Less than eight months have passed since city of Miami District 2 Commissioner Sabina Covo was elected to office in a special election Feb. 27, but already voters in the sprawling district are preparing to make their way to the ballots again next month.
This time, their decision will in part determine the fate of the city for the next four years – and withlawsuits and investigations running rampant throughout the commission, they’ll want to choose carefully.
In some elections, political incumbents have the upper hand by virtue of having established rapport with their constituents. In others, voters are just waiting for the chance to kick their elected officials out. But with less than a year under her belt on the commission, can Covo win again against another field of candidates?
(Damian Pardo/Facebook)
Damian Pardo, a longtime activist in the city of Miami, is currently vying for its District 2 commission seat.
Of her six opponents, none seem to be threatened by her in the least, including those that have lost to Covo once before. In fact, many candidates still sense the power vacuum left by former Commissioner Ken Russell when he vacated the seat last year after running for Congress.
Those opponents include longtime activist and Morningside resident Damian Pardo, who founded local LGBTQ+ nonprofit Safeguarding American Values for Everyone, Inc. (SAVE) in 1993; local attorney and Brickell resident Eddy Leal, who formerly served as legal counsel for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez; Michael Castro, a resident of Coconut Grove who repairs wood-framed cottages for a living; Wynwood business owner and brand marketer Christi Reeves Tasker, who now lives in Brickell; James Torres, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance; and somebody named Gabriela Ariana Chirinos.
(Courtesy of Eddy Leal)
Eddy Leal, an attorney who formerly served as legal counsel for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, is now running for Miami City Commission.
It’s the most packed race in the city, and the issues are just as profuse.
Overdevelopment
Those living in District 2, which encompasses a long strip of land from Coconut Grove to Morningside, are no strangers to construction. It’s the urban core, where developers flock to build new high-rises and luxury condominiums, often to the dismay of surrounding residents. Each candidate is well aware that this is what they’re up against.
“It’s not binary,” said Pardo. “It’s not like pro-development or anti-development. That misses the point. The point is about people concerned about losing the character of their neighborhood.”
(James Torres/X)
James Torres, Miami District 2 candidate, with Miami Police Chief Manny Morales.
Pardo intends to use his advocacy background as a way to empower other residents to form their own associations that cross district boundaries. He alluded to the idea of a “respectful development alliance group,” which he can facilitate by finding funding sources and giving voice to on the commission.
Like Pardo, other candidates aren’t explicitly against development when it’s done correctly. Covo says the city is lacking the infrastructure to support new buildings propping up along the coast.
“Unfortunately, we went to an overdevelopment phase without the right climb … A lot of the overdevelopment that we’re seeing is being built as of right now because of Miami 21, and it’s just not working,” she said.
Castro questions who the sky-rises are being built for, and at what expense. As a resident of the Grove, the most historic neighborhood in Miami and one of the coziest in the district, he hears from neighbors who fear their single-family lifestyle could one day face the same fate as communities directly to the north. It’s why he’s dedicated his life to preserving wood-framed Bahamian bungalows – a task that to him is not only a trade, but a passion.
Plus, said Castro, even the most citified communities in Miami are lacking in one major avenue: parking.
“The public transportation system can’t accommodate a lifestyle in Brickell,” he said, “so if you’re going to build a high-rise with zero parking, you better make sure you get the public transit down pat.”
Leal, whose practice mainly deals with commercial disputes, condo associations and real-estate law, believes he’s most equipped to combat overdevelopment using the right channels. As someone who has worked in City Hall, he said, he’s the only one familiar enough with the code to understand the true impacts of an upzoning that may otherwise be misinterpreted and easily green-lighted.
No More Special Interests
Many candidates believe that special interest money plays a significant role in those commission handouts that lead to overdevelopment. It’s why Pardo vowed not to accept any, insisting that his more than $120,000 in campaign contributions – the most in the race – have come from friends and supporters he’s met during his 35 years of community activism.
(Courtesy of Christi Tasker)
Christi Reeves Tasker, a candidate for Miami District 2, and her husband at Casa Wynwood, a business Tasker owns in that corridor.
Leal made the same promise, racking up $13,780 from friends and family alone. Castro takes that commitment a step further, revealing that he doesn’t plan to ask for any money at all. He’s investing anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 of his own money to his campaign, refusing even to ask for volunteers to help him canvas the neighborhoods.
