Young GOP VIPs back Manny Cid for Miami Lakes mayor

• Tweet
• Sumo

• Tweet

Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez, Coral Gables Commissioner Vince Lago, North Miami Beach Councilman Anthony DeFillipo and Coral Springs Commissioner Dan Daley will headline a fundraiser Wednesday for Miami Lakes Councilman Manny Cid, who is running for mayor.

The event is titled “Young Professionals for Manny Cid,” and it includes the president of the Miami Young Republicans Jessica Fernandez, just back from a whirlwind tour as a media darling at the GOP convention in Cleveland. Fernandez, a political consultant, was campaign manager in 2008 for former Miami Lakes Councilman Nick Perdomo.

Also on the long list of hosts is:

• Armando Ibarra, Jessica’s husband and local political consultant and strategist and numbers crunchers who has worked for Suarez, Newt Gingrich in 2012, Karen Harrington for Congress and the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association.
• Jose Mallea, who has worked for Sen. Marco Rubio, Gingrich and, most recently, former Gov. Jeb Bush in his Right to Rise PAC.
• Kathy San Pedro, an AT&T lobbyist who worked on the campaigns of State Reps. Jeannette Nunez and Bryan Avila.
• Damon Roberson, a political consultant who worked for the Miami-Dade GOP as well as the campaigns of Florida CFO Jeff Attwater and Mitt Romney for president.
• TJ Villamil, former student body president at Univeristy of Florida and son of Tony Villamil, a former undersecretary of commerce under President George H.W. Bush.
• Eric Diaz-Padron, the son of former West Miami Mayor Carlos Diaz-Padron, and a Belen boy with political aspirations of his own.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at Biscayne Bay Brewing Company, 8000 NW 25th St., in Doral.

Qualifying for the race started this week, but Cid has already filed paperwork with his campaign account information. So has former Mayor Wayne Slaton and Councilman Ceasar Mestre.

Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi is expected to qualify before the deadline on Aug. 3.

The election is Nov. 8.

  Manny Cid, Miami Lakes