Add Homestead Councilman Elvis Maldonado to the list of men that want to replace termed out 
Miami-Dade Commissioner Dennis Moss next year.
Maldonado filed paperwork Thursday indicting he had opened a bank account for a county commission race in District 9. That means he has to move six months before the qualifying deadline in June because his neighborhood in Homestead is in District 8.
He also has to resign earlier than he would under the resign to run law — because Homestead council members serve by district, and his district is in county District 8.
Maldonado said he will move a few blocks to live in District 9, but stay in Homestead.
He will be facing former State Rep. Kionne McGhee, (photo) who has the incumbent’s endorsement and is considered the front runner, Pastor Mark Coats of Grace of God Baptist Church in Miami, Community Councilman and activist Johnny Farias and attorney and activist Marlon Hill, Southridge High Class of ’88.
Read related: State Rep. Kionne McGhee runs for District 9 county commission
“I did not plan to run. I was ready to finish my duty,” said Maldonado, who was first elected to the Homestead Council in 2009 and was subsequently re-elected in 2013 and 2017. “I had two more years and I was just going to go back to private life and enjoy that.
“But for some people, it’s a calling,” said the IT business executive who is also 
an outreach counselor with Aspira South Charter School, Homestead Senior High School, and Homestead Middle School. He has served as a member of the Homestead City Charter Review, the Community Development District (CDD) and as former president of the Malibu Bay Homeowners Association.
He represents the city at both the Beacon Council and the Miami-Dade League of Cities.
On the flip side, he did stick with former Mayor Steve Bateman after his friend was arrested on public corruption charges and caught some slack for using the city’s nice Chevy Tahoe for travel and out of city meetings more often than any other city council member.
Maldonado will have to start raising funds right away. Hill has raised almost $135,000 since March and McGhee, who started in July, has raised almost $80K, according to the latest campaign reports filed online.
He said consultants Jose Luis Castillo and Anthony Bustamante are helping him with the campaign.
Homestead’s Elvis Maldonado to run for county commish District 9 added by Ladra on
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