“You don’t want a stranger knocking on your door telling you to vote for someone who doesn’t even have the common courtesy to come to your own house,” said Castro, who ran for office just once before in a race for Miami-Dade County commission against former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez in 2016. He said the election landscape then opened his eyes toward dirty politics.
Torres, who did not respond to this publication’s request for an interview, nevertheless has been vocal online about his intentions to rein in special interests if elected. An infographic on his X page says he’ll enact a ban on contributions from political action committees and registered lobbyists, prohibit elected officials from leaving office to work as lobbyists or consultants, and strengthen whistleblower protection laws for government employees exposing corruption.
However, perhaps the most vocal about the pervasiveness of special interests is Tasker, who writes about developer infiltration and misconduct in the city on her campaign blog. She went as far as to say that Chair Christine King and the rest of the commission, including Covo, are controlled by former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who has since been suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis following his September arrest on corruption charges.
“This is a small group of players,” said Tasker, who ran in the February special election but came in 11th place with 85 votes. “I don’t play in the sandbox with them. I call them out, I expose them.”
Another hot take from Tasker is that the city of Miami actually has plenty of affordable housing, despite claims of a crisis. According to her, the real problem is that condos are being bought off in bulk by developers or pawned off as short-term rentals on Airbnb, pushing out long-term residents and attracting crime instead.
Corruption on the Dais
(Courtesy of Michael Castro)
Coconut Grove resident Michael Castro would be a political newcomer if he were to be elected to the District 2 seat for the city of Miami.
De La Portilla’s arrest for charges that he sold his vote for $245,000 in campaign cash is only the latest in a slew of scandals that has hit the city this year. Suarez is under FBI investigation for allegedly colluding with a developer, while Commissioner Joe Carollo left taxpayers with a hefty price tag this summer for legal expenses related to his retaliation campaign against local businesses.
It’s a messy dais, to say the least, one that Covo believes she’s been able to navigate professionally. Pardo, however, disagrees.
“In Commissioner Covo’s case,” he said, “it’s more what she hasn’t done than what she has, and really the key there is she has not spoken up. She has not challenged anything … I would absolutely represent my voters and my residents by giving voice to their concerns.”
Having already debated within the commission chambers with his own knowledge of the law and city code, Leal calls himself “battle tested.”
“I can even challenge the city attorney’s office in a respectful way because they know that I know what’s actually happening,” said Leal.
Fresh Face or Seasoned Activist?
The qualities that Leal touts in himself – having the experience, connections and know-how within City Hall – are the same that Castro criticizes. The latter believes that the former is embedded within the very system that residents are trying to disrupt.
Leal and Pardo have promoted their experience in government and community activism, respectively, while Tasker and Castro claim to identify with everyday residents.
Covo, a relative unknown, was a surprise win in February when she beat candidates with more recognition, like Leal and former county Judge Martin Zilber. Now, Leal says her lack of experience is coming back to bite her.
He claims to have heard from voters who feel that Covo’s office is lacking in its ability to address their concerns on the spot, always promising to get back to them after checking in with staff.
“You’re going to get a realistic response from me because I don’t have to get to my staff,” said Leal. “I know what needs to happen because I was staff.”
(Sabina Covo/X)
Sabina Covo and supporters during her reelection campaign.
Leal came in second in the February election with almost 22% of the vote, trailing behind Covo by just over 500 votes. Torres came in third, garnering 15% of the vote.
Covo’s Track Record
Other candidates were just as quick to say that they’re unimpressed with Covo’s performance.
Her response: “Just read the list of accomplishments.”
In six months, Covo made climate resiliency and green space her main priorities. She convinced city staff to go from cleaning drainage systems once every three years to twice a year; passed a living shoreline protection plan for Morningside Park; implemented legislation to spread awareness about an endangered bird rookery on Biscayne Bay; created an eco-squad to clean and beautify neighborhoods; introduced a master plan for Margaret Pace Park; and prompted the creation of a heat mitigation plan.
She has also allocated millions of dollars to affordable housing efforts within the city, advocated for noise mitigation and explored ways to deploy more police officers throughout District 2. Covo calls these the seeds she’s planting for more long-term continuity and implementation if she gets reelected.
“The fact that we’ve been able to address each of the issues and not only pass legislation, but make the administration deliver in the city of Miami, it’s absolutely outstanding,” said Covo, who has a background in political reporting. “I would say the main point to all of this is that, if we are already accomplishing so much, why make a change?”
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 10, 2023, with early voting beginning Oct. 28. Polls close on Election Day Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.