He is not a declared candidate for Miami mayor, and there are some rumblings about him running for the county commission in District 5 instead, but former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — whose charges on bribery and money laundering were dropped last November — is knocking on doors in his campaign to woo voters.
And he is giving them mameys, which reminds me of a Cuban saying about gumption. Tiene tremendos mameyes.
Pouteria sapota, the mamey sapote, is a species of tree cultivated throughout Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The fruit, botanically a berry, is about four to 10 inches long and three to 4.5 inches wide and has flesh ranging in color from pink to orange to red. It is colloquially used to describe male genitalia. It can also refer to something “easy peasy” to do. Eso es mamey.
Read related: Alex Diaz de la Portilla’s former staffer says he is harassing her in divorce case
Diaz de la Portilla couldn’t help but send some selfies of himself, his mameyes — the fruit kind — and the senior residents he visited to Ladra over the last few days. There’s no way to know if the smattering of homes he has documentation for each day is all he does before he goes home and pours himself a drink. But at least he’s out there. Even if he is a little handsy.
In three of the photos he sent — and they’re not technically selfies since someone else is taking them — the residents he’s grabby with are wearing red Make American Great Again hats and it seems like too much of a coincidence. Is he giving them away or are they props Diaz de la Portilla takes from door to door for these photo opps?
In one of the others, he is outside with a resident and the man’s little chihuahua, Pelusa, who ADLP said was his preferred candidate for commission in the special election for District 4.
“What a beautiful day to walk,” Diaz de la Portilla texted Sunday. He didn’t walk Monday. He had a fundraiser, though, and divorce court, he said. He did have a case management hearing, according to the county clerk’s records, and his estranged wife, Vanessa Garcia Azzam, had previously asked the judge to force the former to commissioner to attend the hearings, even if by Zoom. So it sounds like he obliged.
Commissioner Joe Carollo, who has also not declared but is also threatening to run for mayor, is out there, too. He was at Smathers Plaza last week celebrating Mother’s Day early. But he’s a sitting commissioner, so isn’t that expected? Yeah, except Smathers is in District 4, not his own District 3.
Still, he didn’t have mameys.
Read related: Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins could join Miami Mayor’s race
There are several other candidates who have filed campaign treasurer reports and candidate oaths, including, most notably, Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell and former Miami city manager Emilio Gonzalez. qualifying doesn’t even start until Sept. 5. So we won’t know until then who is really running and who is just threatening to.
Diaz de la Portilla’s bag, with the one mamey, and his hand-out piece don’t look like they say anything about the mayor’s seat. 
“With infinite love,” starts the piece, which looks like a Mother’s Day mailer with a photo of ADLP and his mother, Fabiola. And, in it, he hints at the criminal case against him after he was arrested in 2023 on public corruption charges stemming from the giveaway of a public park to the owners of a private school that wanted to use it for their athletic department.
“There is no judge or court as just as mothers when they know their children have been unjustly attacked,” the piece says. “Today and always, in gratitude, I celebrate my mother and all the mothers who give and sacrifice so much to protect their children and who celebrate when they see their children’s names vindicated, not only by God’s divine justice, but also by the systems of just human law. To you, my sincere words of recognition for a labor of love for your children.”
That’s really specific. But not about which race he’s in. That’s vague.
Just like his goody bag which says only “Courtesy of Alex Diaz de la Portilla,” in his signature neon green.
This is, of course, because the items are paid for by his political action committee, Proven Leadership for Miami-Dade, which reported raising nada in the first quarter this year, but spending close to $108,000, according to campaign finance reports.
Some have speculated that The Dean of Miami politics is waiting to see if Higgins actually resigns to run so he can run in her seat in county district 5, instead, where former Miami Beach and State Rep. David Richardson has already filed.
ADLP texted Ladra to say that he lives in District 3 now.
Wait, isn’t the East Hotel in District 5? And when has residency stopped him, anyway? He lived in his parents’ old house in District 3, the one he later lost to foreclosure, at least part of the time he served as commissioner in District 1.
And does that mean that he’ll jump into the District 3 race at the last minute?
Help Ladra cover the upcoming Miami elections, but the special election for District 4 in June and the general election in November, with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Every little bit helps. Thank you for your support.
Alex Diaz de la Portilla is knocking, giving out mameys to be Miami mayor added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
