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He paid his way through Cornell University with student loans, then became the youngest member ever elected to the school board in 1996 — coming in first among six candidates and then winning the runoff. Of course, he was helped because it was the first year the school board went to single member districts, which increased the representation of Hispanics. He eventually chaired the budget committee that oversaw $4 billion in spending and led the effort with former School Board Member Demetrio Perez to allow parents to adopt school uniform policies if they chose to — a controversial issue back then that is now a given Godsend.
He also passed a measure that requires high school students to write a certain minimum number of words — you know, so we don’t give any more diplomas to kids who can’t read or write. He never voted to cut teacher’s salaries. In fact, he tried to raise them. And he also fought overcrowding of our schools, working with his eldest brother, Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla — then a county commissioner — to impose impact fees on developers of new construction in order to help fund the building of schools needed to meet the growth needs of West Miami-Dade and its booming child population.
This may be why the special interests and construction industry did not support him in 1998 and he was defeated by Marta Perez, an educator and millionaire (net worth: $2.6 million) who funds much of her own campaigns and outspent him about two to one.
So he turned his eyes to the Florida House seat being vacated by the other big brother, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who was moving on to the Senate. Baby DLP was elected to Alex’s House seat in 2000. He chaired the education committee in his second session in Tallahassee. He was one of three legislators who drafted and passed the re-write of Florida’s education code to make the K-12 system more of a K-college system.
But he wasn’t all about education. His sense of fairness extended to other issues.
Diaz de la Portilla, with the help of his brother Alex in the Senate, sponsored and passed a bill creating an independent authority for Miami International Airport to take the politics out of procurement. This was at a time when the scandals at MIA were almost daily. Our local electeds and his colleagues fought it, but it still passed. Then Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed the bill under pressure of the Dade Delegation and the Miami-Dade political machinery.
Both Renier and Alex also fought the Marlins tax break for a new stadium before it became the hip thing to do. Baby DLP almost killed it in committee, where it was sponsored by none other than senior member and sacred cow Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart. It passed by one vote. The controversy they created, however, delayed it getting to the Senate, where it died on the calendar.
That might be why he lost his re-election in 2002 by 138 votes after legislators and lobbyists against his reform position targeted him and put JC Planas, now an attorney to the pols, against him in the primary. Planas spent twice as much as Renier Diaz de la Portilla in that campaign.
So, he decided to go study law and worked his way through Nova Law School, clerking for a trial lawyer in Tallahassee by day and taking classes at night. After graduating, he was hired by GrayRobinson, one of Florida’s largest firms, and worked for three years in private practice as an attorney and lobbyist until he ran again for School Board in 2006 and was elected unopposed.
While safety and academics were his focus in his earlier term, this time Baby DLP concentrated on health and wellness. He passed the ban on trans fats in Miami-Dade Schools, the first in a large school district in the U.S., and a Kidcare initiative that increased enrollment for uninsured children who qualified and were woefully unaware that they qualified.
In 2008, he defeated
Angel Zayon — now a city of Miami spokesman — for his re-election and led the fight to oust then Superintendent Rudy Crew, who was slashing jobs and teacher’s salaries. While it may have been a controversial move at the time, nobody can argue that we aren’t better off today. So, basically, Renier Diaz de la Portilla saved jobs and teacher salaries and may be ultimately responsible for the era that ushered in current Sup Alberto Carvalho — and all the accolades that have come with him.
In 2009, he was named among Florida Trend Magazine’s top up and coming attorneys and he’s been working as a mediator since then.
One of the last items he passed before leaving the school board to run for state House again — in a race where absentee ballot fraud likely helped his opponent, State Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr. — was the creation of a local preference ordinance to help minority small businesses qualify for opportunities in the school district when the cost is equal or less. But the thing he is proudest of is his “Teacher Reimbursement Program,” where he returned from his office budget money that teachers had taken out of their own pockets to pay for supplies.
“This money could have gone to my office or community group, but I chose to send to teachers. They loved this and I think every board member should look into doing this in their districts,” he told me.
Renier is the bleeding heart of the three-headed monster that is the DLP bothers. Miguel is the face and Alex is the brain. And that name hurts him as well as helps him, as evidenced by the smear article in the local weekly alternative paper last week that was mostly a lazy regurgitation of every negative aspersion thrown at them without any proof and none of the positive things they’ve all done and which was imparted to the writer. A story that really just repeated the unfounded allegations of jealous haters and political enemies that they’ve earned because they are self made men who never owe anyone anything to anyone and seem to have always voted their conscience.
But nobody can really say anything truly bad about Baby DLP. The closest thing is a four-year old newsletter that a political enemy complained about to the Commission on Ethics but for which Baby DLP had already gotten an approving legal opinion about beforehand. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in an inquiry that, like many, was politically motivated.
Ladra’s opinion of the DLPs as the three-headed monster has changed over time as I’ve gotten to know them better and appreciate their storybook loyalty to each to each other and fierce independence from the rest of the political pack — in a climate where there are too many close-knit clubs. Everyone knows I have a relationship rooted in respect and admiration for both the older brothers and their parents. It’s been earned.
I may argue more with Baby DLP, who can be as passionate as Ladra about certain issues. But he’s also a reformer driven by a deep and persistent desire to be noble. Maybe that is why he has the endorsement of our local police and firefighters as well as judges and attorneys — while Diaz touts the support of Alvarez, his firm and Ultra Enterprises.
“Simply said, I want to continue serving my community. Judicial office is one of the highest forms of public service,” Diaz de la Portilla told Ladra.
“I just didn’t roll out of bed and decide to be a judge. My grandfather was a respected lawyer in Cuba, known as el abogado del pueblo. He had a big impact on my life. And my brother is one of the most respected attorneys in Miami,” Diaz de la Portilla said.
“It’s a family thing.”
Which reminds Ladra of one of the best things that Baby DLP has going for him: He’s got great DNA.
For judge: Renier DLP vs Veronica D = promise vs. puppet added by Ladra on
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