Qualification ended at noon Friday for the April Coral Gables elections that nobody really knows about and all three seats on the ballot became contests with a last minute entry against Commissioner Frank Quesada and a free-for-all of six candidates in the open seat vacated by termed-out Commissioner William “Billy” Kerdyk. Activist Enrique Lopez, who […]
There was a little, bloodless political battle at the MPO meeting Thursday when the body of electeds that plan regional infrastructure and transit improvements elected its new chair and vice chair. It wasn’t over the chair. The new Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Jean Monestime was unanimously and quickly elected to replace former chair of both, Commissioner […]
Lubby Navarro, the bureaucrat-turned-lobbyist who was appointed this week to the Miami-Dade School Board by Gov. Rick Scott will be sworn in this afternoon. But already, she’s got a challenge if for the 2016 election from teacher Carolina Blanco, who has spent the last eight years in a classroom teaching special needs students. Blanco had […]
How pervasive are campaign shenanigans in South Florida? A former Miami mayoral candidate who we never heard of before and who never stood a chance of being elected pled guilty Thursday to three counts of violating state campaign finance laws. Jeffrey Benjamin, who lost big to Mayor Tomás Regalado in 2013, was sentenced to a […]
Call it the year of the Missus. Following Hillary Clinton‘s ambitions for presidency and, at the local level, Teresa Sarnoff‘s desire to replace her hubby on the Miami city commission, Coral Gables realtor and former first lady Jeannett Slesnick has filed to run for the commission seat vacated by Vice Mayor Billy Kerdyk. Slesnick filed […]
Another tell tale sign that Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine is looking to run for statewide office: He hired noted Tallahassee lobbyist Fátima Perez — who represents the city of Miami Beach — as his new chief of staff. Alex Miranda, who has been by Levine’s side since the 2013 mayoral campaign and then was […]
Two of the original G-Men are together again: Jesse Manzano-Plaza, who ran the immediate 2012 re-election campaign for Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, has joined the consulting firm headed by Alex Heckler and former State Rep. Marcelo Llorente, who came in third in the 2011 recall mayoral race and then endorsed Gimenez. Manzano and Ben Pollara, […]
Influential lobbyist Jorge Luis Lopez — who everyone says ought to have his own desk on the 29th floor at County Hall — seems to be trying to increase his influence and take it national. Why else would he be having a fundraiser Friday for newly-minted Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-Kendall). Lopez sent out an invitation […]
Florida Rick Scott has appointed Lubby Navarro, a Miami-Dade School Board lobbyist, to the school board’s governing body in the seat vacated by former School Board Member Carlos Curbelo, who was elected to Congress in November. Navarro’s appointment is about to be announced any minute now (Friday afternoon). She was picked from a group of […]
A lot of speculation has been made about whether Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine is exploring higher office, perhaps a senate seat or a run for Florida governor in 2018. But, for now, he’s simply running for mayor of Miami Beach again. Political consultant Christian Ulvert, a key Levine campaign man in 2013, told Ladra […]