff Rose is connected,” he said.
Rose, the current vice mayor of Surfside, is also running for re-election and is a close ally of Danzinger. He is also the contractor who built 9000 Abbott Ave.
Rose’s re-election campaign sign is on the front lawn, next to Danzinger’s.
State records show Louis Plotkin, who also goes by Levi, is listed as a representative for the LLC that owns this house and shared the listing on his Facebook page.
We contacted Rose by phone; he told us to call back the next day, but then ghosted us for weeks.
We caught up with him near Surfside Town Hall.
“You’re an elected official,” Weinsier pointed out to Rose. “You can’t answer my question?”
He called the police on Local 10 News.
“This is Jeff Rose, the vice mayor, I’m being harassed by Local 10 News on town property,” he told a dispatcher.
“You’re being harrassed?” Weinsier retorted. “We’re asking you questions.”
Rose declined to answer questions and walked away.
“Your signs are up at that house, so you obviously asked someone to put your signs up, no?” Weinsier asked before Rose shut a door on him.
If the name Jeff Rose sounds familiar, it’s because he’s been in the headlines recently after accusing the son of a former commissioner of battery.
“I don’t think it’s only Charles Burkett that wants a fair election,” Burkett said, speaking in the third person. “I think every Surfside resident wants a fair election.”
We are not sure why Jeff Rose won’t comment.
The Plotkins are not registered to vote in Broward. Again, Local 10 News reached out several times to ask them why they are registered to vote here in Surfside and, still, no comment.