Here are the people and businesses funding campaigns in Miami’s special election

The race to represent many of Miami’s coastal neighborhoods has spawned more than $1.4 million in political fundraising, a significant sum for an eight-month post that will be up for election again in November.

On Feb. 27, voters in Miami’s District 2 will elect a commissioner to serve out the remainder of a term vacated by Ken Russell, who had to resign before the end of this four-year term because he ran for Congress last year. In a 13-person race with no runoff — the highest vote-getter wins — fundraising may not be a deciding factor. Russell won his first election in 2015 despite being outspent by more than $500,000 and entering the race with little name recognition.

But campaign-finance reports from the District 2 special election show where real estate developers, lobbyists, land-use attorneys and other interests are giving their support and trying to influence the election. The latest reports, released Thursday, show Miami’s political establishment has a preferred candidate, a few others have separately amassed sizable sums and a few are largely self-funded.

READ MORE: Miami has a special election. Here are District 2 candidates talking about issues

The bulk of contributions from traditional donors have gone to Martin Zilber, a former Miami-Dade judge who resigned in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct. Later, a Florida Bar inquiry found no probable cause to sanction him. He has raised at least $458,700 in direct contributions and donations to a political committee supporting him, Beautify Grove Miami.

This includes $25,000 from MasTec, the infrastructure firm run by brothers Jorge and Jose Mas. They are co-owners of the Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami, and they are preparing to develop Miami Freedom Park, a $1 billion commercial and stadium complex, on the city-owned Melreese golf-course property.

Beautify Grove Miami also received $25,000 from a committee called Truth is the Daughter of Time, which is controlled by former Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, an attorney at Shutts & Bowen. Sarnoff’s connections to City Hall have grown in recent years, registering to lobby for several interests. This includes representing digital informational kiosks firm Ike Smart City, which has been expanding its operations in Miami. Five days before Sarnoff’s committee cut the $25,000 check, Ike Smart City gave Sarnoff’s committee the same amount.

Sarnoff also represented the city in negotiations over the city’s lease with the Mas brothers for Miami Freedom Park. He represents Commissioner Joe Carollo in a lawsuit brought by Little Havana businessmen who say Carollo sicced code enforcement on them.

Zilber’s donors include a string of firms and individual attorneys who lobby in the city, including Greenberg Traurig, Akerman, Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes, and several attorneys from the firm that employs him, Krinzman Huss Lubetsky Feldman & Hotte. One of Zilber’s Krinzman colleagues and donors, Mason Pertnoy, is also part of Carollo’s legal defense team in the Little Havana lawsuit, which is expected to go to trial in April.

Big-name developers have also contributed to Zilber’s campaign, including Jorge Perez’s Related Group, David Martin’s Terra Group and Craig Robins, developer of the Design District.

A few of Zilber’s contributors have active business with the city.

Companies run by developer Nir Shoshani combined to give Zilber $8,000. Shoshani and partner Ron Gottesman are seeking to redevelop 18 city-owned acres in Allapattah, a proposal supported by Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla. Real estate firm Gencom, which is negotiating a 99-year lease with the city to redevelop the Downtown Hyatt Regency hotel and James L. Knight Center, gave $20,000. Treo Group, which has been redeveloping city-owned land on Dinner Key next to City Hall, gave $8,000 in bundled contributions. Aabad Melwani, operator of the city-owned Rickenbacker Marina, and affiliates gave $3,000 in bundled donations.

Sabina Covo, a former journalist, has also received contributions from some of the city’s movers and shakers.

Between direct contributions and a political committee supporting her, Dream Miami PC, she has raised about $86,900. Developer OKO Group, which gave Zilber $10,000, also gave Covo the same amount. Two Greenberg Traurig attorneys who regularly lobby in the city, Carlos Lago and Iris Escarra, gave her $1,000 each. Law firm Bercow Radell gave her $1,000. Developer Ugo Colombo gave Zilber $2,000 in bundled donations and gave Covo’s committee $5,000.

READ MORE: To vote by mail in Miami’s special election, you’ll have to request yours. Here’s how

The single largest contribution went to a committee supporting Eddy Leal, an attorney who works in Mayor Francis Suarez’s office and took leave to run. On Jan. 24, Citizens for Florida Prosperity PC received $125,000 from another committee, Florida First Forever. Five days earlier, Florida First Forever received $201,000 from San Manna LLC, a company that lists real estate agent Marcelo La Manna as a principal. La Manna is employed as an associate at Piquet Realty.

Citizens for Florida Prosperity PC has existed since 2016 and has had ties to the Republican Party of Florida and GOP donors over the years. It has received donations from and given contributions to several conservative political groups through several election cycles in different parts of Florida. The committee does not necessarily have to spend all of its money on any one campaign, including Leal’s.

Leal, told the Miami Herald he is not fundraising for the committee, and he’s not familiar with its donors. Leal received $1,000 from former District 2 candidate Grace Solares in a direct contribution to his main campaign account. He has raised about $28,100 in direct contributions, mostly from attorneys and real estate agents.

Candidate James Torres, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, has raised a combined $105,400 in direct contributions and donations to a political committee supporting him, Roundtable Miami. Torres received $7,000 in bundled donations from developer Moishe Mana and affiliated companies. Mana is the largest landowner in Wynwood, and he is the single largest landlord in Miami’s downtown core, with dozens of properties in the Flagler District.

Companies affiliated with Bar Lab, the hospitality company behind the Broken Shaker in Miami Beach and Margot Wine Bar on Flagler Street, gave Torres $2,000. Monty Trainer, a longtime Grove advocate and the founder of the bayfront raw bar that bears his name, gave Torres $1,000. Roundtable Miami received $10,000 each from aircraft data collection company Avionica and William Cormier, a Realtor in Virginia.

Three candidates with more than $20,000 are mostly self-funded: Lior Halabi, Lorenzo Palomares and June Savage.

Candidates have to turn in finance reports one more time before voting ends. The next report is due Feb 23.

This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 3:21 PM.