The long-rumored challenge to Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo is true: Former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro — whose wife lost to Crazy Joe in 2017 — has filed documents to run for the seat in District 3.
Barreiro, who resigned in 2017 to run for Congress (losing to Maria Elvira Salazar un 2018’s primary) was at City Hall turning his documents in Friday afternoon, but people have been whispering about his candidacy for months. After all, he did support the Carollo recall last year against the man who attacked his wife, Zoraida Barreiro, with very negative mail pieces.
“Definitely he hasn’t been representing this district,” Barreiro told Ladra about an hour after filing. “There are a lot of empty promises that haven’t been filled, like affordable housing, clean streets.”
In fact, there are already 1,900 plus voters — those who signed the recall petitions that never saw the light of day — who would likely support him.
Know more: Joe Carollo recall and lawsuit chug along, but the damage is done
Barreiro says he is concerned about the gentrification of Little Havana that has happened under Carollo’s watch.
“It’s very sad. Rents are going up and people are moving out. There’s no reason people can’t continue to live in Little Havana in proper living conditions. We can improve the area.”
A former Florida state rep, Barreiro believes he can do more for the city — and bring more to the city — than the incumbent.
“The city needs a lot of help. It needs someone who can work in teams to get things done,” he told Ladra. “You need to work with the county, the state, different jurisdictions. I can bring that to the dais.
“I’ve worked across the aisle to accomplish affordable housing, clean streets, to improve infrastructure. People know my history,” Barreiro said.
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Already, his replacement at the county, Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins is supporting him. The Democrat could not be reached for confirmation, but her political consultant, Christian Ulvert, will be part of Barreiro’s campaign team, the candidate said.
Joe Carollo did not answer his phone or return a call or text for comment. He raised $374,000 for his reelection — all in April and from interesting sources (more on that later). May’s report is due next week.
But Barreiro, who also lost a 2020 House comeback attempt to State Rep. Nick Duran, is not new at this.
And Carollo — who won his seat by a measly 252 votes in 2017 — didn’t have an opponent before Friday. Not officially. Not really. Someone named Rodney Quinn Smith opened a bank account and filed paperwork in March, but nobody knows who he is.
But now it’s a real race. Get the popcorn ready, it’s going to be fun.
He’s in! Bruno Barreiro files to run against Joe Carollo in city of Miami added by Ladra on
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