If you think the race for Miami Beach mayor between incumbent hallway monitor Steve Meiner and quirky comeback kid Kristen Rosen-Gonzalez is the craziest thing on the city’s ballot this year (more on that later), think again.
The race to replace Rosen-Gonzalez in the Group 1 seat features a clusterbunch of seven candidates. But only one of them has a family history that makes all the others look downright boring. And, also, electable.
Republican lawyer Monique Pardo Pope — who introduced herself to voters as coming from a working-class Cuban family that 
believed in “sacrifice, service, and standing up for what’s right” — forgot to mention one tiny detail: Her father was a Hitler-loving serial killer sentenced to death by lethal injection.
Oooops.
Only in the 305, ¿verdad?
Manuel Pardo was a Sweetwater cop-turned-vigilante who fatally shot nine people in three months back in 1986. He idolized Hitler, kept Nazi trinkets in his Hialeah apartment, tattooed his Doberman with a swastika, and told the court the only thing he regretted was that he didn’t kill 99 people instead of nine drug dealers for money and cocaine. Some say Pardo may have been the inspiration for the series Dexter, about a Florida medical examiner who becomes a vigilante serial killer.
Pardo was executed in 2012 after Gov. Rick Scott signed his death warrant.
Read related: Kristen 3.0? Miami Beach firebrand commissioner vs Mayor Steve Meiner
Documentary filmmaker Billy Corben was the one who connected the dots last month in a video that went viral faster than you can say #BecauseMiami. The Miami New Times followed with a report that has far too much detail on Manuel Pardo’s crimes — and his special relationship to his daughter — for Ladra to recount here. Read it.
Pardo Pope, 44, says she prays every day for the families of her father’s victims, and called herself another “victim” of his crimes in a letter to New Times. But her Instagram tells another story. That’s 
where she calls her papi her “hero,” her “guiding light,” her “eternal best friend” — and quotes his last words, which include a farewell to her. She even posted a photo of herself earlier this year cheesing next to now Sen. Scott, the guv who green-lit her dad’s execution.
Awkward. And creepy.
To be fair, Pardo Pope was only 4 when her father went on his killing spree. She says her earliest memories are of him as the Marine, the cop, the protector. That’s the dad she remembers. But voters might be surprised to learn that she chose to highlight her Pardo surname on the ballot — the very name that’s synonymous with one of Florida’s most notorious murderers.
In a social media post in response to the Corben video, Pardo Pope says she never hid the truth and that “political activists sensationalized my childhood trauma for clicks, ratings, and personal gain.” She’s now calling the sudden spotlight “bullying” and “smears.”
One thing is certain: You gotta admire the kind of self-confidence it takes for the daughter of a Neo-Nazi serial killer to run for office — in Miami Beach, of all places.
Meanwhile, the other six candidates — Daniel Ciraldo, Brian Ehrlich, Ava Frankel, Matthew Gultanoff, Omar Jimenez and Monica Matteo-Salinas — are probably wondering how they’re supposed to get any attention in a race where one contender’s campaign slogan might as well be: Daughter of Dexter.
The Miami Beach general election is Nov. 4, with a Dec. 9 runoff if nobody cracks 50%.
If you want more of this kind of independent, watchdog journalism in Miami Beach, please consider making a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. And thank you for your support.
Miami Beach commission candidate is daughter of cop-turned-serial-killer added by Ladra on
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[…] from what Ladra lovingly calls the Dexter chapter of this political novela: the barrage of questions about her serial killer dad, Manuel Pardo — executed by lethal injection in 2012 — and her social media posts […]
Billy Corben is very honest and he is very smart. It is incredibly dumb to make a false accusation against Corben.
[…] Read related: Miami Beach commission candidate is daughter of cop-turned-serial-killer […]
Dear Elaine; This child was four years old and the psychological damage that came upon her early in life is a tremendous concept to understand. Everything that I have seen from her so far is well adjusted and reasonable and I am sympathetic to the negatives that she has had to climb. She has my support. Thank you for the article.
Monique is a tremendous person and community activist. She is one of the few candidates who really cares about her community and focuses on kitchen table issues affecting us all. The fact that Billy and others are trying to smear her is because they know she will win.
Landra, first you need to learn how to write properly , that already says a lot about whether you’re really a journalist. Secondly, your information is completely false. What you should have done first is make sure the story was told correctly, or if the purpose was just dirty politics. If you want a note from a real journalist, I can give you one and tell you the true story , that’s how you would do a good job. Does Bill Corben get paid to do this? Do you too?
It looks like the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mar .
As Ed Vidal rarely agree but he is correct on this as what her father did is no reflection on her .
Very comical.
Wow! This place gets more bizarre every day, if that’s even possible.
And Sen Rick “Medicare fraudster” Scott’s nose can’t get any redder, from overtime brown nosing the orange felon who lives in the WH perhaps?
Pardo is her maiden name. People are who they are, not someone else.
https://miamiindependent.com/the-poison-of-political-character-assassination-monique-pardo-pope/