Miami City Commissioners deferred making a decision last week on allowing up to 45 giant LED billboards downtown — and some critics worry the can will be kicked down the road until after the November election. You know, so commissioners don’t have to be held accountable.

Or maybe so they can collect more contributions from billboard companies.

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Commissioner Joe Carollo is suddenly living outside his district

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One staffer worked on brother’s commission campaign

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Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla is still raising money hand over fist for his re-election this November. In the last two months, he’s raised more than $610,000, almost as much as the two months previously, bringing the total since March to more than $1.2 million.

In his campaign’s first month, Diaz de la Portilla raised only $76,603. That’s hard money. He’s better at the soft money, or “indirect” contributions via his political action committee, Proven Leadership For Miami-Dade, which reported getting $124,000 in June and $492,249 in May.

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Scolded for having passed a racially gerrymandered redistricting map and forced to start over after a federal judge threw it out, Miami city commissioners passed a new map Wednesday that, basically, doubled down on the gerrymandering and looks a lot like the old map.

This time, it’s blatantly political.

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DEVELOPING STORY: If you can’t beat them at the polls, draw them out of your district.

That’s what’s happening in the city of Miami at today’s special meeting to redraw the new district maps that were tossed out by a court after several organizations and residents sued over gerrymandering (more on that later). The new map proposed by consultant Miguel DeGrandy cuts a corner of 17th Avenue off District 1 — about three homes, including the one where Miguel Angel Gabela, who is running against incumbent commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, has lived in for more than 20 years.

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