Developing story: After only raising a little more than $20,000 in his first month of campaigning, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro has withdrawn from the city of Miami commission race in District 3.
Happy Birthday Joe Carollo.
The long-rumored challenge to Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo is true: Former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro — whose wife lost to Crazy Joe in 2017 — has filed documents to run for the seat in District 3.
Barreiro, who resigned in 2017 to run for Congress (losing to Maria Elvira Salazar un 2018’s primary) was at City Hall turning his documents in Friday afternoon, but people have been whispering about his candidacy for months. After all, he did support the Carollo recall last year against the man who attacked his wife, Zoraida Barreiro, with very negative mail pieces.
If you had a political forum, and the Republican front runners weren’t there, did it still happen?
We shall see on Monday evening when the Kendall Federation of Homeowners welcomes every Democrat candidate and five of the Republican hopefuls to the District 27 seat vacated by the retirement of U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
According to the email blast and KFHA President Michael Rosenberg, four Republicans — including the top three potential vote-getters — are not going to make it to the 6:30 p.m. powwow at the Kendall Village “Civic” Center, in the middle of the shopping plaza, at 8625 SW 124 Ave.
Maria Elvira Salazar, the Spanish-language TV news magazine star who everyone thinks has the lead now that Bruno Barreiro‘s wife lost her county commission race, had been out of town until Saturday, Rosenberg said, but was supposed to confirm after that and has not. Barreiro, Angie Chirino and Maria Piero have not responded.
“Bruno, I’ve invited eight times. Not even a response,” Rosenberg said, adding that he also texted Zoraida Barreiro, who used to respond quite quickly when she was running for office, and got nada back from her either.
“They want our vote, they just don’t want to talk to us,” he said.
Wanting to talk are former Doral Councilwoman Bettina Rodriguez-Aguilera, right, and four people you probably never heard of: Elizabeth Adadi, Stephen Marks, Michael Ohevzian and Gina Sosa. They have all confirmed attendance at the forum. For these people, a day without Maria Elvira, Barreiro and Angie Chirino is a good day.
On the other hand, every Democrat confirmed: Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, Matt Haggman, Michael Hepburn, David Richardson and Donna Shalala all said they would be there.
Maybe that’s all that matters, since the Democrat winner in August has the advantage in November in what many are saying is one of the most flippable seats in the country. Maybe Bruno has the right idea in not giving it 110%.
“This will be a civil meeting to learn about these candidates. educate the community about these candidates,” Rosenberg said. “We are going to tell the candidates not to go off road, to focus on the questions and answer it so voters can learn about them. Otherwise it is a wasted meeting.”
Republican candidates will go first start at 7 p.m. The Democrats start at 8:15. They will have two minutes to introduce themselves and then a minute to answer six questions.
“That means you need to be right on point, clear, and not waste a second from the context of the question,” Rosenberg wrote to the candidates.
Each candidate will also get two one-minute challenges to use if another candidate specifically names them or misrepresents their position. So if it happens a third time, Ladra supposes they just have to live with it.
Or maybe address it in the end, where there will be a two minute summary or closing statement.
The KFHA also plans forums in the following weeks for candidates to the Miami-Dade County Commission (July 23) and to the Florida House (July 25). Hopefully, all the viable candidates will be there for that.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro — who was chairman when the Marlins 
Stadium deal was voted on and sort of ushered the process along — announced officially Monday morning, as expected, that he would be running for the congressional seat vacated next year by a retiring Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Immediately, one could hear a soft cheer throughout the 305. Those were Democrats. Because, let’s face it, Barreiro as the Republican nominee in a post Trump election would be like the elephant giving the donkey a gift. Wrapped. With a bow.
Sure, both Barreiro’s commission district and his House district — District 107 from 1992 to 1998 — are squarely within congressional District 27, but he’s never ran in large swaths, including Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. And that’s the least of his problems.
