And also Daniella Levine Cava vs Carlos Gimenez
In what’s going to be a historic race for Miami-Dade Sheriff, a position that was eliminated in 1957, voters will get to choose between a political appointee who has spent most of his life in the Broward County jails and a veteran Miami-Dade Police assistant director who has the backing of a former president and convicted felon.
it’s also going to be proxy battle between Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who has practically handpicked Chief of Public Safety James Reyes for the position, and the former mayor, Congressman Carlos Gimenez, whose family is working the campaign for Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz, the No. 2 at Miami-Dade Police and the woman who was in charge of the transition to the sheriff’s office.
Yeah, this is gonna get good, now.
Reyes, who was appointed to the post two months before he announced his candidacy, easily won the Democrat primary, as expected, with 46% of the vote. Only Rickey Mitchell, the funeral home owner who was a police officer for 25 years, even approached half of that, with 21%.
Read related: New poll: Miami-Dade sheriff GOP race has Sanchez, Cordero-Stutz on top
The Republican primary was much tighter, with Cordero-Stutz, an assistant director at MDPD, beating former city of Miami commissioner Trooper Joe Sanchez by just a little over two percentage points, 24% to 22%, and a difference of 2,380 ballots. It was a crowded field of 11 candidates.
Retired MDPD Maj. Mario Knapp, who has consistently been in third place in a number of polls, came in third on Tuesday, with 14% of the vote, which represents about 10,000 fewer ballots than Sanchez. Nobody else got double digits. He has already endorsed Cordero-Stutz.
Horse Country and agricop Ernesto “Ernie” Rodriguez actually got just under 100 votes more than former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez (also a former police officer), for 9.54% and 9.46%, respectively. Maj. Jose Aragu, of the Midwest District, came in fifth with 9.11%. Attorney and retired MDPD Maj. Ignacio “Iggy” Alvarez got 6% and everybody else got less than 2%.
Cordero-Stutz’s victory is definitely an upset.
Sanchez may have exaggerated his experience in the Florida Highway Patrol, but he did serve as a spokesman there for 15 years, giving him lots of TV face time. As a former elected, he has enviable name recognition.
But Sanchez also had high negatives from his deciding vote on 2009 bond plan to demolish the Orange Bowl and build Marlins Stadium, which will cost taxpayers $2.6 billion to repay. And people complained about his radio ads repeating “law and order” over and over again. It got kinda scary. And folks are saying he coasted the last few weeks, maybe resting too much on that name rec.
Wait. Rosie Cordero who? Yeah. Exactly. That’s why she blasted that Donald Trump endorsement she got in April on the radio and on her political signs and everywhere else she possibly could. Cordero-Stutz would not have gotten this far without it.
But she has said that she believes the 2020 election was fair and she won’t round up illegal immigrants for deportation. She might have to tone the Trumpet down some more if she wants to appeal to independent voters and any Democrats who don’t like the idea of a possible mayoral puppet in what’s supposed to be an independent office.
Cordero-Stutz, who would be the first female sheriff in the county’s history, gets a little testy when you bring up her endorsements. She’s probably tired of taking flak for something all candidates do.
Read related: Rosanna Cordero-Stutz gets Trump’s support in Miami-Dade sheriff’s race
“I’m about law and order. For 28 years, my party affiliation was never a top or concern,” Cordero-Stutz told Political Cortadito Wednesday. “I think I have shown my work ethic to the community. My past behavior is the best sign of my integrity and my ability to lead.”
Those who know her, including several other candidates in the race, back that up. They say Rosie is “by the book,” and “a cop’s cop” who would never cross the ethical line. She also has the endorsement of former MDPD Director Juan Perez, who was at her victory party Tuesday. She told Ladra Wednesday that almost every Republican candidate for sheriff, including Sanchez, called to congratulate her and offer support.
Sanchez did not return calls and texts to his phone.
The primary race was already full of negative attacks and hit pieces, some funded by political action committees that are no longer active (more on that later). But it’s not likely to get any less nasty for the November election. Cordero-Stutz is going to lean into the Reyes puppet and prison guard thing.
