Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, who is running for mayor and unv
eiled her first TV campaign commercial during the first Democratic presidential debate in Miami last month, was not the only local candidate to take advantage of the huge audience. Another local candidate also aired the first ad of his campaign during the debate.
No, it wasn’t any of the other mayoral hopefuls. Not Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, who has more than $1 million in his campaign treasure chest. Not Commissioners Xavier Suarez or Esteban Bovo.
It was Eleazar Melendez, a longshot Miami District 1 candidate (photographed here) wh
o used to work for Commissioner Ken Russell and is running in a crowded field to replace the termed out Commissioner Willy Gort.
Melendez, who did not return a call and text late Wednesday, aired a shorter version of his two-minute Facebook video posted last month, which was filmed in the district at Allappattah neighborhood landmarks like I Am Latin Cafe, Ebenezer United Methodist Church and the Metrorail station.
Read related: Neighbor vs neighbor in Miami District 1 as Eleazar Melendez files
“Why am I running for city commissioner? Simple. Because it’s time to restore the promise to our residents,” Melendez says in the opening.
“The promise of a future with better paying jobs. The promise to our elderly and our children that this country will not leave them behind. The promise of safer and cleaner neighborhoods for all,” Melendez 
says, as he walks along the train tracks and the Miami River picking up litter.
“In Miami, I exposed how government was breaking its promise to the public by misusing money for affordable housing… It got politicians to finally act,” he says off camera, then takes a dig at his leading opponent — and neighbor.
“It’s time to restore the promise to our residents. But as you and I both know, that is not something that is going to happen by electing the same political dynasties or promoting their backward politics,” he says, at least in the longer version.
He is referring to former Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, considered by many the front runner in this race and the bad boy of a beloved and hated political dynasty.
But how much did this prime time set Melendez back? His campaign account has $47,500 as of the last report for
June, and that includes $15,000 he loaned himself. According to the latest campaign finance reports, Melendez has got more than three other candidates who are not going to do very well and less than three other candidates, including ADLP who has raised almost $257,000, and who just happens to live next door to Melendez in an apartment building on the Miami River near Sewell Park. The other two top candidates are Miguel Abela, who has $165,800, and Horacio Aguirre, who has almost $110,000.
Read related: ADLP hits $250K, still leads the money race in bid for Miami Commission
And was it worth it? How many Democrats in the district will vote in the city elections? Or is Melendez — who had a short stint at the Miami-Dade Democratic Party — targeting Dem and NPA voters in this non-partisan race because the other candidates will split the Republicans?
Miami candidate Eleazar Melendez airs ad during second Dem Debate added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
