Teacher Bryan Paz-Hernandez should get elected in Miami-Dade District 11

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The incumbent has abused his office too much

As we head into the August primary and county elections, some recommendations are hard. This is not one of them.

In one of three competitive Miami-Dade commission races on the Aug. 20 ballot, appointed incumbent Commissioner Roberto “Rob” Gonzalez — who has never been elected — faces two challengers. Scratch that. One challenger, seeing as how Claudia Rainville is a plantidate placed to steal votes from Bryan Paz-Hernandez, a teacher and former president of the West Kendall Democratic Club, who is now an NPA and deserves a shot.

If nobody gets 50% plus one, the two top vote-getters go to the November runoff.

Paz-Hernandez has been campaigning since February. Not so much talking to people. But listening. He says he’s knocked on more than 4,000 doors. He also went to the forum hosted by the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Association, where he taped a sign to an empty chair calling Gonzalez, who didn’t show, a “Tallahassee appointed commissioner.”

Read related: Kendall teacher challenges Miami-Dade D11 Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez

“What is Mr. Gonzalez afraid of? You guys don’t bite,” Paz-Hernandez told the group of highly engaged voters. “You want to ask the Commissioner questions about what’s important to you, like traffic, like the high cost of living. I’m pretty sure there is no more important place to be if you’re running for Commissioner than with the people.”

Maybe God told him to skip it. After all, the Lord is who told Gonzalez, who often posts biblical texts on his social media, to run for office.

Or maybe Gonzalez knew he couldn’t defend his short and shabby record. Appointed in November of 2022 by Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace former Commissioner Joe Martinez, after the latter’s arrest on public corruption charges, Religious Rob’s time in office has been marked more by his abuse of power and conflict of interests than anything else.

One of the first things he did, two months after being appointed, was give $10,000 to a non-profit that was his client. The application for the allocation of grant monies was made by Jar of Hearts on Jan. 31, 2023, three days after Gonzalez posted a photo of himself handing them the big cardboard $10K check.

Read related: Is a new ghost candidate running for Miami-Dade commission in District 11?

What’s worse is he tried to cover it up: A day after a resident tried to bring it up at a public meeting, but was quickly shut down by the commission chairman — as shown in this video narrated by former District 11 candidate Martha Bueno — the Florida Division of Corporations records for Jar of Hearts was changed and the commissioner’s law firm was no longer listed as the registered agent.

Thank the Goddess for screenshots.

Gonzalez also accepted $34,000 in overpayments on his county paycheck — without saying a word. Gonzalez apparently did not notice for eight months that he was getting paid $1,000 a week extra. The error was only found after The Miami Herald asked why his salary was so much higher than the other commissioners. Must be nice not to notice an extra $34,000.

So at best, Gonzalez is an incompetent moron who can’t tell if when county is overpaying for something, or, at worst, he’s a sly fox who was taking advantage of a technical error, hoping nobody would catch it.

Read related: Miami-Dade taxpayers fund $1 mil move for Commissioner Rob Gonzalez

He’s also using his office to help his campaign. It’s legal, but shady as shit that a jumbo photo of the commissioner was desplayed at the entrance of a county park: “Roberto J. Gonzalez welcomes you to Westwind Lakes Park. I’m here for you,” the sign read, according to The Miami Herald.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, Gonzalez will cost taxpayers with a second district office nobody wanted or asked for. It took him only four months from when he was appointed in November of 2022 to lease a new district office at a cost of about $1 million over the next nine years. This includes base rent, common area maintenance, lease management fees, utilities, operating expenses and “tenant improvements” to the tune of $486,000. Oh, and $53,000 in rent for the old empty space.

The last allocation approved by the county was last November for $20,979.70 for the “completion of the District 11 satellite office renovations.”

This is a ridiculous abuse of a temporary post.

Ladra wants to know who got the contract and what happened to the TVs at the old district t office that former commissioner Martinez said he paid for out of his pocket.

Gonzalez has deep pockets of his own. Between his campaign account ($212,621) and his political action committee ($791,560), he’s raised just over $1 million He has pent $421,690 of that, so he’s got almost $600,000 left, according to the last campaign finance report filed last week. A lot of the money is from lobbyists and special interests. Secure wrap donated at least $21,000, which is concerning since Gonzalez has taken to calling the Kendall Executive Airport “my airport.”

Read related: Miami-Dade District 11 candidates have vast contrast in campaign contributions

Meanwhile, Paz-Hernandez has spent nearly all the $15,000 he raised, including the $3,000 he loaned himself in the last few weeks.

But he has passion. And, as a history teacher at a local charter school, a beat on the pulse of the community. He’s also in it for the right reasons. “I’m a high school history teacher. Trust me, what motivates me is not making more money. What motivates me is helping people and fixing big problems.”

Paz-Hernandez is bullish on two issues: Getting the federal funding to extend the Metrorail and opposition to the SR 836 extension, which got him the Sierre Club endorsement.

He also has the endorsement of the Kendall Federation PAC, which is the political arm of the KFHA. Probably because he wants to slow down the rate of development in the district, which is entirely unincorporated and includes the neighborhoods of Country Walk, the Hammocks, Kendale Lakes, Kendall, West Kendall, Bent Tree and Lakes of the Meadows.

Paz-Hernandez says that Gonzalez “is the literal embodiment of what’s wrong with our politics.

“I’m committed to restoring integrity, transparency and accountability to our local government. I believe in a government that serves the people, not one that exploits them for personal gain,” the teacher says, promising to work for a “more honest government.”

That sounds like a good idea.

“I envision a brighter future for our district—one where our resources are managed wisely and our
leaders are truly accountable to the people they serve. This future includes: tackling our traffic
problems with innovative solutions, lowering affordability costs and taxes for homeowners and
improving our community in various other ways rather than lining the pockets of corrupt
officials like Gonzalez.”

Hear, hear. Ladra can’t vote in District 11. But she urges everyone who can to cast their ballot for change, opportunity and a breath of fresh air: Bryan Paz-Hernandez.

  Bryan Paz-Hernandez, Elections 2024, Roberto Gonzalez