Ryan Nicol
GOP state Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez has secured endorsements from a bevy of South Florida mayors as she continues her campaign for Senate District 39.
The group of 10 mayors all represent municipalities within Miami-Dade County.
The list includes Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez of Doral, Manny Cid of Miami Lakes, Claudia Cubillos of El Portal, Yioset De La Cruz of Hialeah Gardens, Anthony DeFillipo of North Miami Beach, Spencer Deno IV of Virginia Gardens, Orlando Lopez of Sweetwater, Steven Losner of Homestead, Roberto Martell of Medley and Rhonda Rodriguez of West Miami.
Those mayors released a collective statement Wednesday morning explaining their support of Rodriguez.
“Ana Maria Rodriguez works tirelessly for our entire community,” the statement reads.
“She has demonstrated her boundless commitment to ensuring our cities have the resources we need to effectively serve our residents and improve their quality of life. We are proud to endorse her and lend her our full support.”
Rodriguez is competing for the SD 39 seat against Democratic state Rep. Javier Fernandez. The support from the bloc of mayors adds to endorsements from a pair of Miami-Dade Commissioners her campaign announced earlier this week.
Rodriguez issued a statement of her own Wednesday in a release announcing the endorsements.
“To have support from so many public servants is a great honor,” Rodriguez said.
“We are building a broad and diverse coalition of community leaders to ensure that South Floridians’ voices are heard loud and clear in the Florida Senate. When I am elected, I will hit the ground running on day one and make sure our state government is responsive to the needs of our South Florida communities.”
State Sen. Anitere Flores, who currently represents SD 39, is term-limited after 2020. That makes the 2020 race an open one and is expected to lead to a competitive contest.
SD 39 covers all of Monroe County and part of Miami-Dade County.
