Former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora has waited. And waited. And waited.
Góngora has skipped several elections, waiting to run for mayor when he felt he had a better chance. Not against Philip Levine. Not against Dan Gelber, who is finally termed-out. But certainly now in the open seat.
Most observers thought Góngora would coast into the position, the heir apparent. But noooooo. There are three other mayoral candidates, including former State Rep. Michael Grieco — who abandoned a previous run for mayor after some legal complications with fundraising — Commissioner Steven Meiner and William Harvey Roedy, the former CEO of MTV Networks International, who has loaned himself $580,000 so far for the race, according to the latest campaign finance reports through June.
He is also soliciting for a political action committee called Miami Beach Leadership in Action, which has collected $71,000 so far, including two $25K checks, one from the wife of Zumba Fitness founder Alberto Perlman, who lives in Broward, and one from television and broadband executive Michael Fries, who lives in Denver. He also got $13,500 from David Anthony Giampaolo, an entrepreneur and chief executive officer of the Pi Capital investment club. He lives in London and is the PAC treasurer.
Góngora leads the real money race, collecting $272,527 in donations and loaning himself $55K for a nice $327K nut so far. Yes, Roedy has more. But it’s his money. Góngora has the confidence of others. And he has been soliciting for a PAC (or election communication organization) that has raised $206,000 since 2021. The largest check to A Better Future for Miami Beach so far was written in March for $50K from Location Ventures, the same development firm owned by Rishi Kapoor that is being investigated by the authorities and that paid the Miami mayor at least $170,000 in “consulting fees” while he was pushing for permits from the city. The PAC also lists $15,000 from OKO Group, the developers building the luxury hotel and condo Aman Miami Beach, and $10K from entities connected to Russell Galbut.
Góngora also has his own PAC that he opened in March. Leadership We Can Trust has raised $30,000.
Read related: First Miami Beach city commission candidate files for November election
Grieco has raised $282,896, including $75K he loaned himself. Meiner is trailing with $19,631 in his campaign account (no loans), but he only started raising funds in June. Neither has listed a PAC or ECO they are working with.
Forever it seems, this has been anticipated as the battle of the Michaels. The other two just jumped in this summer. And already there has been some drama when Grieco secretly recorded a meeting between the two men in December, where Góngora was trying to discourage Grieco from running by saying he had the complete support of developer Galbut, as reported by the Miami Herald.
Grieco tried to say that was a violation of Miami Beach rules that prohibit campaign contributions from vendors, contractors or anyone doing business with the city. Contributions through a PAC or ECO, however, are okay, which is a giant loophole.
Góngora tried to say that Grieco violated state law by recording him in secret. But because they were at a restaurant, experts say, there is no expectation of privacy.
It’s an ironic turning of the tables. In his first mayoral bid in 2017, Grieco was charged with taking an illegal donation from a foreign national to a secret PAC. He pleaded no contest, which means he did not admit guilt, and was put on probation for a year, during which time he could not run for office. And he resigned from the city commission.
But he certainly bounced back nicely when he could run, winning two terms as a Democratic state representative. For a very short while, he was an exciting senatorial candidate also.
Anyway, with no real challenges in Miami, Homestead or Hialeah — the other three cities with municipal elections this year — it seems that at least this mayoral race in Miami Beach is going to be entertaining.
Miami Beach mayoral Michaels race could be a real drag out, knock out show added by Ladra on
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