Miami candidates call for end to City Hall ‘corruption’ as campaign season kicks off
The deadline to make the ballot in the city of Miami’s November election came and went Saturday, kicking off a campaign season that comes on the heels of the arrest of Alex Díaz de la Portilla, who is seeking reelection while facing corruption charges.
More than a dozen candidates met the Saturday evening deadline to qualify to run for the Miami City Commission in districts 1, 2, and 4. Mail ballots will be sent to voters in early October. Election Day is Nov. 7.
Each race features an incumbent commissioner, including Díaz de la Portilla, who was suspended this month by Gov. Ron DeSantis after the commissioner was arrested and accused of selling his vote in exchange for around $250,000 in political contributions and gifts. He told the Miami Herald he is confident voters in Allapattah, Spring Garden and Flagami will give him four more years in office as he runs the same kind of campaign “that earned me 60% of the vote” when he was first elected to the City Commission in 2019.
Díaz de la Portilla’s arrest doesn’t come in a vacuum: The FBI is interested in Mayor Francis Suarez’s work for a developer and a federal jury in June awarded $63.5 million in damages to businessmen who said in a civil suit that Commissioner Joe Carollo used police and code officers to harass their businesses.
All three are adamant that they’ve done nothing wrong, and neither the mayor nor Carollo are on the ballot. But with about six weeks to go until Election Day, the strife at City Hall has candidates talking about cleaning up Miami’s government.
“There needs to be a stop to the corruption in the city of Miami so the true work of District 1 can start,” said Miguel Gabela, an auto parts retailer who is challenging Díaz de la Portilla.
With three of the city’s five commission seats on the ballot, the upcoming election has the potential to shift power at Dinner Key, home to historic Miami City Hall in Coconut Grove.
Read more: It’s election season in Miami. Here’s how to register and vote by mail
In District 1, voters will decide between five candidates: Díaz de la Portilla, Gabela, an auto parts retailer, retired police officer Francisco Pichel, Miami-Dade County employee Mercedes Rodriguez, and local business investor Marvin Tapia, who filed his qualifying paperwork on the day Díaz de la Portilla was arrested.
The District 1 seat has been vacant since Díaz de la Portilla’s suspension. On Saturday, commissioners decided to leave the seat unfilled for more than a month and allow the Nov. 7 election to decide who will represent the district.
Asked about his message to voters, Díaz de la Portilla simply pointed to the amount of support he received in the 2019 election. Some of his opponents, however, clearly intend to emphasize the corruption allegations at City Hall.
“We have an incredible opportunity here to break a decades long cycle of corruption and misrepresentation by voting for someone whose main focus is putting the residents first and giving them a voice in City Hall,” said Tapia in a statement.
Pichel, a licensed private investigator, enters the race two years after his unsuccessful campaign for mayor was interrupted by his arrest in the Florida Keys, where he was accused of impersonating a police officer while staking out a Key Largo home where Suarez and his family were vacationing.
Monroe County court records show prosecutors declined to file charges due to lack of evidence. The case was dropped in February 2022.
In District 2, which represents Miami’s coastal neighborhoods from Coconut Grove to Morningside, eight
candidates are on the ballot, including incumbent Commissioner Sabina Covo, who remains a newcomer to City Hall.
Covo, who won a short nine-month stint as commissioner in a special election in February said that the recent controversies are “embarrassing” and that she understands that maintaining and building trust is more difficult now than ever.
“I know it’s not easy right now with everything that’s going on within the city. It’s unfortunate, it’s embarrassing. But now we do need new faces who could come in and show that we can be transparent in government and inspire people to actually get out and vote,” said Covo.
Covo hasn’t been stung by the corruption allegations at City Hall. But her opponents are talking about the controversies.
“I think when we talk about the the state of Miami, we have to address the level of corruption, the undue influence of money, and the impact it is having on our residents and their faith in local government,” said challenger Damian Pardo.
James Torres said he wants to introduce whistleblower protections and campaign-finance reform, saying “Miami finds itself entangled in scandal after scandal.” Christi Tasker, who has been outspoken about the misconduct with city officials, encouraged voters to look at campaign finance records and question candidates at public forums. Gabriela Chirinos hopes to establish the fact that she is a new candidate with zero ties or attachment to the current city government will help establish trust. Eddy Leal said he’s entered into the race to help residents “take back City Hall.”
“The reason I’m running is because none of the candidates have persuaded me that they’re going to do anything about this corruption or that they’re going to do anything about tackling these other issues,” said candidate Michael Castro. “So if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.”
Voters will also vote in the city’s District 4 commission race, where Commissioner Manolo Reyes is seeking reelection. Reyes, who was accused in 2021 by former Police Chief Art Acevedo of interfering with police business, said he welcomes scrutiny and criticized Acevedo for being a divisive chief.
Reyes has denied the allegations. On Saturday, he said he had nothing to hide and he pushed back on general criticisms of City Hall, arguing that while there are problems at the city, there are many public servants trying to do the right thing, including himself.
He urged people who feel strongly about improving city government to vote or run for office.
“We need more people to participate,” he said.
Reyes faces a challenge from Andres Vallina, a telecommunications consultant.
District 1
Alex Díaz de la Portilla (incumbent)
Miguel Gabela
Francisco Pichel
Mercedes Librada Rodriguez
Marvin Tapia
District 2
Michael Castro
Gabriela Chirinos
Sabina Covo (incumbent)
Alicia Susan Kossick
Eddy Leal
Damian Pardo
Christi Tasker
James Torres
District 4
Manolo Reyes (incumbent)
Andres Vallina
This story was originally published September 23, 2023 at 6:34 PM.
