Jesse Scheckner
Republican Vivian Casals-Muñoz added $10,000 in July toward her bid for House District 111, according to filings with the Florida Division of Elections. A sizeable chunk came from charter schools.
Casals-Muñoz received $1,000 from School Development HC Finance, which is managed by Ignacio Zuleta, a founder of for-profit charter school management company Academia. Donations of $1,000 also came from him and Fernando Zuleta, whom Academia’s website refers to as the company’s founder and President.
The remainder of her donations are a mixed bag of $1,000 gifts from South Florida individuals and businesses, including Pembroke Pines-based FPI Security Services, Miami-based Ceda Orthopedics Group and Barco, which Miami Realtor Victor Barroso owns.
Casal-Muñoz’s gain last month, which marked the first funds the former Hialeah Council member has raised since launching her campaign in May, still leaves her roughly $60,000 behind her Republican opponent, architect Orlando Lamas.
They are vying for the seat House Speaker Pro Tempore Bryan Avila now occupies but must vacate due to term limits next year.
Whether HD 111 still heavily leans Republican in Avila’s absence remains to be seen. Avila has won every race in the district by at least 19 percentage points and trounced his opponent last November, Democrat Ross Hancock, by a whopping 30 points.
The district, which sits wholly in Miami-Dade County, encompasses Miami Springs, Virginia Gardens and part of Miami, including Miami International Airport.
According to several of her social media accounts, Casal-Muñoz now works as director of events at Hialeah Park, a historic racetrack and casino site that spans 40 square blocks in the city that on Tuesday was announced to be the new home of the popular seasonal fair, Santa’s Enchanted Forest.
