Jesse Scheckner
A news company with hyperlocal periodicals circulating in nearly 20 South Florida areas is backing government relations specialist Kevin Marino Cabrera’s campaign for the Miami-Dade County Commission.
On Tuesday, Miami’s Community Newspapers, a South Miami-based media organization owned and operated by brothers Grant and Michael Miller, announced its endorsement of Cabrera.
“Kevin Marino Cabrera is working hard, knocking on doors, and listening to his neighbors across the community in order to bring a much-needed new perspective to the Miami-Dade County Commission,” Community Newspapers staff wrote.
“Kevin’s professional experience ranges from managing a family-owned pharmacy to leading a local logistics company. He believes that enhancing quality of life is critical to the wellbeing of Miami-Dade’s future — not only by protecting the most vulnerable members of the community from the increases in the cost of living, but also by fighting for safer streets by creating dedicated county task forces to patrol neighborhoods.
“Kevin will fight for the environment as well, by establishing dedicated funding sources to protect our local waterways and Biscayne Bay; and states he’ll advocate for solutions to alleviate traffic by advancing Miami-Dade County’s SMART Plan.”
The nod from Miami’s Community Newspapers is the 20th endorsement Cabrera has received since launching his bid for the County Commission in late April.
Others supporting his campaign include former President Donald Trump, whom he worked for during the 2020 Presidential Election, U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, Chief Financial Officer and Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis, Miami-Dade Commissioner-elect Anthony Rodriguez, Hialeah Mayor Steve Bovo, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago and local chapters of Associated Builders and Contractors, Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
“It is an honor to receive the endorsement of Community Newspapers, the voice of our local community,” Cabrera said in a statement. “We’ve built this campaign on standing up to the insiders and working to improve the quality of life for our community and I will work tirelessly to do so on the County Commission.”
A senior vice president of global strategy firm Mercury, Cabrera entered politics from the trade and logistics sector. His past employers and clients include former Gov. Jeb Bush, former U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, Florida Supreme Court Justice John Couriel, the Republican National Committee, LIBRE Initiative and the Southern Group lobbying firm.
Cabrera is married to state Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, who just enjoyed her best round of fundraising this election cycle.
He is competing in a runoff against Coral Gables Commissioner Jorge Fors Jr., a fellow Republican. Cabrera scored 43% of the vote during the Aug. 23 Primary Election, while Fors took 26%. Miami-Dade election rules require a County Commission candidate to receive more than half the votes cast during the technically nonpartisan Primary contest to win office.
The winner on Nov. 8 will succeed term-limited Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who has served District 6 uninterrupted since 2001. Sosa has endorsed Fors as her preferred replacement.
Last week, Fors filed a defamation lawsuit against Cabrera and others for allegedly mounting a “civil conspiracy” to malign his public image. Fors claims Cabrera and several campaign consultants and political committees have spread “false, defamatory statements” and “realistic, but doctored, images” meant to damage his reputation.
District 6 covers a north-central portion of Miami-Dade, including part or all of the cities of Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami, Miami Springs, Virginia Gardens and West Miami. The district also contains Miami International Airport, one of the county’s top two economic engines, and a Miami golf course being redeveloped as a soccer stadium complex for the city’s Major League Soccer Team.
Early voting begins Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 6.
