City of Miami is extending court battle to invalidate commission candidate
The city of Miami will appeal a court ruling that allows auto parts retailer Miguel Gabela to run as a qualified City Commission candidate in the District 1 election.
The appeal, announced in a court filing Tuesday morning, extends a legal battle over the validity of Gabela’s candidacy one week before mail ballots are sent to voters. Gabela is running against incumbent Alex Díaz de la Portilla, who was suspended from his commission seat in September after he was arrested on corruption charges. Investor Marvin Tapia, retired Miami police officer Francisco “Frank” Pichel and Miami-Dade County employee Mercedes Rodriguez are also running for District 1.
Gabela, who has been campaigning since February, sued the city in August after his home was excluded from District 1 when commissioners — including Díaz de la Portilla — redrew the voting map in June after a court order invalidated a previous map. Miami’s city charter requires candidates to live inside the district they want to represent for at least one year before qualifying. Gabela says he moved into the new District 1 in early August.
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Last week, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Pedro Echarte ruled that Gabela was a qualified candidate while emphasizing Gabela did nothing to to remove himself from District 1. City attorneys argued Gabela should’ve moved earlier in June, right after commissioners approved the new map.
The city’s attorneys filed a notice in the circuit court Tuesday appealing Echarte’s decision to Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal.
“Unfortunately, the Court’s order does not comply with the City’s residency requirements,” said City Attorney Victoria Méndez, in a statement to the Miami Herald.
Juan-Carlos Planas, Gabela’s attorney, told the Herald the city was “doubling down on its unlawful actions to protect” a suspended politician who has been charged with crimes.
“This is a complete betrayal of their duty to the residents of the City of Miami,” he said.
The District 1 seat is currently empty. Following Díaz de la Portilla’s arrest and suspension, the four sitting Miami commissioners decided to leave his seat open until the Nov. 7 election.
