Jesse Scheckner
Bryan Paz-Hernandez’s campaign for the Miami-Dade Commission now has support from the political arm of a community-led homeowners’ association (HOA) group serving residents in the district he hopes to represent at County Hall.
The Kendall Federation PAC, which makes political contributions for the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations (KFHA), confirmed its endorsement of Paz-Hernandez in a July 10 letter.
He beat out incumbent Miami-Dade Commissioner Rob Gonzalez and fellow teacher Claudia Rainville for the nod.
“(Bryan’s) qualifications have led us to conclude (he) would serve in the best interest of the Kendall area and our entire community,” Kendall Federation PAC Chair Marvin Stein said in the letter.
Stein asked Paz-Hernandez’s campaign to donate $450 or more to help the organization publish the endorsement in local newspapers and media and cover other costs, including website upkeep, mass mailing and emails to residents.
Paz-Hernandez told Florida Politics on Monday that he doesn’t plan to give the group money.
“We have to prioritize our funds on focusing on direct voter outreach,” he said by text.
His campaign said it is “thrilled” to be backed by the Kendall Federation, which it described as “by far the most active Kendall community organization” and having “a tremendous influence over thousands of voters.”
The Kendall Federation PAC nod comes a month after Paz-Hernandez participated in a KFHA candidates forum to discuss his vision for District 11, which covers a west Miami-Dade area composed wholly of unincorporated neighborhoods.
Similar to what he told Florida Politics earlier this year, Paz-Hernandez told attendees his priorities for the district include, among other things, reducing traffic congestion, upholding protections of vulnerable wetlands and combatting wasteful government spending.
He also wants to build a 15-mile Metrorail extension into West Kendall, a project that would cost billions. Paz-Hernandez said he would seek federal funding to cover most of the costs. Past efforts to secure similar federal apportionments for local transit developments have disappointed.
Rainville also participated in the June 20 event. Gonzalez, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to the County Commission in late November 2022, did not respond to numerous invitations, KFHA President Michael Rosenberg told Florida Politics.
The endorsement also follows another from the environmentally focused Sierra Club nonprofit and Paz-Hernandez’s announcement that he and his campaign team have knocked on more than 4,000 doors throughout the district.
A former Democratic field organizer and President of the West Kendall Democratic Club, Paz-Hernandez is running as an independent for the District 11 seat this year. Gonzalez and Rainville are both Republicans.
All will be on the Aug. 20 ballot, since the Miami-Dade Commission and its races are technically nonpartisan. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote in the Primary, the two biggest vote-getters will square off in the Nov. 5 General Election.
District 11 encompasses the neighborhoods of Country Walk, Hammocks, Kendale Lakes, Kendall, Bent Tree, Lake of the Meadows and West Kendall.
