Orange County Commissioner gives hundreds of free tickets to husband’s nonprofit

Mayra Uribe is accusing her opponent Pete Clarke of ‘stalking,’ which most people who knows Clarke think is ludicrous.

Since 2021, Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe has given her husband’s nonprofit more than 650 free tickets to some of Orlando’s hottest concerts and sporting events, from Bad Bunny to the Rolling Stones, according to a Florida Politics investigation.

County Commissioners are granted access to the Orange County Mayor’s box in Camping World Stadium and the Kia Center, where the Orlando Magic play. The county’s rules say commissioners and the Mayor can donate tickets to nonprofit leaders, and Uribe did just that — to her husband, Kevin Sutton, who runs the small nonprofit All-Star Dads.

So far this year, All-Star Dads received four $195 tickets to a performance by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, four $220 tickets to the two-night show for Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, six $150 tickets to Blink 182, a dozen $160 tickets to the USA versus Brazil soccer game, several $125 tickets to the Rolling Stones, and more. Florida Politics obtained the ticket transfer records through a public records request to the Orange County government and the Comptroller’s Office. 

About 10 times since 2023, the nonprofit has received 16 tickets apiece for a single sporting event, either to the Orlando Magic, a minor league hockey game, or the local arena football team. The records show that just one recent NBA ticket was valued at $137. That means 16 were worth about $2,200 to use the exclusive county box seats.

Some tickets were valued at around $50 to $60, while others exceeded $200. All-Star Dads received access to shows that fans had trouble buying tickets for, like the Bruce Springsteen 2023 tour, for which Ticketmaster charged $5,000 in some cities because demand was so high.

What happened to all the tickets is unclear. Uribe and Sutton did not immediately respond to a request for comment or answer questions Thursday.

According to the organization’s social media posts, All-Star Dads sometimes actively sold tickets for more than they were worth.

“We have 2 SKYBOX SUITE TICKETS to WWE Monday Night RAW on Monday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m., $150 for both tickets,” the organization posted on social media in 2021.

County records show that Uribe donated a pair of tickets valued at $53 each to All-Star Dads for that wrestling show.

What’s happening raises red flags, said one ethics watchdog.

Ben Wilcox, research director of Integrity Florida, said that if All-Star Dads resell the tickets, the couple will financially benefit from Uribe’s perk in public office.

“I don’t know whether that’s legal or not,” Wilcox said. “That just doesn’t seem right and doesn’t look good to the public.”

All-Star Dads is a small nonprofit that focuses on helping men become better dads. It runs a boot camp to prepare first-time dads for parenting.

According to the organization’s 990 tax form from 2019, the most recent year available, Sutton did not receive a salary for his work there. 

In 2019 – before Uribe started giving the organization free tickets – All-Star Dads reported about $6,000 in revenue. Sutton did not respond to questions about how much money he made selling the tickets or provide his more recent tax forms.

It seems unlikely All-Star Dads will continue getting more donated tickets from the county government.

The IRS revoked the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status in May and publicly posted the update about the revocation on Aug. 12 online after All-Star Dads did not file a 990 tax form for three consecutive years. Failure to do so is an automatic revocation. 

Uribe was first elected in 2018 and then re-elected in 2020.

February 2021 appeared to be the first time she started donating tickets to All-Star Dads when she gave her husband’s organization a pair of tickets to Monster Jam, according to a Florida Politics review of the records. For the entire 2021, All-Star Dads received tickets to about 10 events. 

By 2022, All-Star Dads were getting free tickets to legendary artists like Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Billy Joel, who traveled to Orlando that year.

In 2023, Uribe steadily transferred tickets, sometimes several times a month, to All-Star Dads, including about a dozen events in November 2023. These included back-to-back nights of Pink shows, Dave Chappelle, a concert featuring Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, and Ricky Martin, and the Florida Blue Classic football game.

In July, Uribe sent two $90 Def Leppard/Journey tickets, four $165 tickets to country singer Zach Bryan, and four $298 tickets to the Barcelona vs Manchester City soccer game at Camping World Stadium.

According to the county, the Skybox report on whether All-Star Dads received any tickets in August—the month the agency’s loss of tax-exempt status became publicly known—will be available later this month.

The county government maintains a policy allowing officials to donate the tickets to nonprofit leaders; however, there is no limit to the number of tickets one organization can receive. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Uribe is up for re-election and will face Sen. Linda Stewart in a runoff in the November General Election. Both candidates are Democrats. 

Uribe’s public office and her husband’s nonprofit have caught the attention in a race with high stakes for developers and tourism leaders who want to influence the Orange County Commission. 

Last month, real estate attorney Christopher Waugh filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics against Uribe over multiple allegations. The commission does not comment on or confirm ongoing investigations or complaints it receives.

Waugh, who provided a copy of his complaint to Florida Politics, accused Sutton and Uribe of sharing a downtown Orlando office for her campaign and his nonprofit. His complaint said that the space listed for All-Star Dads was filled with Uribe’s political signs, and her campaign van was parked there. 

Waugh called All-Star Dads “a bona fide charity.” The complaint does not mention the free tickets.

“This is a relationship that no other entity could possibly have, and it is one that breaches the public trust — it is a misuse of the Commissioner’s position,” he wrote in his complaint.