The first quarter campaign finance reports in the Miami-Dade mayoral race are in and they arguably show what some people have been saying quietly and not-so-quietly since Commission Chairman Joe Martinez formally filed to run in January.
Too little, too late.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is looking like he is still the golden boy, having raised more than $600K in the first quarter of the year between his campaign ($275,000)and his PAC, Common Sense Now! ($350,
000). Martinez raked in $325,000 between his Get It Done PAC ($214,000) and his campaign, which at $112,000 is less than what the Gimenez campaign has spent since January (more on that later).
But $100,000 of that is from one 501 c4 company owned by his treasurer, Federico Garcia, and Pedro Diaz. You would think this is a PAC, and you would be right. Its a PAC disguised as a corporation, which means it does not have to report where the money came from. If that’s not the intention, then I don’t know what is. That or an attempt to throw a large chunk in to elevate your warchest from a quarter of your opponent’s to a third. Still iffy. The money could come from Norman Braman or Fidel Castro, even, and we wouldn’t know it.
“It could,” Martinez said. But it’s legal, he added.
“It’s a super PAC. There’s nothing illegal about it,” Martinez told Ladra in a short telephone interview Wednesday. “Those are the rules we’ve been given to play by. I don’t like the rules, but if everybody else is playing by them, legally and fairly, I am, too.”
He wouldn’t tell Ladra, no matter how much she begged, who the money came from. “It could be anybody, but that’s not the case,” he answered to my total exaggeration about Fidel. “That’s why people give to those super PACs, because they don’t want people to know who they are supporting.”
But that kind of contradicts the whole point of transparency, doesn’t it? And it is important. Because the company also does not have to report what it spends — and it could spend another half million to “educate” voters without anybody knowing if the money comes from the PBA or the LBA, as some malas lenguas say. Either way, it’s not a good sign for the Martinez campaign.
Ladra will keep digging on this super PAC — which I’ve only seen used in congressional races — and other potential ones, as Martinez claimed Gimenez has. Gimenez does not have any other PACs than Common Sense Now, according to his camp. And Ladra has not seen any evidence of any other PAC or educational group or hidden avenue funnel money into his campaign.
Besides, he doesn’t need it. And this move by Martinez — rather than waiting til later — may indicate that he was desperate to show more funds in his first report. If he had been a smarter politician, like former Mayor Julio Robaina, he would have waited til the very end. Not necessarily a good sign for his campaign.
Both Gimenez and Martinez do have bundles of cash from interested parties, but there will be more on that later since the reports are long and sometimes the bundles are separated to keep people from figuring it out. Bundlers for Gimenez include lobbyist Ron Book ($2,000), investor Paul Cejas ($4,000), Pedro Martin and his Terra companies ($5,000), and developer Jorge Perez and car dealer Mario Murgado ($1,000). Bundlers for Martinez, photographed here at a networking event last year, include developers Sergio Pino ($6,000) and Massoud Shojaee of Shoma Homes ($2,500), $3,000 Miami Lakes real estate investor Alicio Pina.
Ladra called the mayor’s campaign office to ask about the bundles and the interesting contributions from one-time supporters of Robaina, who lost a bitter race he once led against Gimenez last year, on both candidates’ campaign reports. And Ladra wants to thank both Martinez and Gimenez for filing electronicallly Tuesday, on time, instead of mailing it in, like some people do to delay transparency. Among the Robaina pals on the lists were former Hialeah Councilman Herman Echevarria, who gave $500 to Gimenez, investor Roberto Cayon, who gave $1,000 to Martinez’s Get It Done PAC. Martinez also has a number of contributions from businesses and property owners around the Kendall Tamiami Airport. There are probably more interesting connections, which I will get to over the course of th
e next few days. These reports weigh several pounds and are not too easy for Ladra to chew on.
Anyway, Gimenez, photographed here at his swearing in looking as relaxed as he must be right now, is always unavailable these days, though he was nice enough Tuesday at the Libre Initiative’s luncheon, where he was the keynote speaker. Too bad I didn’t have the campaign finance reports yet. But he did issue a statement Wednesday through his campaign office, made by his long-time friend and shadow during last year’s race, sports industry consultant (read: lobbyist) Ralph Garcia-Toledo.
“This report shows the confidence the people have in Mayor Gimenez and the growing momentum surrounding our campaign and our philosophy,” said Garcia-Toledo, who was identified as a “businessman” only in the press release, that also said he was “at the helm of Gimenez’s re-election campaign finance team.” Key word: Team. “With over $600,000 on-hand, the support for the Mayor’s re-election is motivating and humbling,” Garcia-Toledo said.
The presser hinted of a kick-off event in “coming weeks,” said Gimenez, who was “encouraged by our early fundraising efforts.” Encouraged? He should be enraptured! What do you call a candidate with more than $1 million still left in the bank, between the campaign account and the one PAC (Ladra knows about), which is more than twice the amount reported by his or her main opponent, at four months from a primary? Answer: Sitting pretty.
Bet that kick-off is gonna be one helluva shindig.
Martinez might better opt for a BYOB at a park in his district.
Miami-Dade Mayor’s race: A tale of two bank accounts added by Ladra on
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