Congressional candidate Carlos Curbelo: ‘Get to know me’

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He holds the biggest campaign purse among the field of candidates and may have the bigger political profile on a national level.

But Miami-Dade School Board Member Carlos Curbelo, who is running for Congressional District 26 in what most expect to be one of the hardest fought races in the country, wants you to get to know him.

In a 90-second video posted over the holiday weekend, Curbelo narrates his thumbnail life story starting from his Miami childhood in an early Cuban exile family: Growing up in Hialeah, going to Belen (same as Congressman Joe Garcia, who he wants to unseat), moving to Southwest Dade, starting a small business in media and PR (and lobbying), working for 15 months as state director for former Sen. George Lemieux, starting a family and giving back to the community.

If it looks familiar, it is. It is the ol’ tried and true political resume on video — complete with adorable, frolicking children and vintage Super 8 of the candidate as a toddler.

“Ive always had, uh, felt called to get involved in public service, to get involved in the community,” he says, talking like he’s chatting with a neighbor in his back yard. “And I think its important for everyone to somehow get involved in public service and that doesn’t mean running for public office. But its been very fulfilling for me. I enjoy serving the community. I enjoy listening to people.

“And that’s one of the reasons I decided to take this step and run for congress,” he ends.

It’s a good political resume. But there are other well-padded bios on the Republican primary ticket, principally former Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Joe Martinez, who officially announced last month that he was going to be running, and Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall, who has the most to gain of two Hispanic men going after each other and splitting a common natural support base.

Is this new Curbelo video a reaction to the poll Martinez says puts the 12-year commissioner three points ahead of the Diaz-Balart-raised politico prodige among likely Republican voters?

“No, no, no,” Curbelos said, and joked that Ladra is getting far more into this race than any of the candidates are yet.

“We’ve actually had that for a long time and we just put it out,” Curbelo told me. He called it a web video with the purpose of providing content to people who are just getting curious about the campaign.

But it also looks like a pitch prop: A link to the video was sent to Curbelo’s email list along with a call to contribute as the deadline for the year’s final quarter approaches.

Curbelo’s campaign coffers were topping $452,000 at the end of September — of which $408,000 were still on hand. Contributions included $2,600 each from former State Rep. Ralph Arza, political consultant Ana Carbonell, lobbyists Rodney Barreto and Manny Kadre, and Magdalena Fresen, sister of State Rep. Erik Fresen, $2,000 more from lobbyist Ron Book and from former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, $1,000 from Lemieux, consultant Jesse Manzano and lobbyist Jorge Lopez, $2,500 from lobbyist and campaign driver Ralph Garcia-Toledo, $3,000 from schools lobbyist Tom Cerra, $3,600 from Shula’s 347 owner Eduardo Garcia and from Demetrio Perez, $5,200 each from developer Armando Codina, auto mogul Gus Machado, Latin Builders Chairman Bernie Navarro, healthcare investor Mike Fernandez, tomato mogul Paul Dimare and businesswoman Remedios Diaz-Oliver, $7,500 from Benjamin Leon‘s family (Leon Medical Center), $4,000 from Vicky Bakery owner Yvette Rodriguez Cao and Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera and his family, $7,800 from charter school champion Fernando Zulueta and also from Cuban-American business mogul Carlos de la Cruz and his art-collecting wife, Rosa, $12,000 from the Munilla construction family and $10,400 from the owners of a company that provides “integrated behavioral healthcare solutions for employer groups, health plans, and government agencies.

Yet, he seems to be almost begging for mo’ money in his email, titled “I need your help.”

“In order to reach our fundraising goal for this quarter, we are trying to raise $10,000 online this week.”

Seems like pocket change in his circles.

“If you have not yet contributed to the campaign, please consider doing so now. If you have already contributed, please encourage others to do the same or consider contributing again,” the letter states, with a link to the website.

It also forewarns of a dirty campaign ahead.

“I am confident that we’ll win this campaign if we have the resources to reach the voters and to counter the nasty attacks that will be launched against us.”

He means in the general, against Joe Garcia.

“The Democrats are going to do everything they can to keep this seat,” Curbelo told Ladra.

“Remember, he ran three times and lost and was elected the fourth time,” he said, referring to the Congressman’s victory over former U.S. Rep. David “Nine Lives” Rivera, who had dodged headlines about a 52-count indictment and accusations of campaign finance violations in the primary.

“He’s willing to do anything, and he’s already shown he’s willing to do anything he can to win. Nasty attacks and whatever else they can get creative with,” he said, in a hardly veiled reference to charges of absentee ballot fraud against Garcia’s chief of staff and longtime campaign consultant Jeffrey “No Relation” Garcia.

And I bet that’s not the last time we hear Curbelo bring up that nasty bit of business.

  Carlos Curbelo, Congressional district 26, Ed MacDougall, Joe Garcia, Joe Martinez.