But nobody cared that ADLP lived out of the district
Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Miami auto parts dealer Miguel Gabela — who moved into a second property after his first home was drawn out of District 1 during redistricting — could remain on the Nov. 7 ballot and that votes for him would count. One would think that was the end of that.
But nooooooo. The city of Miami filed a notice to appeal last week. In other words, the city of Miami could go balls to the wall and spend more taxpayer dollars to help keep the biggest challenge against suspended Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla off the ballot.
Read related: No appointment in Miami; five qualify for District 1 election, including ADLP
Diaz de la Portilla, who was suspended by the governor after his arrest last month on public corruption charges (including bribery and money laundering) is in the race to regain the District 1 seat — only to be suspended again if he wins. There are four other candidates running but Gabela, who forced ADLP into a runoff four years ago, has been campaigning the longest.
“They’re freaked out. They know they’re going to lose,” said Gabela, who has publicly said that, if elected, he will move to terminate City Attorney Victoria Mendez. “Why? Because she is wasting taxpayer dollars on defending Joe Carollo and on defending Alex Diaz de la Portilla and on frivolous lawsuits like this appeal,” Gabela said.
Mendez did not return calls and a text to her phone. But it seems odd that she could make this decision by herself. It seems like the city commission would have to approve. City sources say that neither commissioner Manolo Reyes nor Commissioner Sabina Covo will back an appeal.
If anyone is disqualified because he hasn’t lived in the district for a year it’s Diaz de la Portilla, Gabela told Ladra.
“We know that he lived for at least 57 days outside the district,” the candidate said, referring to the arrest records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which found that Diaz de la Portilla stayed in room 801 at the East Hotel in Brickell for at least 57 days, half of it paid for by lobbyists.
“We didn’t say that. The FDLE said that.”
Read related: Alex Diaz de la Portilla is suspended after arrest on public corruption charges
So do the mailers that arrived in voters’ mailboxes early last week telling voters that ADLP has been “living the high life in Brickell while our district has deteriorated.”
With photos that include his mugshot, photos of the hotel room and him with a champagne glass under the words “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”
“While we struggle with soaring rents, traffic and crime… Alex Diaz de la Portilla spends his time living luxuriously at our expense,” it says.
The mailer was sent by Miami Prosperous, Gabela’s electioneering committee — run by friend Jose Sanchez Gronlier — which operates like a political action committee but with some restrictions. We will know how much he spent in a couple of days when campaign finance reports are posted. Prosperous also paid for a 30-second video ad that says pretty much the same thing, but also reminds voters about the ghost employee in his office and that unfortunate shoving incident with the code enforcement officer at his illegal nightclub.
“Now, Alex Diaz de la Portilla has been arrested on corruption charges, yet he thinks he can hoodwink us into voting for him again,” it says.
Yes, he does. Apparently, so does the city attorney.
Miami city attorneys to appeal order to qualify D1 candidate Miguel Gabela added by Ladra on
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