Read related story: Raquel Regalado vs. Bruno Barreiro for Congress?
Barreiro is a soft, easy target for anyone and a dream opponent in an increasingly blue-leaning District that went to Hillary Clinton in November by 20 freaking points. He’s never run a real race, except against former State Rep. Luis Garcia who forced him into a runoff in 2012 that Barreiro won with 52% of the vote, and Ladra would say Garcia botched it. Barreiro had almost been recalled in 2011 with former mayor Carlos Alvarez and former Commissioner Natacha Seijas after the Marlins money mess, but activists fell 35 petition signatures short.
As state rep, Bruno was one of the least effective legislators — nicknamed “el mudo,” or “the mute” by collegues — and his time in Tallahassee is marked by nothing except conflicts of interests and questionable deals. His family’s struggling Little Havana medical clinic suddenly got a juicy state Medicaid contract after he was elected and was later sold to a larger conglomerate for $10 million. A Miami New Times story from when he was made county commission chaiman says that Barreiro made $200,000 off the deal. And he became very close to the man who
bailed the struggling clinic out, former Sen. Al Gutman, who made half a million as a “broker” and was forced to resign as part of a plea deal in 1999 after being caught in an unrelated Medicaid fraud scheme.
As commissioner, Barreiro — who is also the Republican State Executive Committeeman for Miami-Dade — sees nothing wrong with the fact that the county paid his family between $30,000 and $40,000 a year rent for at least a decade so he could have his district office in their building. He called it a savings coup. And, despite a spotty attendance record for public meetings, he urged the Florida legislature in 2007 to abandon the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law that prohibits electeds from talking in private about anything they may vote on in the future.
He was re-elected unopposed last year, but still managed to spend almost $140,000 in campaign contributions, much of them from contractors who do business or want to do business with the county. Among his expenses in an unchallenged race, before he donated the rest to organizations: $31,000 in consulting and campaign work, $3,000 for supplies at Costco, $4,370 for Apple computer (that’s two laptops, right?) and almost $17,000 in printed campaign materials from Image Outfitters and Alina Sportswear (that’s a lot of t-shirts for someone who didn’t have to run). Among the organizations that got donations from the leftover funds was the Barreiro Foundation, which got $10,000.
The negative campaign mailers write themselves.
Read related story: Bruno Barreiro’s district digs, mortgage raise questions
“Bruno Barreiro is one of the most self-serving politicians in Miami-Dade. And that’s saying a lot,” said Juan Cuba, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democrat Party.
Then there’s the matter of his energy. Bruno might need a job when he is termed out in 2020, but he has neither the media 
presence nor the campaign stamina to match up to someone like Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez or Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who are the two most likely to succeed in the Democrat primary. There’s no fire in his belly. There never has been.
But why not? There’s no risk in running because he doesn’t have to resign. If he loses, he can stay on as county commissioner. Maybe he just needs another laptop or more seed funding for his foundation?
Barreiro — whose wife Zoriada Barreiro is running for Miami city commissioner — said in a statement Wednesday that this opportunity was a longtime dream of his. If you will recall, his name was floated in a poll for Congressional District 26 four years ago.
“Throughout my years as a public servant, I have witnessed first-hand how my efforts can positively contribute to the growth and well-being of our residents in South Florida. It truly would be an honor and a privilege to serve our community, and our country, as a United States Congressman,” Barreiro said in a statement released as another Republican, former Miami-Dade School Board Member and county mayoral candidate Raquel Regalado, met with GOP leaders in Washington, D.C. Ladra bets Democrats would be much more afraid to run against her.
“I have a pulse for the needs of our community, and understand the importance of having a strong advocate for South Floridians in Washington D As Congressman, I will work in a bipartisan manner to bring to the table important issues for our residents, such as economic prosperity, improved infrastructure, modernized and efficient transportation alternatives, affordable housing, viable healthcare options, and so much more,” Barreiro added.
