Former Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz, who was termed out and was replaced with former Doral Mayor JC Bermudez last week, hinted on NBC6 with Jackie Nespral that he could run for mayor of Sweetwater next.
But who does he think he’s kidding? Everybody knows this has been his plan all along. What? Was he going to get a real job? Hahaha. He’s never had one of those in his life.
Diaz, who has spent 20 years on the county commission, was already the mayor of Sweetwater from 1999 to 2002. He was a city councilman before that. He told Nespral that his next move was “going to be doing some advising, some consulting, as I’ve always done.
“Also, I look forward to maybe continuing my political career in the little city that I came from, that I moved into when I was 8 years old,” Diaz said in the one-on-one interview that aired Sunday morning.
“Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks I can announce.”
Subtle.
But the truth is he’s been building up for this for years. It’s why he skewed the annexation of Dolphin Mall that should have gone to Doral to Sweetwater — so he’d have a bigger tax base. And it’s one of the reasons he’s been collecting into his political action committee — $145,000 coming in just last month.
He’s going to need that to combat the negative hits he’s going to take and the proliferation of his mugshot, taken when he was arrested for drunk driving his motorcycle in the Florida Keys in 2015.
Read related: Jose “Pepe” Diaz, who beat a 2015 DUI rap, to donate blood at Tuesday drive
Diaz spent the rest of the show taking credit for everything from the port tunnel to being selected as a future World Cup site. The one thing he’s proudest of is supporting veterans as they come back to the workforce.
He also defended his vote to move the Urban Development Boundary and rezone 380 acres of farmland to make room for an industrial park.
“They could not come up with a true, true excuse as to why it could not happen,” Diaz said.
Nevermind that the county staff came up with more than a dozen reasons not to move the line. Nevermind that the public had gone and begged the county commission to say no. Nevermind that the mayor vetoed the change, which Diaz — who went out of his way to defend the zoning application — rushed to overrule.
“The line was never meant to be in stone,” he said. “We need balance and that’s what real leadership is about.”
It seems to also be about raising tons of money from interested parties. Whether it’s incumbent Mayor Orlando Lopez or Sweetwater City Commissioner Marcos Villanueva, who is rumored to be eyeing the mayor’s seat, any opponent will be up against a war chest.
Diaz has raised $1.8 million for his We The People political action committee and still has about $700K in hand, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Last month alone, he raised $145,000.
He also has spread the wealth, giving to other candidates and political action committees, supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kevin Marino Cabrera, among others. Certainly he will be seeking their support.
The Sweetwater election is in May.
Jose Pepe Diaz to turn to city of Sweetwater to prolong political power added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
