Manny Diaz Jr. is no-show at work — and at debates

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Is it that State Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr., is afraid to debate a Democrat? Is he afraid to debate a girl?

More likely, Diaz — who has never had to debate for his post — is more afraid that he cannot defend his poor record or his no-show job at a non-credited, for-profit university and his defense of mining companies that have his constituents concerned about their drinking water and homes.

Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich went to the Sun Sentinel screening and the Univision Destino 2016 debate for state reps in September. Diaz skipped both. Gonzalez went to the Beta Beta Lambda candidate forum Monday. Diaz didn’t.

Could he still be embarrassed about losing that Miami-Dade School Board race in 2010 when he was a public school principal? Or his absentee ballot fraud-tainted win in 2012?

Maybe he was too busy as the chief operating officer of Doral “College,” a junior college on a charter high school campus near the Florida Turnpike using public school funds.

Nah. He isn’t on campus much. He wasn’t on campus Friday when Ladra called.

The most likely reason that Diaz won’t debate is because he doesn’t want to have to defend his track record of pay-to-play politics and conflicts of interest, because Diaz uses his position — not his no-show job, but his elected office — to benefit the charter school industry.

Months after he was elected in 2012, Diaz was hired in 2013 by Academica to manage Doral College, which is on the campus of the company’s Doral Academy Preparatory charter school, where he makes almost $112,000 a year today (those are public funds). He then proceeded to repeatedly sponsor and support legislation that makes it easier for charters schools to open and operate. He serves as chairman of the House Education Committee’s Choice and Innovation Subcommittee but Diaz has told reporters he doesn’t see a conflict. “All these pieces of legislation are broad and affects everyone in the charter school industry,” he is quoted as saying.

But his paycheck is from Academica, the country’s largest charter school company, so it probably “affects” (read: benefits) them the most. And two years after he was hired, in summer of 2015, Doral College had received at least $600,000 of state charter school funds — even though it is still not accredited and the Miami-Dade School district has refused to accept dual enrollment.

Diaz has also used his position to help the limestone miners at the western edge of the county and he probably doesn’t want to hear from all the angry Palm Springs North residents who are sick of the limestone quarry blasting that is destroying their homes and causing them to be concerned about their drinking water.

The state rep voted in favor a bill last year that reduced the mitigation fees that limestone miners have to pay for environmental damages from 45 cents per ton to 5 cents per ton. That money would also go to building a water treatment plant should the limestone quarries contaminate our drinking water.

Between his campaign account and his PAC — ironically called Better Florida Education — Diaz has taken $14,000, so far, from mining interests, including White Rock Quarries photographed here (more on that later).

Many consultants will tell incumbent candidates not to debate unknown challengers when there is barely a chance they will get any traction. But Diaz sits in the most vulnerable state House seat in the 305. Partly because it also includes part of the 954, crossing the line over into Miramar. But mostly because it is more Democratic

In 2012, Manny Diaz Jr. won in the primary against former State Rep. and Miami-Dade School Board Member Renier Diaz de la Portilla. But House District 103 went to Barack Obama that November, with almost 55% of the vote vs. Mitt Romney. That means almost 5,000 voters picked the Democrat at the top of the ticket.

Ditto for 2014, when the sitting Republican governor only got 48.5% of the vote. Diaz did have a Democratic challenger that year — but only hardly. Benjamin De Yurre was thrown to the wolves by the local party after they recruited him for their No Free Rides campaign, planting candidates against every incumbent Republican in the House. But De Yurre only had $44,000 — only $10K of which he raised himself — against a Diaz warchest of almost $310,000.

Gonzalez Petkovich has raised $85,000 all by her lonesome as of Sept. 30th. She’s also had about $70,000 worth of strategic advice and research from the Florida Democratic Party so far.

Diaz, meanwhile, has raised $386,000 and has gotten almost $50,000 worth of support from the state party in polling, staff and research.

This is one of the most turnable seats in the House this November.

Aaaahhhh. Maybe that’s why Diaz won’t show up at debates.

  Florida House, Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich, Manny Diaz Jr