‘Abuse of taxpayer dollars:’ Florida Democrats hit Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez over census PSA

The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is pushing for more information after Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez participated in a county-backed public service announcement (PSA) urging residents to complete the 2020 census.

Democrats’ complaints come after an NBC 6 report showed the county spent more than $23,000 to run those ads more than 7,000 times. Giménez is also running for Congress as a Republican.

Those government PSA’s are priced at a lower rate than normal ads. Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is defending her seat in Florida’s 26th Congressional District against Giménez, will also receive a lower ad rate because of federal equal time rules.

Still, FDP spokeswoman Alexandra Caffrey is accusing Giménez of using the PSA’s as a de facto campaign ad. FDP officials plan to file sunshine requests regarding the Mayor’s involvement in securing the ad space, though it’s unclear what rules Giménez might be violating.

“South Floridians deserve answers about Corrupt Carlos’s abuse of taxpayer dollars to promote his stalled campaign for Congress,” Caffrey said.

“Instead of fighting for the people of Miami-Dade as they grapple with the worst health and economic crises of our lifetimes, Mayor Giménez is focused on advancing his own political future. This is exactly what people hate about Corrupt Carlos’s brand of self-serving politics.”

Florida Politics has reached out to the Giménez campaign for a response to the FDP’s Wednesday statement. His campaign did not comment on the original NBC 6 story.

That story pointed out the ads from the Miami-Dade County government will run down into the Florida Keys, which is governed by Monroe County. The Keys are not part of Miami-Dade, but they are part of CD 26. That’s the seat Giménez is now gunning for.

Inson Kim, who heads the Miami-Dade County Communication Department, told NBC 6 that the Keys are grouped in with Homestead in terms of ad purchases.

“When we do a buy with Comcast for Countywide, they give us all of the zones to be able to reach all of Miami-Dade County,” Kim said. “This zone is included in our other Countywide campaigns.”

That is, if county officials wanted to reach TV viewers in Homestead — which is within Miami-Dade — they had to purchase ads for the zone including both Homestead and the Keys. The county has done so in the past with a previous hurricane preparedness PSA.

The census PSA also features County Commissioners Esteban “Steve” Bovo and Audrey Edmonson. Bovo is also running for a separate post in County Mayor this cycle.