Did you hear that? Sounded a little like a distant crowd. Cheering.
It looks like Raquel Regalado has decided what she wants to do next: Congress.
After briefly entertaining a state Senate run to replace Frank Artiles — because, really, who hasn’t? — the former Miami-Dade School Board member and recent county mayoral candidate has set her sights on District 27, the seat 
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is giving up next year.
No, she hasn’t announced yet. But she’s talked to Ileana and others about it. And she’s made up her mind. No exploratory committee for her. She’s flying to D.C. this week to see if party leaders will back her bid — or at least stand out of the way during what could be an interesting primary, since Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro has already said he was interested in the seat. And, no, it’s not interesting just because her brother is running against his wife in another race, proving what a family affair 305 politics is (more on that later). It’s interesting also because both Bruno and Raquel have been elected and represented the area for years. Him at the county and the Florida House. Her at the School Board. They’re both proven fundraisers. They’re both bien educados and well-versed in the federal issues — transportation, housing, education. And they’re both moderate Republicans in a bellweather district that has consistenly elected the national poster child of GOP moderation.
Read related story: Two new ‘open’ seats spur political piñata question: 40 or 27?
Sure, she’s just come off a bruising election and a misogynistic campaign that trashed her with false allegations of 
homestead exemption fraud and belittled her knowledge and experience. But she still had somewhere around 100,000 votes in that district. And some of those people have voted for her multiple times and for her dad, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado. In fact, Raquel didn’t even really campaign there because it was her home base. Ladra knows. I was working on her team. (For the record: I worked to elect Raquel to Miami-Dade mayor because the incumbent was the exact opposite of public servant, using the office to benefit himself and those on his friends and family plan. I do not plan to work for her congressional bid but I am still a fan and wish her the best of luck).
In fact, Ladra thinks Regalado has the GOP leg up. Her name recognition and positives in that district are probably the highest she’s got and, likely, higher than Barreiro’s. That’s even before voters are reminded of Bruno’s vote for the Marlin’s stadium deal. As commission chairman at the time, he championed and channeled the whole thing. It’s the main reason he was almost recalled at the same time as Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Commissioner Natacha Seijas Millan, but the petition gatherers fell a few signatures short.
Barreiro also voted against Commissioner Esteban Bovo‘s ordinance that would prohibit the county from contracting with any company that did business in Cuba. This might not be a big deal anywhere else. But the Cuba issue — and the Cuba PAC — plays in this congressional race.
Bruno might also be hampered a bit by his wife’s run for city of Miami commission this year. A quick look through Zoraida Barreiro’s contributions makes it obvious that he’s made some asks of county vendors or contractors. A second ask may not go as well. And what if his wife loses? And what if she wins? Wasn’t the whole point of her running because it was her turn now?
Read related story: Kristen Rosen Gonzalez to challenge Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Regalado, who jus it spent $800,000 trying to become the county mayor, may be in a similar situation since her brother, Radio Marti Exec Tommy Regalado, is running for commissioner against Mrs. Barreiro. But Regalado has political sugardaddy Norman Braman and a well-oiled machine that will benefit from the full time addition of one 
of its longtime members in November, when Papi is no longer alcalde and can give his daughter’s campaign 100%.
Imagine both daughter and dad — and possibly a Commissioner Tommy Regalado — on a media rampage to get her elected. Raquel is a match for Ileana in that way. Did everybody see how the congresswoman’s retirement became a weeklong story? She had press conferences for three days. She’s very active on twitter and accessible to the constituency. Really, Raquel is better at that kind of thing than Bruno is.
There’s also the fact that she’s a woman. We already have a limited number of women in Congress. It would be a shame if the first Hispanic woman elected to this great democratic body were replaced by a man. Sorry, Bruno, it just does. Best case scenario is Regalado against Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez on the Dems side (because Ladra was told that Daniella Levine Cava was caught off guard and is not going to make the jump).
