Joe Martinez says he’s filing ‘in the next couple of days’ to run for Miami-Dade Sheriff

The hammer falls on Joe Martinez.

Former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez says he won’t let a still-pending criminal trial hinder his ambition to be the county’s top cop.

Martinez told Florida Politics that after years of flirting with a run, he’ll soon join the crowded Sheriff’s race.

“I’ll be filing in the next couple of days,” he said.

A decorated former police lieutenant who represented the county’s Kendall area residents as a Miami-Dade Commissioner for nearly 20 years, Martinez confirmed his intent to run in a press note Monday.

He spoke to reporters about it Tuesday morning on the steps of the Gerstein Justice Building after a hearing for his criminal case. Prosecutors are pursuing felony charges of unlawful compensation and conspiracy, alleging he accepted $15,000 to push a proposed ordinance in 2017 that would have benefited those paying him.

Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Martinez in September 2022, less than a month after he turned himself in.

Martinez has denied all wrongdoing and called the case “politically motivated.” He said he was a private citizen working as a consultant when prosecutors said he acted unlawfully.

On Tuesday, he told reporters that “after a lot of consultation,” he would file “very soon” to run for Sheriff.

“I look forward to representing the community fairly, not politically,” he said. “Law enforcement, although I am a Republican and proud of it, should not be about Republicans, Democrats, independents or politics whatsoever. It has to be about defending the public.”

Martinez elaborated on his comments in a short phone conversation with Florida Politics later that day. He stressed that he wants to make law enforcement and public safety more equitable in Miami-Dade through community-oriented policing, where cops remain in and become conversant with specific neighborhoods and their denizens.

Studies have shown the approach benefits residents across racial and ethnic groups while reducing crime and building trust between police and citizens.

“I want to bring it back. It’s extremely important, especially in less affluent neighborhoods,” he said. “I want to make them as safe as my kids, and I want everybody to know the No. 1 priority of the Sheriff’s Office is to protect life and property.”

He said he’d seek federal funding to bolster local dollars spent on the effort.

Upon filing, Martinez will be the 13th Republican actively running for Sheriff and the 17th candidate in the race. Other GOP candidates include Iggy Alvarez, Jose Aragu, Rosie Cordero-Stutz, Ruamen DelaRua, Alex Fornet, Jeffrey Giordano, Mario Knapp, Orly Lopez, Rolando Riera, John Rivera, Ernie Rodriguez and Joe Sanchez. All are current or former law enforcement professionals.

Democrats running include Miami-Dade Police Maj. John Barrow, former federal agent Susan Khoury, retired Miami-Dade Police Lt. Rickey Mitchell and Miami-Dade Public Safety Chief James Reyes, who leads all candidates so far in fundraising with $550,000 amassed through May.

As of May 31, Martinez’s political committee held $215,625 after paying the law firm of his defense attorney, Ben Keuhne, $287,000 for legal services in October.

The criminal charges Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle brought against Martinez in late 2022 carry a combined maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. They stem from a five-year investigation by the county Inspector General and Fernandez’s office into three $5,000 payments Martinez accepted over several months.

Prosecutors allege he took the money in exchange for sponsoring a proposed ordinance that would end financial penalties that supermarket owner Jorge Negrin and his landlord, Sergio Delgado, received for having too many storage containers at Delgado’s shopping plaza.

An arrest warrant for Martinez cited bank records and email, text and phone exchanges between Martinez, Negrin and Delgado that included discussion of a request Martinez made of Delgado to help him secure a bank loan.

Prosecutors say Martinez was short on cash when he accepted the payments, the first of which came in mid-November 2016, two weeks after he won back his seat on the County Commission. He had spent the previous four years as a security consultant after leaving office to run for Mayor.

Martinez’s Office placed the legislation in question on the County Commission agenda in August 2017, but quickly pulled it from consideration. On the day he shelved the item, he had a nearly seven-minute phone conversation with Delgado, the State Attorney’s Office said.

Agents from the Inspector General’s Office soon questioned Martinez, who the warrant said denied remembering Delgado or the reason he received the payments, which he described as loans. Immediately after the interview, the warrant said, he had a two-and-a-half-minute phone conversation with Negrin.

When agents again interviewed Martinez alongside prosecutors two years later, the warrant said he called his earlier description of the payments as loans a “poor choice of words” and said he did indeed know Delgado.

Martinez’s trial was scheduled for May, but was pushed back after his attorneys unsuccessfully tried to have the judge removed. As of Tuesday, the trial still awaits a starting date.

State law provides that it is unlawful for a public servant to “knowingly and intentionally request, solicit, accept, or agree to accept” money or other benefits to perform or not perform an official act, including filing legislation. As such, prosecutors need only prove that Martinez intended to commit a crime to secure a conviction and, conversely, Martinez’s defense only needs to raise reasonable doubt that the payments and legislation were connected.

Martinez told Telemundo 51 in March that his legal team feels “good” about his chances at getting an acquittal.

“Of course you feel anxious. Of course you feel nervous. I’ve never been in this position. I’ve always been on the other side as law enforcement for 18 years and then protecting the public as a County Commissioner,” he said.

“It’s just hard being on this side. It’s hard on me. It’s hard on my family (and) friends. But we have the confidence that there’s nothing there. But once again, it’s not in my control. It’s up to God, my attorneys and the jury.”

DeSantis replaced Martinez with lawyer Rob Gonzalez, a fellow Republican who ran for a House seat in 2022. Gonzalez faces a challenge this year from teacher and former West Kendall Democratic Club President Bryan Paz-Hernandez.

Miami-Dade hasn’t had an elected Sheriff since 1966, when county voters eliminated the position after a grand jury report revealed rampant corruption within the department. Instead, the county Mayor serves as the de facto Sheriff and has since had an appointed Police Director or Chief of Public Safety who reports to them.

In 2018, 58% of Miami-Dade voters joined a statewide supermajority in approving a constitutional amendment requiring all 67 counties in Florida to have an elected Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Clerk of Courts by early 2025.

Sheriff candidates face a June 14 deadline to qualify by petition signature or payment. The Primary Election is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.