Staff Reports
Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Sanchez outpaced a dozen other Republican candidates for Miami-Dade County Sheriff in first-quarter fundraising, collecting $212,500 between Jan. 1 and March 31.
Sanchez, a former Miami City Commissioner and U.S. Army Reserve enlistee, also spent $123,500. He had $289,400 between his campaign account and political committee, Law and Order PC, going into April.
“I am amazed by the incredible support we have received from throughout Miami-Dade County,” Sanchez said in a statement. “Our message of law and order is resonating with our neighbors because everyone wants and deserves to live in a safe community. These resources will help us continue to reach out to our voters as the Aug. 20 Primary approaches.”
Close to 125 people and many businesses in the real estate sector donated to Sanchez last quarter. The most generous was retired Miami Beach lawyer and investor David Flory, who gave $25,000.
Miami lawyer Richard Schulze gave $10,000. Boca Raton real estate developer Arthur Falcone donated $5,000, as did Coral Gables-based electrical contractor Hector Ortiz.
Augustin Herran, President and CEO of the Sedano’s Supermarket chain, gave $3,000.
Sanchez got $10,000 from a subsidiary of Coral Gables-based real estate firm Codina Partners and the same sum from 10 subsidiaries of the Miami-headquartered Legacy Residential Group.
Baroque Properties LLC gave $8,000. Mocca Realty LLC gave $7,000. Grove Bay Investment Group, a subsidiary of The TREO Group, kicked in $7,000. Century Homebuilders gave $5,000, as did Centennial Management Corp. through a handful of subcompanies.
MBB Auto Group, a luxury retail automotive company, donated $15,000.
Sanchez’s spending covered consulting, staffing, voter outreach, web services, legal, advertising and event costs. He gave $1,000 to a political committee called West Miami Families First.
Republican Assistant Miami Police Director Rosie Cordero-Stutz placed second in fundraising on the GOP side with $106,000 gained through her campaign and PC. Retired Miami-Dade Police Maj. Mario Knapp, also a Republican, added more than $80,000 last quarter to his campaign coffers to place third.
Others running in the Republican Primary include:
— Miami-Dade Police Maj. Jose Aragu raised $68,000 last quarter and $137,000 since October. He had $115,000 left at the end of Q1.
— Ernie Rodriguez, a retired Miami-Dade Police officer, raised $37,000 last quarter and $97,400 since September. He ended Q1 with $81,600 in his campaign account.
— Cop-turned-lawyer Ignacio “Iggy” Alvarez raised $25,000 in Q1 and $214,000 since October. As of April 1, he had $181,000 remaining.
— John Rivera, a retired Miami-Dade Police Sergeant and former police union President, raised $11,000 last quarter and $39,500 since October. His campaign account had $30,500 at the beginning of this month.
— Jeffrey Giordano, a former Miami City Police hostage negotiator, raised $3,100 since filing in February and spent less than $5 through March 31.
— Miami City Police officer Ruamen DelaRua raised $2,125 in Q1, $16,000 since November 2022 and held just under $1,200 going into April.
— Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Orlando “Orly” Lopez raised $225 in Q1 and $15,300 raised since September. He had about $5,000 to end the quarter.
— Alex Fornet, a retired Miami-Dade Police reserve officer, raised $80 in Q1 and $180 since September, of which he had $110 left to begin the second quarter.
— Miami-Dade Police officer Jaspen Bishop raised nothing in Q1. He’s raised $2,500 since June and held about $1,400 by the end of March.
— Miami-Dade Police officer Rolando Riera raised nothing last quarter and, so far, spent none of the $1,800 he’s collected since entering the race in September.
Candidates faced an April 10 deadline to report all campaign finance activities through March 31.
On the Democratic side, Miami-Dade Chief of Public Safety James Reyes — who currently oversees the county Police, Fire and Corrections departments — amassed $378,000 to lead all candidates in Q1 fundraising.
Other Democrats in the race include:
— Miami-Dade Police Maj. John Barrow raised $20,500 last quarter, $69,750 since July and had $24,000 left at the end of Q1.
— Former federal agent Susan Khoury raised $9,000 in Q1 and $40,000 since November 2022. She had about $34,000 left going into Q2.
— Rickey Mitchell, a retired Miami-Dade Police Lieutenant who now runs a funeral home business, added $5,000 to his campaign in Q1 and has raised $292,000 since March 2023. That includes $275,000 in self-loans. He had close to $214,000 left by the end of the quarter.
