Oliver Gilbert tops Sybrina Fulton by $21K in August fundraising for Miami-Dade Commission seat

Oliver Gilbert

Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert III continues to outpace Sybrina Fulton in fundraising as the two compete for the District 1 seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission.

Gilbert showed more than $23,000 raised in the month of August according to the latest filings, which were due Tuesday. That follows a July which saw Gilbert bring in more than $33,000.

Fulton, meanwhile, managed just under $1,400 last month. That puts her more than $21,000 short of Gilbert’s haul.

But factored into Fulton’s August numbers is a refund of $1,800 to prominent Coral Gables donor Barbara Stiefel.

In July, the Fulton campaign accepted a $2,800 check from Stiefel, which is well above the legal limit of $1,000 for candidates in countywide races. The limit for donations to federal campaigns is $2,800, which could help explain the error on Stiefel’s part.

The Fulton campaign said at the time it had begun the process of refunding the money. That refund has now been listed in Fulton’s August report, and was deducted from the $3,000-plus in other donations she received.

Among Gilbert’s donors were PepsiCo and the famous horse racing track Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. Both kicked in $1,000 to Gilbert’s campaign. He also received $500 from big-time law firm GrayRobinson.

Gilbert has consistently outraised Fulton since she entered the contest in May. Fulton is the mother of Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed in an altercation with George Zimmerman back in 2012.

She trailed Gilbert by a few thousand dollars in both May and June. But the last two months have seen Fulton trailing by about $20,000 each.

Overall, Gilbert has banked nearly $350,000 since entering the race in early 2019. Fulton has earned less than a tenth of that, raising just over $30,000.

After expenses, Gilbert maintains more than $270,000. Fulton has less than $24,000.

Gilbert was first elected Miami Gardens Mayor in 2012 and is facing term limits in 2020. Commissioner Barbara Jordan, whom the duo is seeking to replace, is a longtime political ally of Gilbert. Jordan is also term-limited in 2020.