Tampa transplant candidate for HD 115 is registered to vote at Senator’s home

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Tampa transplant candidate for HD 115 is registered to vote at Senator’s home
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Alian Alejandro Collazo doesn’t seem like a likely candidate for Florida House District 115, which serves the Kendall area. The 29-year-old grew up in the Tampa/St. Pete area, where he claims to own a business. He graduated from a Pinellas County high school. His cell phone still has the 727 area code.

And up until about a month ago, Collazo was registered to vote in Largo, Florida, the fourth largest city in the Tampa Bay Area.

But Collazo apparently moved into the district recently — into the home of State Sen. Alexis Calatayud, who obviously recruited Collazo, an old college pal who once served as a campaign worker and then her chief of staff after she was elected in 2022. Collazo changed his voter’s registration address to the senator’s home address in February.

How desperate do you have to be to have a handpicked pocket vote on the House floor? Letting him move into your house? Is he sleeping on the sofa? Or are they closer than that? It’s none of our business, of course. Unless Collazo is just using her address to qualify and doesn’t really live there.

Collazo filed paperwork on March 11 for the seat, which is open because State Rep. Alina Garcia is running for Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. Miami-Dade Fire Capt. Omar Blanco, who has been the president of the firefighters union and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020, was the first to file for the seat in February. Moises Benhabib, a former U.S. State Department foreign affairs officer, filed on Friday. All three are Republicans. No Democrats have filed anything for this seat.

Read related: Miami-Dade Fire Captain Omar Blanco runs for office again, in FL House 115

The address on Collazo’s paperwork is the house owned by Maria Calatayud, according to Miami-Dade property records. Ladra assumes that’s the senator’s mom. It is the same address she lists on her 2022 campaign paperwork (Calatayud has not filed for re-election yet). The 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with a pool is in a neighborhood just north of Richmond Heights.

Collazo’s voter’s registration was changed to that address on Southwest 136th Terrace on Feb. 28 from a Pinellas County address on Breeze Drive in Largo, according to a voter history audit requested from and provided by the Miami-Dade Elections Department. It also shows Collazo, who was registered in Pinellas from 2018 until last month, was registered to vote in Miami-Dade from 2016 to 2018, while he was a student at Florida International University.

That’s where he apparently met Calatayud, who was first the campaign manager and then legislative aide to former State Rep. Vince Aloupis. Both she and Collazo served in the FIU student government where he was student body president. She is all over his Facebook page. It almost looks like a crush.

He doesn’t list his chief of staff stint for her Tallahassee office on his LinkedIn page, where he has been a “relationships manager” at Bank of America for six years. But he lists it on Facebook, where he also says he is owner of Horizons Adult Day Care — which is in St. Pete. The owner listed on Florida Division of Corporation records is Frank Suarez, who has the same address on Breeze Drive that Collazo had on his voter’s registration until the other day.

Why didn’t he run for office in Pinellas County? Couldn’t he get elected in Largo? What makes Collazo think he can get elected here? Just because he is handpicked by Calatayud and, perhaps, the GOP establishment?

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26 Responses to "Tampa transplant candidate for HD 115 is registered to vote at Senator’s home"

  11. Per previous comments here, for the record, whatever one may think one way or the other about Live Local Act or Florida State Sen. Alexis Calatayud, since it’s a fact that seems to usually go completely unremarked upon by almost everyone in South Florida who talks about the Live Local Act -esp. Miami area TV station reporters, and the random people who bring it up on radio- I feel it’s important to state what the reality was on this.

    This was NOT a case of Calatayud being unique in her vote FOR it, either as a Republican, or even a legislator from South Florida.
    The reality is that was supported in Tallahassee by a combined total of 143 of 149 legislators eligible to vote.
    Just 6 legislators in the entire state opposed it.
    The vote was Florida Senate 40-0, Florida House 103-6.
    https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2023/html/3068

    In other words, every single House Democrat voted FOR it, too.

    Sadly, there are no ‘Profiles in Courage’ on this issue, as per usual.

    Dave at Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog

    Reply

  17. She is the worst! She needs to go, a bill pusher who helped get Live Local passed which was written by and for developers. Bastante!

    Reply

  18. As a Palmetto Bay Republican, I’m disgusted by Calatayud’s attempt to elect her boy toy Collazo, while delivering zilch to our Village this session. She needs to do her dam job. Clearly, she sucks at it!!!!

    Reply

  19. I’m sick and tired of this manipulative class of politicians. Have we not learned anything from our current state of affairs? WE voters need to wake up and take back our seats by electing and sending candidates who are actually from within our communities. Our representative seats are NOT gifts to be given as inheritance.

    Reply

  20. Born and raised to be a Republican stooge. In FIU, as a presidential candidate, he orchestrated a whole smear campaign against his opponent, moved to disqualify him, and otherwise harassed the ticket to win. He’s been following Alexis ever since. It’s a little sad to be honest.

    Reply

  21. Speaking of mangos, le ronca el mango. Is this even legal!? Does this Tampanian work for a bank or does he run a medicare funded adult day care? What the hell is Calatayud thinking!

    Reply

  23. Typical Miami political sketchy crap. State Senator Alexis Calatayud’s blatant display of political manipulation undermines the integrity of our electoral process and disrespects the voters of our district who deserve genuine representation, not political pawns. Shame on her.

    Reply

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