Ryan Nicol
Republican Rep. Bryan Ávila continues to pull in plenty of cash in his Miami-Dade County Commission bid, adding nearly $114,000 in October alone.
Ávila’s opponent in the District 6 contest, Ibis Valdés, has raised just over $63,000 in her five full months as a candidate. She added less than $3,500 in October.
Fighting for Florida’s Families, Ávila’s political committee, netted nearly $89,000 last month. That includes three separate $10,000 donations from the health care company Wellpath, the real estate company Bayfront 2011 Development, and A Stronger Florida, a political committee tied to the consulting firm Rubin, Turnbull & Associates.
The health care industry contributed plenty of other cash to Ávila as well. The Committee of Safety Net Hospitals of Florida donated $5,000 to his PC, as did Impact Health. Senior Care Pharmacy contributed $2,500, while Maxim Healthcare Services and Northport Health Services of Florida each added $2,000.
Ávila also pulled in $25,000 through his campaign account. PC’s connected to Reps. David Borrero and Mike Giallombardo and former Rep. Erik Fresen each donated $1,000 to Ávila’s campaign account.
Former Democratic Rep. Javier Fernández also donated $2,000 via his law firm to his ex-GOP colleague. Fernández left the House to pursue a Senate seat in 2020. He lost out in the Senate District 39 contest to now-Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez.
Two big-time law firms — Akerman LLP and Shutts & Bowen LLP — also donated $1,000 apiece to Ávila’s campaign account. Akerman added another $1,000 donation to Ávila’s PC.
Ávila recorded just over $8,000 in expenses during October. His campaign account paid $5,000 to Tridente Strategies for political consulting. Ávila’s PC also shipped out a $3,000 donation to Senate President Wilton Simpson‘s bid for Agriculture Commissioner.
Valdés relied on smaller-dollar donations in October. She pulled in 43 individual donations to her campaign account, averaging just over $83 per person.
Ávila holds a massive war chest of close to $1.19 million. Valdés holds just over $52,000.
Ávila currently represents House District 111 and serves as House Speaker Pro Tempore, but is barred from running for the House in 2022. That led him to run for the District 6 seat, currently held by Commissioner Rebeca Sosa. Sosa, too, will face term limits in 2022.
Sosa is a Republican as well, though the contests for the Miami-Dade County Commission are nonpartisan.
District 6 runs from Miami Springs down to parts of Coral Gables. Candidates and political committees faced a Nov. 10 deadline to report all financial activity through Oct. 31.