“You want your sheriff first and foremost to be a police officer. And that’s me,” she told Ladra, adding that she was ready to debate him and show the voters the differences between them. (Can’t wait!).
In a statement, Reyes said he was “the only person running with executive leadership experience in a Sheriff’s Office.” No mention of it being the Broward Sheriff’s Office, where he was in the administration in the corrections division. He only came to Miami-Dade as head of corrections in early 2023 — and was named Chief of Public Safety to replace Freddy Ramirez in November — but says he was raised here.
Read related: Miami-Dade sheriff candidate ‘James’ Reyes is really Jems Reyes on paper
“I am grateful to Miami-Dade, the community that gave me and my family true freedom and a shot at the American Dream after we fled the dangers of communism and made a new home in Hialeah, for your trust tonight,” he said, also taking a shot at Cordero’s main asset, the Trump endorsement.
“I’ve served under and been promoted by four different sheriffs, Republicans and Democrats, because public safety should never be about politics,” Reyes said in the statement. “And that is my pledge tonight once again, that our sheriff’s office will never be about politics. Our mission will always stay laser focused on protecting residents and keeping families safe, and holding criminals accountable.
“My life’s work has been about public service and putting the community first. I know I can do this job, because I’ve seen firsthand what it takes. Tonight, I am grateful to my family, our dedicated campaign team and our fearless volunteers who have done so much to propel our campaign. Together, we will win in November.”
In her statement, Cordero-Stutz concentrated on her experience, which includes leading the county’s transition to the sheriff’s office before she took a leave of absence, and took a dig at Reyes’ work being mostly in the Broward Sheriff’s Office. He came to Miami-Dade
“With over 28 years of experience in the Miami-Dade Police Department, starting as a patrol officer and rising to Assistant Director, I have firsthand knowledge of our community and its needs. My long-standing roots and trust within the community did not begin two years ago,” she said. “They were built over nearly three decades of dedicated service to this community.
“My unwavering dedication together with my professional training, position me as the most qualified candidate to ensure the safety of all Miami-Dade residents as the next sheriff.”
Read related: Carlos Gimenez endorses Miami-Dade sheriff candidate Rosie Cordero-Stutz
She also has the Gimenez machinery behind her. Tania Cruz Gimenez, an attorney and daughter-in-law of the congressman, is running the Cordero-Stutz campaign alongside her husband, attorney/lobbyist Carlos “CJ” Gimenez. The congressman — who won three countywide races before moving on — has given his thumbs up and was likely instrumental in the Trump nod.
But Cordero-Stutz said she “will not owe anybody anything.” And that includes the Gimenez clan.
“First and foremost, my integrity is a very big part of who I am,” she told Ladra in a short telephone interview early Wednesday afternoon, before preparing for a TV channel interview. “An endorsement is not much more than a reference when you go on a job interview. It’s someone who knows you, someone who knows your work ethic. And that’s why they’re going to put their reputation on the line for you.”
Meanwhile, Reyes has the backing of Levine Cava, a popular (read: populist) politician who beat six other challengers in round one with almost 60% of the countywide vote, and her machinery, including the prolific and highly successful Christian Ulvert, who had a number of victories Tuesday and heads into November with a full plate, er, slate. In fact, their campaigns have been almost lockstep.
Reyes and the mayor went to several events and early voting sites together. They sent mailers and had other campaign materials pushing both their candidacies.
Reyes will also have the power of incumbency, sort of. He’s already taken full advantage of his position , as the current chief of public safety, attending events like a Venezuelan rally in his “official capacity” but very obviously campaigning at the same time.
Will Reyes step down now and devote himself fully to the campaign and give someone else the reigns of the county’s public safety?
We don’t know. Several attempts to reach him or get answers from Team Reyes were unsuccessful. Maybe we’ll find out at a debate?
Stay tuned.
Miami-Dade November sheriff’s race pits James Reyes vs Rosie Cordero-Stutz added by Ladra on
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