Miami’s District 1 runoff election is a rematch amid scandal and legal battles
The runoff in Miami’s District 1 commission race is a rematch of the 2019 race, but this year’s election is set against a backdrop of scandal and legal battles.
The incumbent, Alex Díaz de la Portilla, has been suspended since Sept. 15, one day after he was arrested on corruption charges after he allegedly sold his vote in exchange for political contributions and gifts. His challenger, Miguel Angel Gabela, has spent months fighting in court to make sure that his candidacy would count after the city redrew the voting map in a way that left his longtime home outside District 1.
Despite the issues, Díaz de la Portilla enters Tuesday’s runoff election after having received the most votes in the Nov. 7 general election, about 300 more than Gabela.
In a statement after the Nov. 7 election, Díaz de la Portilla said his first-place finish happened because voters in District 1 understood that the criminal charges against him were “a work of fiction.”
“I am the people’s voice on the City of Miami commission,” Díaz de la Portilla said. “On to victory in the runoff on Nov. 21.”
Read more: Yes, it’s still election season. What to know ahead of Miami and Miami Beach runoffs
When their legal battles stacked are against each other, Gabela is having a better month.
On Election Day, an appeals court ruled that Gabela’s candidacy was valid and votes for him would count. The decision was the latest turn in a lawsuit over Gabela’s qualifications after he moved into the new District 1 when the boundaries were changed by commissioners, including Díaz de la Portilla. Gabela is in his fourth bid for a commission seat and his second against Díaz de la Portilla, who beat him with 60% of the vote in the 2019 runoff.
Read more: Suspended Miami commissioner loses family home to foreclosure sale days before election
Meanwhile, Díaz de la Portilla lost his family home in a foreclosure sale on Tuesday. Wells Fargo bank bought the five-bedroom home at the auction. Hours later, Díaz de la Portilla said he’d be buying the home back, through he did not detail how he would do it after not making a mortgage payment since 2012.
Amid a flurry of attacks from both sides, voters in one of the city’s most working-class areas will decide if they want to give an embattled politician another chance or change course. District 1 includes Allapattah, the Health District, Grapeland Heights, Flagami and parts of Little Havana.
Early voting runs from Friday through Sunday. The runoff election will conclude Tuesday.
The issues
Díaz de la Portilla declined to share his vision for District 1 with the Miami Herald. Gabela said voters have told him they are tired of the negative tone of the race, and would rather focus on the issues.
“I feel bad for the voters because some of the voters have been turned off because of the negative campaigning,” Gabela said.
Gabela said he wants to get back to basics if he were elected — fixing cracked sidewalks, combating illegal dumping and filling potholes.
He shared his thoughts as he navigated floodwaters in Allapattah during Wednesday night’s storm. He said he would push to keep storm drain systems clear of debris.
“They haven’t been doing a proper job of cleaning storm infrastructure,” he said.
Amid a string of controversies in the city, including scandals that have dogged Díaz de la Portilla’s term, Gabela said he would bring more stability to City Hall.
“I hope I can restore some kind of decency or some kind of trust in our commission,” he said.
Campaign finance
Díaz de la Portilla entered the election season as a well-funded incumbent with money from the political establishment and real estate interests, but campaign finance records show that political contributions mostly dried up in the days after his arrest.
Contributions to his political committee, which is at the center of the criminal charges against him, came to a halt after his arrest. Legal bills spiked — he paid his defense attorney Benedict Kuehne $150.000 six days after the arrest — and one $25,000 check from a local nightclub was returned.
Read more: Campaign donations to Diaz de la Portilla’s PAC dried up after corruption charges
Between July 1 and Oct. 6, Díaz de la Portilla raised $95,250 in political contributions directly to his campaign, including $6,000 in bundled donations from developer Avra Jain and $4,000 from affiliates of the organizers of electronic dance music event Ultra Music Festival.
From Oct. 7 to Oct. 20, he received $11,000. From Oct. 21 through Nov. 2, he received no direct contributions. Even though it slowed, Díaz de la Portilla raised about $182,000 in contributions, ahead of Gabela’s $73,000 donations.
Gabela’s total includes about $28,000 he has loaned to himself, and $9,000 from Manny Prieguez, a lobbyist, former state lawmaker and previous ally of Díaz de la Portilla. Prieguez is suing Díaz de la Portilla in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, accusing his former friend of a “shakedown” scheme to trade his vote in exchange for a favor for a friend during a hotly contested public bid to redevelop the city-owned Rickenbacker Marina.
In his complaint, which is pending in court, Prieguez said Díaz de la Portilla attempted to pressure the marina’s longtime operator to take on one of the commissioner’s associates as a partner.
Díaz de la Portilla has denied wrongdoing.
Read more: Miami commissioner sued for alleged “shakedown” of Rickenbacker Marina’s operator
