ADLP hits $250K, still leads money race in bid for Miami commission

Former State Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla , now a city of Miami commission candidate, had his second best fund raising month in June, with more than $50,000 in additional contributions.

That brings his total to just over a quarter million dollars, according to the latest campaign finance report.

This would be The Dean’s fourth attempt to return to office: His failed bid back to the state House in 2012 (lost to Jose Javier Rodriguez, now a state senator), failed bid back to the state Senate in 2017 (lost to former State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz) and failed bid for county commission in 2018 (didn’t make the run-off). Wasn’t the third time supposed to be the charm?

The more interesting new contributions for the most notorious candidate in the District 1 race to replace the termed out Willy Gort include at least three more $1,000 checks from attorney Ron Book, who had already given ADLP a $5K bundle, another $3,000 from AVE Aviation — which just recently got recommended for a sweetheart deal at Opa-Locka Airport, according to the Florida Bulldog blog — at least $3,000 from lobbyist Barbara Hardemon (and fam), who was hired by the Miami Freedom Park people to promote their proposal, and $1,000 from Outfront Media Miami, the controversial public billboard company.

Much of ADLP’s newest money is from outside Miami: 43 of the 55 donations in the report are from outside Miami city limits, some from as far away as Reston, Virginia, and Petaluma, California.

Still in No. 2 position fundwise is Miguel Angel Gabela, an independent Jaguar parts supplier and former member of the city’s planning and zoning board (2001-2009), who has run twice and lost against Gort. He has $165,800 in his campaign account, but only because he loaned himself $100K. Gabela, too, had his second best month in June, but with $13,800.

Local favorite Horacio Aguirre, who served as chairman of both the city’s Miami River Commission and the Civilian Investigative Panel that looks into police complaints, raised … for a total of $109,256. Aguirre, son of the founder of the Miami-based Spanish language newspaper Diario Las Americas, collected $8,700 in June (he’s had many better months), more than half of which was five maximum $1,000 checks from companies owned by real estate developer Allen Morris.

The other four candidates have about $110K combined, but Eleazar Melendez — former aide to Commissioner Ken Russell and ADLP next-door-neighbor — stands out with the most at $47,525.

Nobody, however, has as many political action committees giving to their campaigns as ADLP. Gabela has the next most — at three. But Dean DLP has ten PACs giving to his campaign. So far.

That includes five maximum $1,000 checks in June from five Tallahassee PACs all chaired by William S. Jones.

In May, ADLP got a $1,000 contribution from his own committee, Proven Leadership for Miami-Dade — the one he used last year to attack Zoraida Barreiro in the county commission race — which has also raised $68,800 since December. Diaz de la Portilla first filed paperwork for the city of Miami race in January.

The biggest contributions are from developer Henry Pino and from Edgewater Management Services, whose principal is Sara Oquendo. He also got $5,000 each from Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban Bovo‘s Transportation Solutions for Miami-Dade PAC, from Riverwalk Apartments (whose principal is Tomas Cabrerizo) and from developer Jeff Berkowitz, one of Mayor Carlos Gimenez‘s bigger campaign donors. Proven Leadership also got another $3,500 from Hardemon (fueling speculation that ADLP is the Miami Freedom Park candidate), $3,000 from the Floridians for Economic Advancement PAC (which reports all but $15K of nearly $1 million is from other PACs) and $2,500 each from former State Rep. Manny Prieguez and Ron Book, two lobbyists who already gave generous bundles to his candidate campaign account.

What do these people want in return for their investment?

The PAC has also spent close to $35,000, including $21,630 on staffers, $1,682 on airline tickets, $123 in Uber rides — Alex doesn’t drive — and more than $1,230 for three different stays in Tally during the session, either at the Econolodge on Monroe Street or the Doubletree on Adams.

ADLP has also spent more than $30K from his campaign account, including $5,575 on staff, 2,990 on printing, $7,580 on postage, $315 on flowers and $8,350 on food — $5,475 of which was for Chef Paella (at least this time he’s not getting Commissioner Joe Carollo to pay for it).

He isn’t spending anything yet on social media, which is why Alex Diaz de la Portilla is still running for Senate on twitter and for county commission on Facebook.

Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Horacio Aguirre, Miami elections, Willy Gort

ADLP hits $250K, still leads money race in bid for Miami commission added by Ladra on July 13, 2019
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